Far above the rest: Arsenal’s Reds problem

Arsenal are worried. The Gunners, without Bokaio Saka and Martin Odegaard, lost 2-0 in ten men against Bournemouth after William Saliba was sent off at the Vitality Stadium. The team lost points just before Liverpool, and a loss to Reds next week could significantly damage the chances of the championship.

Sky Sports commented on the defensive play, which suffered without Saliba who was sent off: “Arsenal could have gone on top, but irresponsible football defeated them. Arsenal conceded more than two goals in 3 of the last 4 games, and that happened twice in the previous 22 games.”

“Arsenal fans fell silent,” continued the Daily Mail, “after trying to push as hard as possible. Mikel Arteta’s substitutions didn’t work.” Arsenal legend Theo Walcott claimed Saliba’s red was justified. Saliba was sent off after pulling Avnelison in the back, which initially led to a yellow card. The VAR advised him to award a red, after the VAR claimed he “prevented a certain goal”.

Coach Mikel Arteta concluded: “We were punished. We didn’t take advantage of situations, we had the biggest chance of the game. Football is a game of mistakes, we made two of those and it cost us points. If Martinelli had scored in a 0:0 situation, things would have looked different.” Since Arteta’s appointment as manager Arsenal have received 18 red cards, more than any other team, with Wolves and Everton in second place with 5 each. Elias Burke Athletic continued: “They received three reds this season, two were controversial and two yellow cards. This is a straight red.”

Walcott He elaborated: “They will be disappointed and have a hard time from the first minute. The players weren’t there and lost too many balls. We didn’t see the flowing Kahdurgal that we are used to from Arsenal. We have to move on.”

Jamie RandupSky commentator, claimed that “Bournemouth deservedly won. They played very good football, pushed forward and dared. Even in 11 v 11 they were very good and deservedly won, regardless of the sending off”. After the game UEFA’s algorithm lowered Arsenal’s chances of winning the championship to 12.63%, which puts them a little behind Liverpool (12.72%) and well below Manchester City (74.32%).