After losing 2-0 to Bournemouth in the English Premier League on Saturday, Arsenal had a terrible afternoon. Following a VAR review, William Saliba was given a straight red, reducing the Gunners to 10 men after 30 minutes. In the second half, Bournemouth punished them by scoring goals through replacements Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert, denying Arsenal the opportunity to take the lead.
At the Vitality Stadium, Mikel Arteta's team lost 2-0 to Bournemouth, and William Saliba received Arsenal's third dismissal of the English Premier League season. After pulling down Evanilson, who was in on goal after a sloppy back ball from Leandro Trossard, the Frenchman was sent out at the interval.
Andoni Iraola's team didn't make the additional man matter until the 70th minute, when Ryan Christie, a substitute, decisively completed a clever corner routine. After Jacob Kiwior's underhit pass returned to the goalie, David Raya took out Evanilson in the area, causing further problems for the visitors with yet another careless back pass. Justin Kluivert calmly dispatched the spot kick to increase the Cherries' lead, putting more of Iraola's substitutes onto the scoresheet.
Where are Arsenal now in the English Premier League standings?
Following their first win against Arsenal since January 2018, Bournemouth ended a nine-game losing streak over the North London team and moved up to tenth place. When Bournemouth visits Aston Villa the next weekend and hosts Man City the following week, they will be looking to improve on their performance and outcome.
Arteta's team had a poor afternoon since, even before Saliba was fired, they had produced very little without Bukayo Saka, who was sidelined due to a hamstring injury. As a result, they are now one point below leaders Liverpool and tied with Manchester City, both of whom play on Sunday. Arsenal are going to be without Saliba due to suspension when they play Liverpool during the Premier League next. Arteta will be anxious for Saka to be healthy for that match because Martin Odegaard's chronic ankle ailment is turning out to be crucial.