An Arsenal legend has issued a surprising observation about Mikel Arteta following the Gunners’ 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday evening.
Arteta’s side suffered their first defeat of the season at the Vitality Stadium. Centre-back William Saliba was sent off for pulling Evanilson’s shirt when the pair were racing towards David Raya’s goal on the 30-minute mark.
Referee Robert Jones initially showed the France international a yellow card, but this was upgraded to red after a review.
From that point on, Arsenal lacked their usual attacking fluency, finishing the game with just one shot on target.
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The deadlock was broken by a smart set-piece routine that Ryan Christie took full advantage of to put the Cherries 1-0 up on 70 minutes.
Nine minutes later, Jakub Kiwior’s mistimed pass fell short of Raya, who brought down Evanilson. Bournemouth’s Justin Kluivert converted the ensuing penalty with ease, doubling his side’s lead.
Apart from the poor performance, something else stood out.
Usually, Arteta is visibly animated when watching his side. But on Saturday evening, he seemed subdued.
Former Premier League-winning midfielder Emmanuel Petit admitted his former side had an off night.
“Even Mikel Arteta looked quiet on the bench today,” Petit told Premier League Productions.
“Usually, he screams at his players to show energy all the time and tries to impact his players and talk to them every single second. But today, he looked very quiet.”
The defeat means Arsenal remain third in the Premier League, with likely title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool playing later today.
After the loss, Arteta cut a resilient figure, admitting his side will not be “feeling sorry” for themselves ahead of their Champions League match with Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday evening.
“Well, again, using the pain we are feeling at the moment for Tuesday, that’s the best way to do it,” he said in his post-match press conference [via Arsenal.com].
“[We are] Not feeling sorry for ourselves, how it happened again three times in eight matches, and we are missing our captain and one of our best players [Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard] and Jurrien [Timber] and this and that.
“That’s not going to take us anywhere – leave the energy, these boys deserve it because the way they try and want it, we go again on Tuesday.”
When questioned on whether Saliba’s sending off was justified, Arteta admitted that he 'didn’t know' if he was surprised by the decision.
“I don’t know, it’s a split-second decision you have to make, the striker is on his back,” he explained.
“Obviously, he doesn’t expect the ball and then suddenly it’s coming his way. He’s made a decision, and that’s it, the referee has decided to give a yellow and then a red card.”
Topics: Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Premier League, William Saliba, VAR, Manchester City, Liverpool
Luke Davies