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Some email correspondence
“City are probably slight favourites now,” writes Joshua Keeling. “If Arsenal don’t get over the line, should there be questions over Arteta? It sounds daft with how much progress they’ve made under him, but the brilliant attacking team that he built from 2022-2024 have had all the ingenuity coached out of them since then. He has essentially decided that attacking in that way is too risky. But you need to take risks sometimes to win a title.”
“It’s one thing playing with the handbrake on, but Arsenal have barely bothered to turn the ignition key today,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “What a very strange, lackluster performance.”
“The mentality midgets are crumbling again,” writes Jazbat.
Martin Keown: “Now people have to stand up,” says the former Arsenal defender-turned-cheerleader on TNT. “Personalities have to come forward. Leaders need to emerge. It’s still in your hands because you play Manchester City in the Premier League. You do have a Champions League game midweek though, and you need to make sure that the wheels do not come off.”
Post-match fan reaction: “Bring your dinner?” snorts an understandably indignant Arseblog on Bluesky, in reference to Arteta’s exhortation to fans to pitch up at the Emirates early with their lunchboxes. “How about Arsenal bring a decent performance? That was dreadful from start to finish. Zero redeeming features to that performance. A chance to exert our title credentials and we play like that. Not just bad in isolation either, it adds to ongoing worries about our form.”
It’s worth noting that the highly esteemed Andrew Arseblog is one of his teams more measured and less knee-jerky fans but today’s performance has clearly upset him and it’s not difficult to see why. It’s also worth noting that while not many Arsenal fans answered their head coach’s call to rock up at the Emirates with their lunch, quite a few of them left early, presuming to go to a nearby hostelry and have a stiff drink.
Full time: Arsenal 1-2 Bournemouth
The gap between Arsenal and Manchester City remains at nine points but Pep Guardiola’s side have two games in hand and also get to welcome his protege’s worryingly underperforming side to the Etihad next weekend.
Arsenal can have no complaints about being beaten today because they were diabolical. Having gone behind to a well taken Kroupi opener, they were a little lucky to be given an opportunity to equalise from the spot after Ryan Christie was penalised for an unavoidable handball.
Despite being let off the hook thanks to Viktor Gyokeres’ penalty, Arsenal failed dismally to capitalise and despite Mikel Arteta ringing the changes before the hour mark, they still failed to pose Bournemouth too many problems. Alex Scott’s winner at the end of a splendid Bournemouth move was the least Bournemouth deserved.
90+6 min: Bournemouth free-kick, deep inside their own half. It’s taken and now it’s all over. Arsenal’s fans greet the final whistle with a chorus loud boos. They’ve just seen their team get beaten by an excellent Bournemouth side who were conspicuously better on the day.
90+ 5 min: Arsenal corner! Cue the Jaws theme. Raya comes up to join in the fun and Rice’s delivery is headed clear by James Hill.
90+4 min: Gyokeres scuffs a shot wide from just inside the Bournemouth penalty area after running on to a pass inside from Gabriel Jesus.
90+3 min: A Gyokeres downward header goes out off Adam Smith but the officials award a goal-kick to Bournemouth. Arsenal’s players are incensed.
90+2 min: Arsenal have mustered three shots on target this afternoon, one of them the penalty from which they scored.
90+1 min: There’ll be five minutes of added time. Bournemouth subs: Adam Smith and Enes Unal on for Jimenez and Evanilson.
88 min: Arsenal win a throw-in near the halfway line, down by the technical areas where both head coaches are particularly animated. Moments later, Alejandro Jimenez hurts himself making a potentially goal-saving challenge on Gabriel Jesus who was through on goal and about to pull the trigger. That’s brilliant defending.
86 min: Evanilson fouls Trossard halfway inside the Bournemouth half. Free-kick for Arsenal The ball’s played wide to Dowman, whose left-footed cross picks out Gabriel. His weak header is palmed over the bar by Petrovic. Nothing comes of the corner – Arsenal’s set-piece delivery has been uncharacteristically dreadful this afternoon.
84 min: Arsenal corner. Rice’s delivery is punched away by Petrovic in the one-arm-raised Superman style. Bournemouth substitution: Alex Toth on for Kroupi, who dawdles off the pitch in a bid to waste a few precious seconds.
