{"id":2050,"date":"2026-04-12T03:55:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T03:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=2050"},"modified":"2026-04-12T03:55:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T03:55:04","slug":"devastated-arsenal-star-spotted-being-consoled-on-pitch-after-huge-title-race-blow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=2050","title":{"rendered":"Devastated Arsenal star spotted being consoled on pitch after huge title race blow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_b6bb55\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">Arsenal lost 2-1 to Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium, offering Manchester City an opportunity to close the gap before the Gunners travel to the Etihad Stadium next weekend<\/h2>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36999661\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Declan Rice\" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36999661.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-2270848593.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36999661.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/0_GettyImages-2270848593.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36999661.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/0_GettyImages-2270848593.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36999661.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-2270848593.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"It was a tough afternoon for Arsenal, giving Man City fresh hope in the title race\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">It was a tough afternoon for Arsenal, giving Man City fresh hope in the title race<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Declan Rice was seen offering support to Martin Zubimendi in Arsenal&#8217;s loss to Bournemouth. The 27-year-old midfielder, who joined the Gunners from Real Sociedad for \u00a360m in the summer, endured a nightmare afternoon at the Emirates Stadium as the Cherries cruised to a 2-1 success.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Between Rice and Zubimendi, possession was surrendered 29 times throughout the encounter against Andoni Iraola&#8217;s outfit. The pair delivered precious little quality in midfield &#8211; they were outclassed by Ryan Christie and Alex Scott, who were instrumental in prolonging Bournemouth&#8217;s unbeaten streak to 12 matches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">During the opening period, as Viktor Gyokeres lined up his penalty, a supporter posted footage to Reddit showing the moment Rice recognised Zubimendi was battling. Eager to boost his colleague&#8217;s morale, the England international wrapped his arm around the Spaniard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Rice tapped Zubimendi&#8217;s chest while calling out something in his ear. Myles Lewis-Skelly also offered comfort to the midfielder, as did Gabriel Magalhaes, who attempted to energise him through a brief exchange and a handshake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Noni Madueke extended his encouragement to Zubimendi as well, clasping his hand too. Despite their collective attempts to rally the midfielder, he subsequently bore responsibility for the decisive goal, neglecting to follow his marker into the penalty area.<\/p>\n<article class=\"Teaser_teaser__XImzE OpinionTeaser_teaser-opinion__u0ZfS\" data-testid=\"opinion-teaser\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36999316\">\n<div class=\"Teaser_cover-wrapper__VVV7O\" data-testid=\"opinion-teaser-image\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36999356.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s540\/0_GettyImages-2270285228.jpg 540w\" media=\"undefined\" data-testid=\"source-element\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36999356.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s650\/0_GettyImages-2270285228.jpg 650w\" media=\"undefined\" data-testid=\"source-element\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36999356.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s948\/0_GettyImages-2270285228.jpg 948w\" media=\"undefined\" data-testid=\"source-element\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36999356.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s650\/0_GettyImages-2270285228.jpg\"\/><\/picture>\n<p><label data-testid=\"label\" class=\"Label_label__pFaDj Label_secondary__nOPjT label--section-color\"><span data-testid=\"label-text\" class=\"Label_text__tRLWj\">OPINION<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><span data-testid=\"readmore\" class=\"ReadMore_readmore-prefix__xS44r __className_020eaf\">READ MORE<!-- -->: <span class=\"ReadMore_readmore-link__eF9pN\">Mikel Arteta sends message to bruised Arsenal stars after painful Bournemouth defeat<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">After a midfield turnover, Zubimendi was left flat-footed as Evanilson played in Scott, who slotted the ball past David Raya from close range to wrap up three vital points. Speaking to the press after the final whistle, Mikel Arteta described the defeat as a &#8216;big punch in the face&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The Arsenal manager said: &#8220;Well, extremely disappointing. It&#8217;s a big punch on the face. That&#8217;s what I said to the boys. And now it&#8217;s about how we react to that. Because game on, you&#8217;re going to require now a big speed, a lot of fight and very clear. How are we going to approach that?<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;There&#8217;s no grey areas. We are in, we are out. And we need to be very, very, very strong and determined to approach it in a different way than we&#8217;ve done today, especially when the game wasn&#8217;t going our way.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">When asked whether he had concerns about his side&#8217;s response, Arteta said: &#8220;No, because I&#8217;ve seen them before in many scenarios and I&#8217;ve seen them for nine months. But today, there were some very basic things that we did extremely bad against their team.<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-36999668\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36999668\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Martin Zubimendi \" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 458px) 458px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36999668.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_GettyImages-2270298686.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36999668.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s458b\/0_GettyImages-2270298686.jpg 458w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36999668.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/0_GettyImages-2270298686.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36999668.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_GettyImages-2270298686.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"A dejected looking Martin Zubimendi\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">A dejected looking Martin Zubimendi<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE!<\/strong><a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mirrorfootballarsenal#\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"> <\/strong><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"><u>Latest Gunners news and more on our dedicated Facebook page<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;When you do that, they&#8217;re going to capitalise, stretch the pitch. Again, it becomes very chaotic and very difficult to control. So, yeah, it&#8217;s a lot of good things that they&#8217;ve done, obviously, credit to them. But I think there&#8217;s a lot, a lot, a lot in our plate to look at ourselves.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Arteta added: &#8220;What I&#8217;m trying to do is give our best to the club, give the responsibility to our players. And I know if the atmosphere, the fans, the support, the energy in the stadium is the best in the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;We have a much better chance. I don&#8217;t think that there&#8217;s any other possibility to perform better than when you have that kind of support. 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If you&#8217;re cu<\/em><em>rious, you can read our <a aria-label=\"Privacy NoticeLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reachplc.com\/site-services\/privacy-policy\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Notice<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside class=\"Factbox_factbox-container__hSMOa\" id=\"factbox\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"Entering Factbox content\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36950236\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"factbox\" data-testid=\"factbox\">\n<h3 class=\"HeadingThree_heading-three__PBHLs Factbox_heading-three__NXU52 __className_e65c2b\">World Cup Legends &#8211; special edition on sale now<\/h3>\n<div class=\"Factbox_content__xdMV8\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">There is nothing like the World Cup to create legends and this new special edition publication celebrates the heroes of the planet&#8217;s greatest sporting competition<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-36922808\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36922808\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 458px) 458px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36922808.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_WORLD-CUP-LEGENDS-NO-BRANDING-1.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36922808.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s458b\/0_WORLD-CUP-LEGENDS-NO-BRANDING-1.jpg 458w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36922808.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/0_WORLD-CUP-LEGENDS-NO-BRANDING-1.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36922808.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_WORLD-CUP-LEGENDS-NO-BRANDING-1.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Buy your copy today <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.regionalnewspapers.co.uk\/world-cup-legends-5666-p.asp?utm_source=World+Cup+Legends-Reachwide&amp;utm_medium=World+Cup+Legends-Reachwide-Factbox&amp;utm_campaign=World+Cup+Legends&amp;utm_id=World+Cup+Legends\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">HERE<\/a> or in participating supermarkets, high street retailers and independent newsagents from Wednesday March 25, 2026. Any online orders will be dispatched from Wednesday <\/strong><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">March 25 <\/strong><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">and postage and packaging applies.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal lost 2-1 to Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium, offering Manchester City an opportunity to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}