Arsenal 1–2 Bournemouth: Shocking Performance, Title Pressure Mounts & Sporting Must Respond
Kaaaiiii, I don’t even blame that Manchester City fan with the bottle. Ọọmọọ!! That was just shocking levels of low from Arsenal and to rub salt upon the injury, that viral image just summed it up. It basically says, what the nay-sayers like to say. What are you gonna do about it Arsenal? That’s the real question now.
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| Image Credit: Arsenaldotcom |
Review
I really don’t know where to start on this game. I missed most of it due to the kickoff time but watching the replay, we were absolutely shocking. Diabolical. Totally ponderous in our play. Raya having the most touches of our players summed us up. Arsenal forgot where the opponent’s goal was or maybe we forgot the objective of the game itself, score at the other end.
How else do you explain the team engaging Raya so much you’d think he was the point man?
That said, it would be disingenuous to focus only on how poor we were without giving credit to Andoni Iraola’s team. They were good value for their 3 points. Came into the game on an 11-match unbeaten run and played us very well. Pressed us in a coordinated manner and stayed compact at the back. When they had the ball, they used it better than we did. Not like Raya was under siege from countless chances, no. They just knew their plan and executed it faster than we could think.
Imagine a Bournemouth side without Semenyo and we still couldn’t adapt. That’s where I look at Mikel. Iraola has done a marvelous job at the Cherries. Took time, but now they’re punching above their weight. No surprise big teams are watching him. Meanwhile, Mikel’s team struggles even when we win, often nicking games late by a single goal. Their goal came from a deflection, fell kindly to Kroupi. That boy is one to watch. Already hitting numbers at 19, serious talent.
We got back into the game through a soft penalty. By the letter of the law, yes it’s handball. But context? Distance too short, hand not clearly unnatural. One of those where law says yes but football sense says maybe not. Anyway, Gyokeres stepped up and smashed it. 12 EPL goals, 18 in all comps, 20 GA. Not bad for someone they want to label a flop.
At 1-1, you’d expect Arsenal to kick on.
Naaah. We ddint, we tried to control but;
Still sloppy in midfield. Rice and Zubi couldn’t stamp authority. Raya constantly searching for options with no one showing. It was painful to watch. Eventually Bournemouth punished us. One sloppy moment, bang, Scott sends Raya the wrong way. 1-2.
Mikel threw on Max, Eze, Trossard, nothing changed. And then to make matters worse, City go to Stamford Bridge and smash Chelsea 3-0, and their fans are celebrating their own loss just to stop Arsenal winning the league. Absolutely diabolical. That’s how far rivalry has taken people.
Meanwhile, we’ve now lost 3 in 4, out of two competitions, and suddenly a title we were coasting towards is slipping.
Not again.
Mikel says he’s not paying attention to one fan trolling with a bottle. Fair enough publicly. But let’s be real, that image is in that dressing room, he is playing the video over and over again, searing it into the minds of the players, not for fear but for anger. Just like the Ivan Toney comments were. You use that. You weaponize that.
Now it’s about response. Not talk. Response.
#UCL, Sporting Preview
Before we even get to the weekend, there’s a massive Champions League quarter-final second leg against Sporting. Arsenal lead by one goal on aggregate. On paper, we should go through. But football doesn’t care about paper. Sporting bounced back domestically. Arsenal took a step back. Momentum is different on both sides. But let’s be honest, anything other than Arsenal going through causes a full meltdown. From chasing a quadruple to crashing out of 3 competitions in 2 weeks? My word, I don’t even want to go there.
We need a performance.
Not just routine control for the sake of control. Not Raya holding the ball for 15 seconds because there’s no outlet. If there’s no option, go long. Mix it up. Be less predictable. Shoot from distance. Fight for second balls like your life depends on it. I want to see warriors on that pitch with players embracing pressure, not hiding from it. getting forged by the fire into winners. That's the final step, and thats what i believe all gooners want to see in this game and at the weekend. I keep referring to the upcoming weekend game, not to downplay the importance of beating sporting, but to buttress how Mikel must get the lads to swing back the momentum our way before what's left of the season drifts beyond our grip. The team has been here before, and they must recognise what is at stake here, the nay sayers are pen ready to write that narrative that they have been pushing. So lads, go into this 2nd leg tie not underestimating sporting, NO. We’ve seen what can happen. Liverpool knocked out 0-4 on aggregate. Atletico holding off Barca to progress, despite Barca being favourites initially. No game is safe. No tie is done, especially one thats at 1-0. Go into this game to beat them and remind yourselves how good you have been and can be. Get the confidence boost as we go into the potential #EPL title decider at the weekend. For now though, lets write a new chapter in our history by not just qualifying for back to back #UCL Semi finals, but go all the way to win it. Yeah , still games to go, and beating sporting ensures we can look to making that happen. Obviously we have a few injury worries (that's no Arsenal breaking news) with Saka, Timber, Calafiori and Odegaard all said to be unavailable. Rice a doubt and Ben white needing a rest (3 games in a row). Lets see if we can field this team selection below:
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| UCL: #ArsSpo |
I'd be leaving Gyökeres, Eze, Martinelli and Trossard on the bench to give Max a good shot at causing damage with his ability to take on players, he would also be starting for me versus ManCity. Arsenal need a disruptor and he currently is the only one with that ability outside Calafiori, Eze is more of a moments player. Ben White gets a rest as well as Zubi, who I am leaving out not to pile on but he has been running on empty for a bit now and I think the #EPL intensity is catching up. He would be back stronger, plus, Norgaard could do with some confidence boosting minutes. The front line, I know is tilted towards ballers not finishers(hope they take their chances though). The idea is to work up our confidence in our ability to actually play, because we can. The rest of the team picks itself and one hopes its more than enough to get the win over Sporting. On that note, thats it from us at #Anaijagunner hQ, enjoy the game wherever you are....#COYG
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