82 min: If Bournemouth can hold on here they’ll be just four points off the Champions League places but I suspect that won’t be the main story in the post mortem of this match. Arsenal have been very disjointed and poor.
81 min: Gyokeres is booked for a foul on Jimenez. Kroupi also picked up a yellow card for delaying a restart a couple of minutes ago.
79 min: Petrovic flaps at a Dowman cross and the ball drops at the feet of Gyokeres in a crowded penalty area. It’s a little under his feet and the Swede can only scoop it over the bar. It must have taken a defelction because Arsenal have a corner. Nothing comes of it.
78 min: Arsenal substitutions from just after the goal: Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Jesus on for Ben White and Martin Zubimendi.
76 min: That was a superb goal. Bournemouth carved thgrough Arsenal with a serious of short one-touch passes and Evanilson played the last of them to put Scott clean through on goal. The midfielder took a touch and buried the ball past Raya from about 10 yards out.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-2 Bournemouth (Scott 75)
Bournemouth lead again! It’s a splendidly worked goal from the Cherries, who retake the lead courtesy of an excellent strike from Alex Scott. Bournemouth eviscerated Arsenal’s defence and are in front with 15 minutes to go.
73 min: It’s bodies on the line time as Leandro Trossard dives in to block a shot from James Hill.
71 min: Running on to a clever pass to the byline, Dowman tries to stand the ball up at the far post but overhits his delivery and puts the ball out for a goal-kick.
69 min: Bournemouth substitutions: Tyler Adams and David Brooks on for Ryan Christie and Rayan.
68 min: Rice advances and plays the ball wide to Trossard. He’s forced backwards by Jimenez, the ball finds its way to Rice and he shoots over the bar from distance. The ball took a nick and Arsenal have another corner. Nothing comes of this one either, Myles Lewis-Skelly having a shot blocked by Ryan Christie.
66 min: Ryan Christie fires over from distance. Moments later, Raya prompts panic by making a complete pig’s ear of a short pass to Zubimendi in the face of Bournemouth’s ferocious press. Once again Arsenal get away with it but Bournemouth have a corner. Nothing comes of it.
65 min: Gyokeres runs on to a Ben White ball from deep and fires past Petrovic after taking a couple of touches. He was well offside but didn’t need to be. With a better timed run, Arsenal would be in front.
64 min: Raya lumps it forward again only for James Hill to win the header for Bournemouth. Arsenal are really struggling to get out of their own half.
62 min: Raya launches the ball forward trying to pick out Gyokeres, only for Senesi to control it and send it back upfield for Bournemouth.
60 min: Sub watch: Trossard has taken up position on the left wing, while Eze is in the middle for Arsenal and Dowman is out on the right. The hosts are still struggling to get the ball forward at speed.
59 min: Tavernier and Turffert link up down the left wing and the latter sends an inviting cross into the Arsenal penalty area. There’s nobody in a blue shirt present to get on the end of it.
57 min: Dowman is penalised for a shove in the back of Truffart near the halfway line as the duo chased a ball upfield.
56 min: Raya miscontrols a backpass and almost gifts a shot on an empty goal to Evanilson. The Arsenal goalkeeper gets away with it. In the corresponding fixture at the Vitality Stadium, Gabriel did something similar and the Bournemouth striker didn’t need a second invitation to take advantage of his compatriot’s largesse.
53 min: Arsenal corner and the wind is strong. Petrovic gets a touch on Madueke’s inswinger and the ball goes out off an Arsenal player. Arsenal triple-substitution: Dowman, Eze and Trossard on for Martinelli, Madueke and Havertz. They’ve done little or nothing today. “That’s a statement substitution from Arteta,” says Lucy Ward on TNT Sports co-comms.
51 min: Leandro Trossard, Max Dowman and Eberechi Eze are getting ready to come on for Arsenal and you can take your pick of which Arsenal players will make way. They’ve been very toothless.
49 min: James Hill is quick to react and intercept a ball played towards Gyokeres by Zubimendi, who Martin Keown singled out as being particularly risk-averse in the first half. One presumes the Spaniard is just following orders.
