“Big punch in the face”

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta broke his silence after the Gunners’ 2-1 loss to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday (April 11). The loss marks a potential blow to their hopes of winning the title after a 22-year wait.

Eli Junior Kroupi opened the score for the visitors at the Emirates (17′), with Viktor Gyokeres equalizing from the penalty spot before the half-time whistle (35′). However, things did not end well for Arsenal as Alex Scott (74′) made it to the scoresheet, securing three points for Bournemouth.

The Gunners still remain at the top of the league with 70 points from 32 games, but Manchester City have two games in hand and are nine points behind (61 points). If Pep Guardiola’s side wins their remaining two games, they could reduce the gap to three points only.

In the post-match press conference following the defeat to Bournemouth, Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta opened up about the major blow to their title hopes. He said (via The Telegraph journalist Sam Dean):

“It’s a big punch in the face. Now it’s about how we react to that. Today there were certain very basic things we did extremely badly.”

With Arsenal’s latest loss, the Premier League title race remains open. If Manchester City wins both their remaining games and their clash against Arsenal, they will be tied with the Gunners on points. The title may then be decided on goal difference, if both teams win their remaining games.

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta weighs in on areas to improve after 2-1 loss to Bournemouth

In the post-match press conference, Mikel Arteta opened up on the areas they need to improve on following the loss to Bournemouth in the Premier League. He said (via the official website):

“There were a lot of situations, I don’t want to go into that detail. They were quite obvious and we need to do that much better in order to have certain control and dominance in the game, otherwise it’s difficult.”

He added:

“We were very far from the level that we were shown. That’s for certain, especially in certain areas that are critical when you play against a team like Bournemouth. They were very clear. But, again, I don’t want to criticise any player, especially here, publicly.”

The blow in the Premier League comes after the Gunners lost two titles this season. They suffered a 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and a 2-1 loss to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final. They still have the Premier League and the Champions League in hand to make the season successful.