Mikel Arteta has gone from hero to zero, and the Arsenal boss is under even more pressure to finally deliver a Premier League title after the Gunners’ latest setback against Bournemouth
Mikel Arteta was the architect of Arsenal’s downfall on Saturday afternoon(Image: Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta has been left egg on his face following Arsenal’s defeat to Bournemouth. The Spaniard had an afternoon to forget at the Emirates Stadium as the Gunners squandered the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League.
Arsenal could’ve gone 12-point clear of Manchester City in the title race, but they crumbled under the weight of expectation. Although the north Londoners struggled to create many chances from open play, relying on set pieces as they have done for much of the campaign, David Raya hardly filled them with confidence.
Rather than put the pedal to the metal, like Arteta had promised in his pre-match interview, Arsenal coasted to defeat in first gear. The Gunners goalkeeper embodied the lackadaisical approach, dawdling on the ball and inviting pressure.
Only two Arsenal players – Declan Rice and Ben White – had more touches of the ball than Raya (60). In fact, only the England international attempted more passes than the shot-stopper (49) in Arteta’s side.
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Raya isn’t entirely to blame; he received an astonishing 38 backpasses from his teammates. While the Spaniard is widely regarded as one of the top goalkeepers in Europe, he caused panic on numerous occasions with his rash decision-making and stray deliveries.
During one particular stage in the game, when Bournemouth had deployed a high press, Raya attempted a pass with the outside of his foot. Unsurprisingly, it was intercepted, but fortunately for the Arsenal shot-stopper, Evanilson couldn’t bring the ball under control.
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The north Londoners struggled with their build-up. They had no backup plan, so it came as no surprise when Alex Scott put the Cherries in front shortly after Arsenal made a mistake at the back.
Speaking on TNT SportsOwen Hargreaves questioned why Arteta wanted his side to play out from the back, despite little to no success. The former Manchester United midfielder said: “It’s a current trend, a modern trend, and I’m not a big fan of it.
“The ball goes back to Raya all the time, and for a team that presses as well as Bournemouth, all you’re doing is inviting pressure. Raya received 38 back passes today.
“This is against one of the best pressing teams in the country, so that allows them to squeeze up. That’s a remarkable stat: David Raya played the second most passes in this Arsenal team today; only Declan Rice played one more.
“He is brilliant with his feet, but why would you encourage that? Then the crowd gets a little bit nervous. Even though he’s brilliant with his feet, there were a couple of passes in the second half that were high risk and (Andoni) Iraola knew that.
“I just think get the ball forward quicker, get it into the channel, win duels, second balls, and then you get up the pitch.”
Yannick Bolasie also chimed in on social media. In one post on X, the former Premier League winger wrote: “All comes from Raya dancing on the ball like he has all game, when your back line is touching the ball more than any offensive players, it’s a big problem, dead stats people get rated for these days.”
He added: “Of course your pass rates gonna be 95% if you’re always passing backwards and side to side, same way wingers who don’t lose the ball aren’t trying to take on the full backs… safety first.”
And in another post, Bolasie wrote: “Raya passing the ball more than Declan Rice or (Martin) Zubimendi is the strange thing about football today, the players with the least attacking ability touching and passing the most.”
Arteta was lauded when Arsenal clambered to a so-called professional win over Sporting Clube de Portugal in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League. Four days later, the Spaniard was booed by supporters at the Emirates Stadium when his tactic backfired…
