\n<\/p>\n
Arsenal legend Martin Keown was frustrated at the lack of balls going into Max Dowman after the teenager came off the bench in the Gunners\u2019 2-1 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday.<\/p>\n
A Viktor Gyokeres penalty cancelled out Eli Junior Kroupi\u2019s early opener for the Cherries as Arsenal<\/strong> struggled to show their best form against Andoni Iraola\u2019s men.<\/p>\n And Alex Scott won the match for Bournemouth on 74 minutes<\/strong> with a cool finish as the Gunners lost their third match in four matches in all competitions.<\/p>\n Arsenal remain nine points ahead of Manchester City, who play Chelsea on Sunday, but the Citizens have two games in hand and face the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium on April 19.<\/p>\n Mikel Arteta made some early substitutes on 54 minutes to try and change the course of the match with Max Dowman, Eberechi Eze and Leandro Trossard coming on for Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli.<\/p>\n And Keown was disappointed that Dowman\u2019s Arsenal team-mates failed to find the 16-year-old a bit more as they looked for a creative spark.<\/p>\n READ: Anatomy of a Bottle Job: Eight factors to separate the true choke from a mere collapse<\/strong><\/p>\n Keown told TNT Sports<\/em>: \u201cArsenal fixed the play and the picture never changed. Arsenal then couldn\u2019t develop the play into their midfield players.<\/p>\n \u201cEven when Dowman came on, we were all screaming give him the ball, but they didn\u2019t have enough good control of the ball in the midfield and that is all down to Bournemouth and Arsenal not mixing up their game enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Former Watford and Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd insists that Martinelli needs to be dropped for Dowman as Arsenal \u201cneed to go over the line\u201d.<\/p>\n Bothroyd said on Sky Sports<\/em>: \u201cWhen I looked at that starting team today, I was thinking to myself, \u2018okay, Martinelli made an assist during the week. It was a great assist. But he hasn\u2019t been good enough this year.’\u201d<\/p>\n The former England international added:\u00a0\u201cAs far as I\u2019m concerned, Max Dowman needs to start. I don\u2019t care no more. Arsenal need to go over the line.<\/p>\n \u201cThat kid, when he plays, he\u2019s fearless. He wants to ball. He goes at players. He might lose it, but he goes at them.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE ARSENAL COVERAGE ON F365\u2026<\/strong> The ex-Premier League striker also criticised Gyokeres for his post-match comments suggesting that a \u201cdry pitch\u201d could have contributed to their poor display.<\/p>\n Bothroyd continued: \u201cListen, to me, that\u2019s just silliness. I was at the game, I saw the pitch. The pitch looked perfect to me.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sprinklers were on before the game. They were on at half-time. Both teams actually play on that same pitch. I don\u2019t know if you know that.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth teams play on it, and Bournemouth took the opportunities when they came. I hear what he\u2019s saying when he talks about being positive going forward, because I think in this situation, you kind of have to look at that, but at the same time, you really need to analyse what happened today because it was really poor.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the xG (expected goals) was 0.19 in open play at home. That is just not good enough for a team of the calibre of players that Arsenal have. It\u2019s just way off. It\u2019s just not good enough.<\/p>\n \u201cToo many times they get into a position where they are just knocking the ball around the pitch.<\/p>\n \u201cRaya is literally touching the ball. He has the ball at his feet, probably more than any other player on the pitch. And obviously, you\u2019re 80 yards from goal. I don\u2019t get that.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n
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