The Arsenal star manBukayo Saka was missing for this one as he picked up a hamstring knock during England’s 2-1 defeat to Greece.
Arsenal went down to ten men in the first half as William Saliba was dismissed. Robert Jones made his way to the monitor and used VAR to upgrade his yellow card to a red.
Bournemouth scored twice in a ten-minute period in the second half to win the game.
The first goal was a strike by Scotsman Ryan Christie who fired a strike home following a Justin Kluivert corner. The Arsenal defence had left him completely unmarked.
The second goal was a penalty which Kluivert slotted home as he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.
This game was only the second time Bournemouth had ever beaten Arsenal in their history.
Here are VAVEL UK’s Arsenal player ratings.
David Raya - 4
His distribution was hit and miss. The Spaniard made a couple of good saves when called upon.
However, there were times where he made some errors which could have been detrimental. Luckily, his defenders swept up for him or on these occasions or attackers failed to find the target.
Conceded the penalty as he dragged down former Porto striker Evanilson on the edge of the penalty area. Kluivert then proceeded on sending him the wrong way to make the score 2-0.
Ben White – 5
Picked up a booking for delaying the restart of play from a throw in. White also conceded a foul early in the first half for a blatant push.
The 27-year-old did what was required of a modern full back often overlapping his winger. However, he was shaky defensively as he did not win a single tackle, was dribbled past three times and dispossessed once.
William Saliba – 4
The French man was given his marching orders on the half hour mark. Evanilson was through on goal and Saliba dragged him back denying this goal scoring opportunity.
He will be unavailable next weekend as the Gunners take on Liverpool in what will be a crucial game in the title race.
During his time on the pitch Saliba made an excellent tackle to quickly shut down Alex Scott on the attack.
Gabriel – 6
The Brazilian centre half made a handful of crucial interventions in play to deny the Bournemouth attack. He made two blocks and five clearances during the game and picked up a pass accuracy of 86%.
Riccardo Calafiori – 7
Was crucial at the back winning 100% of his tackles. He also made six clearances and a couple of recoveries while winning a couple of fouls.
There were times when Calafiori appeared lost and out of position in no man’s land. There were a few Bournemouth attacks he could’ve helped defend better.
Thomas Partey – 6
The Ghanaian completed the most passes in the match with 55. He was lucky to escape a booking in the first half for a reckless slide tackle.
Partey did his best to try and get forwards with four passes into the final third. However, his one shot was blazed over the bar.
Declan Rice – 7
Rice completed the most dribbles in the match with three. A versatile and complete option in Arsenal’s midfield. At times he appeared to drop deep into the back line making Arsenal’s set up seem like a 5 back.
He is also able to move the ball efficiently and carry it up the pitch.
The experienced midfielder won one foul on Saturday night as winger Antoine Semenyo appeared to tread on his toes.
Mikel Merino – 7
This game marked Merino’s first start for Arsenal. He joined the club this summer from Spanish side Real Sociedad.
Appeared to be a largely positive introduction to the squad demonstrated by his off the ball press right from kick off.
The midfielder showed hunger required to play in the biggest league in the world as he made eight recoveries and won three of four tackles.
Merino had one shot at goal which skimmed the side netting. His passing was average as he misplaced a fare few.
Raheem Sterling – 5
Was unfortunately withdrawn seven minutes after William Saliba was given his marching orders. Arteta had decided to opt for a more defensive set up to not leave a gap in his usual back four. That would have been detrimental and something for the Cherries to further exploit.
Sterling played a good through ball Trossard within the opening ten minutes to try and create an opportunity.
However, there were times his crosses into the box were cleared or he put a little bit too much weight on the ball.
Kai Havertz – 6
Attempted to battle the Bournemouth defence. But at times his first touch was questionable, and he dropped a bit too deep.
The German had little support available and was reckless at times as he committed three fouls.
Leandro Trossard - 4
Struggled to make a major impact on play. Of all Arsenal players to have completed over 45 minutes, Trossard registered the least amount of touches with 31.
The winger did not create any chances and didn’t complete a shot at goal and was ineffective.
Substitutes
Jakub Kiwior – 4
Was subbed on in the first half after William Saliba’s red card. This was in an attempt to have a balanced back four and to not leave a gap in Saliba’s usual position at right centre back.
Kiwior struggled to have an impact on the game and was withdrawn in the second half.
The Polish defender was outpaced by winger Antoine Semenyo shortly after he came on. Raya initially fumbled this but recovered with a fantastic save.
Gabriel Martinelli – 5
Martinelli probably had Arsenal’s best opportunity of the game. It was a miskick by Kepa which found Mikel Merino.
The Spaniard played the ball through to his Brazilian teammate who shot low and hard at goal from the edge of the area. The Cherries goalie was able to recover and pull off the save.
Gabriel Jesus – N/A
Was brought on in the 81st minute. Jesus didn’t have much time to make a major impact on the game.
However, he was brought down in the box after having driven past a few Bournemouth defenders. He was fouled four times in only fourteen minutes on the pitch.
Ethan Nwaneri – N/A
The 17 year old was also brought on as part of a double substitution in the 81st minute. The midfielder only had 12 touches. He was found offside once.
However, he played all of his 8 passes accurately.
