Bournemouth blew the Premier League title race wide open as they beat a nervous Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta called on the Arsenal fans to be ready for the lunchtime kick-off by bringing their “breakfast, lunch and dinner” to create a hostile atmosphere, but the message didn’t get to his players as they put in a sluggish and nervy performance to miss the chance to go 12 points clear at the top of the table.
Junior Kroupi gave Bournemouth a deserved lead (17) before Viktor Gyokeres (35) hit Arsenal’s equaliser from the penalty spot after Ryan Christie blocked Gabriel Magalhaes’ shot with his hand.
Arteta threw on Eberechi Eze, Max Dowman and Leandro Trossard in a bid to ignite his side but it was Bournemouth who looked the more likely to get a winner, and it came through Alex Scott (74) as the visitors celebrated a second straight win at the Emirates.
There was a smattering of boos from the home fans as ‘second again’ came from the visiting fans at the end of game, and that may now become a reality after such a lacklustre performance from the Gunners, who have finished runner-up for the past three seasons. Rarely has a nine-point lead at the top looked so fragile.
Man City, who have two games in hand on the Gunners, have the chance to cut the lead at the top to just six points when they visit Chelsea, live on Sky Sports (kick off 4.30pm) on Sunday.
The Gunners then travel to the Etihad next Sunday in a fixture that takes even greater significance following a third straight domestic defeat for Arteta’s men with major doubts surfacing over whether they can secure their first title in 22 years.
Arteta: Defeat a big punch in the face
Mikel Arteta shows his disappointment during Arsenal’s defeat to Bournemouth
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta:
“It’s extremely disappointing. It’s a big punch in the face; it’s about how we react now.
“Credit to them for what they did, they haven’t lost in 11 games for a reason.
“They got a lot of things right. When we had anticipation in the first half, when we regained the ball, we were far from efficient.
“The first opportunity they had to attack the box, it was a deflection, a really bad defensive action and it cost us a goal.
“That’s something we have to deal with emotionally. We tried to recover and push them, we scored from the penalty and you expect a different game.
“But we did a lot of strange things today.”
‘A terrible, terrible result’
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Paul Merson suggests Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth could shatter their confidence in the title and expressed how ‘sloppy’ their performance was
Sky Sports’ Paul Merson on Soccer Saturday:
“Keep away from the papers and social media because everyone will be saying here comes the melt!
“A terrible, terrible result. Bad performance, no energy, no real ‘let’s take the game to Bournemouth’. It’s a sloppy result.”
When asked if there’s a glimmer of hope for Arsenal, he added: “I don’t think City will beat Chelsea on Sunday.”
Arsenal’s remaining league fixtures
It doesn’t get any easier for the Gunners…
- April 19: Man City (a) – live on Sky Sports
- April 25: Newcastle (h) – live on Sky Sports
- May 2: Fulham (h) – live on Sky Sports
- May 10: West Ham (a) – live on Sky Sports
- May 17: Burnley (h)
- May 24: Crystal Palace (a)
Iraola: We rose to the occasion
Alex Scott wheels away to celebrate his match-winning goal
Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola to TNT Sports:
“I’m very happy for the players, in this kind of big game you have to rise to the occasion.
“We’ve shown personality and enjoyed some moments on the ball which is sometimes difficult against Arsenal.
“It was good to finish the job, coming from a lot of draws which always brings a question mark, but today three points, which are massive for us.
“It was a strange situation before this game, coming from five draws in a row.
“You cannot fully enjoy it but we needed this game to put us in a better position in the standings.”
