Declan Rice stands out for Arsenal in disappointing Bournemouth defeat
|Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the campaign with a 2-0 loss against Bournemouth on the road.
The Gunners went into the Premier League game as favourites, but they failed to create any clear-cut chances in the early minutes in the injury absence of Bukayo Saka.
The club went a man down in the 30th minute after William Saliba was sent off for denying Evanilson a clear scoring opportunity. Leandro Trossard was partly responsible after a poor back pass.
Shortly after the hour mark, Gabriel Martinelli squandered a golden opportunity to score in a one-on-one situation and it proved costly with Ryan Christie opening the scoring a few minutes later.
The Cherries eventually doubled the lead from the penalty spot. Jakub Kiwior gifted the spot kick with a half-cooked back pass towards David Raya, who ended up fouling Evanilson.
Arsenal had a forgettable evening at the Vitality Stadium and Declan Rice had a good individual outing.
The England international won 10 out of 11 duels contested alongside 100% of his dribbles (3/3).
The 25-year-old had 68 touches with a pass accuracy of 87%. He made seven recoveries with two chances created.
Alongside him, Gabriel Magalhaes and Mikel Merino had relatively good performances.
Raheem Sterling was probably Arsenal’s best attacking threat in the first 30 minutes, but was surprisingly sacrificed after Saliba’s sending off which changed the complexion of the game.
Arsenal remain third in the table after the loss in the South Coast, but they could drop to fourth on goal difference if Chelsea manage to beat Liverpool at Anfield.
The gap to the top could extend to four points if the Reds come on top against the Blues. Manchester City also have the chance to create a three-point lead over them.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Fotmob.com