48 min: Senesi pings the ball towards the Arsenal penalty area from deep but his pass is intercepted and cleared by Gabriel.
47 min: Not having heard Keown’s suggestion, Arsenal’s players begin the second half by working the ball back to their goalkeeper David Raya from the halfway line twice in quick succession.
Second half: Arsenal 1-1 Bournemouth
46 min: The game resumes and on TNT Sports, Martin Keown says that Arsenal need to “play with more freedom” and try to get the ball to their forward players, who are struggling to get into the game. Release the handbrake, Mikel!
Half-time: Arsenal 1-1 Bournemouth
A thoroughly absorbing first-half ends with the scores level. Playing with the confident abandon of a team with little at stake, Bournemouth went ahead when Kroupi steered a deflected Truffart cross past David Raya. With the nerves of their fans in shreds, Arsenal equalised courtesy of an excellent Viktor Gyokeres penalty awarded for handball against the somewhat unfortunate Ryan Christie. By the increasingly ridiculous letter of the handball law it was probably the right decision but there was nothing he could do to move his hand out of the way of the ball smashed in his direction from close range.
45+1 min: Madueke wins another free-kick for Arsenal out wide on the right. Rice floats the ball towards the far post, where Hill heads clear. It’s half-time.
44 min: Rice is penalised for a foul on Christie and Bournemouth have a free-kick wide on the left. Scott’s delivery is excellent but it’s this much too high for James Hill to nod home at the far post.
42 min: Truffart is penalised for a foul on somebody or other near the technical areas, prompting Arteta to embark on another one of his Basil Fawlty tribute acts.
41 min: Alex Scott sends the ball high over the bar from distance, shooting (or it might have been a cross) from about 30 yards.
39 min: Rice’s inswinger is confidently claimed by Petrovic.
38 min: Gyokeres goes down under a lunge from Senesi just outside the Bournemouth penalty area. Arsenal don’t get a free-kick but have a corner instead because the Bournemouth defender put the ball behind.
36 min: Ryan Christie feels very aggrieved at having been penalised for that handball. His arm was in an “unnatural” position but it was impossible for him to move it out of the way of the ball smashed against it by Gabriel from close range.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Bournemouth (Gyokeres 35pen)
It’s all square! Viktor Gyokeres pulls his spot-kick into the bottom left-hand corner. Petrovic went the right way but the ball was curling away from him. It’s a perfect penalty.
PENALTY FOR ARSENAL!
Madueke’s corner to the far post is blocked and in the ensuing scramble, Ryan Christie has the ball smashed against his raised hand from point-blank range.
32 min: Jimenez, who is one booking away from a two-match ban, is penalised for a foul on Gyokeres but avoids a yellow card. It’s another free-kick for Arsenal, this time wide on the left. Rice plays it along the floor to Martinelli, the ball returns his way and he tries a shot from distance. The ball goes out for a corner off Evanilson.
30 min: Declan Rice wastes the free-kick, massively overhitting his delivery to the far post and sending the ball wide.
29 min: We approach the half-hour mark and Arsenal are a goal down and have yet to test Djordje Petrovic in the Bournemouth goal. Truffert is penalised for a foul on Madueke as the Arsenal winger tried to pass him. Free-kick for Arsenal, wide on the right, in line with the edege of the penalty area.
26 min: Jimenez canters forward before playing the ball wide to Rayan. He aims a cross towards Kroupi, who meets it on the volley. His goalbound effort hits Gabriel in the face, the Brazilian taking one for the team. Bournemouth are playing like a team that don’t have a care in the world and giving Arsenal plenty to think about. Arsenal’s fans and head coach, in strak contrast, are getting very agitated indeed.
24 min: Senesi fouls Gyokeres as he tries to dispossess him out by the left touchline. It’s a free-kick for Arsenal that might as well be a corner. Rice’s picks out Gabriel at the far post but Truffert hacks his knockdown clear.
21 min: An Arsenal corner comes to nothing and now they’re on the attack down the left with Martinelli on the ball. He’s effortlessly dispossessed by James Hill. That is excellent defending.
