Arteta’s reacts to Arsenal ‘strange’ defeat
Arteta’s reacts to Arsenal ‘strange’ defeat Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal “did a lot of strange things” in the second half of their defeat to Bournemouth, after a result that dented the club’s position in the title race. Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Arsenal went into the game with the chance to move 12 points clear of Manchester City , but instead slipped to a damaging home defeat which leaves the wider picture looking far less comfortable than it did before kick-off. There was an element of misfortune about Bournemouth’s opener, the ball glancing off William Saliba before falling for Junior Kroupi , but Arteta’s concern afterwards was less about the defeat than the way his side responded to the setback.
“Disappointing,” he told TNT Sports after the match. “It’s a big punch in the face and it’s about how we react now. They are a team who haven’t lost for 11 games for a reason, they did a lot right.
“We were far from efficient. The first chance they had to attack the box, it’s a deflection, a bad defending action and it’s a goal. That’s something we have to recover from.
“The second half you expect a different game. We did a lot of strange things today. “We have been very consistent.
This can happen, this is football. ” Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Arsenal had levelled through a Viktor Gyokeres penalty, but never established proper control of the game, and the second half in particular lacked the rhythm Arteta would have wanted. Changes came early, with Leandro Trossard , Ebere Eze and Max Dowman introduced shortly after the break, but the performance did not improve in any meaningful way.