Arsenal 1 Bournemouth 2 – What does defeat mean for title charge? Where was the urgency?

Arsenal stumbled in the Premier League title race and boos rang out at the final whistle as they were beaten 2-1 by an impressive Bournemouth at the Emirates.

Eli Junior Kroupi scored his 10th league goal of the season to put Andoni Iraola’s side ahead in the first half, before Viktor Gyokeres equalised from the penalty spot in the 35th minute.

Gyokeres had a goal disallowed for offside after the break and Declan Rice had a shot tipped over but Mikel Arteta’s side struggled to create clear-cut chances against a Bournemouth team who are now 12 games unbeaten in the Premier League.

And it was Bournemouth who grabbed all three points when Alex Scott fired beyond David Raya in the 74th minute after a well-worked move from the right-hand side.

The draw means Arsenal have 70 points from 32 games. Their nearest challengers Manchester City have 61 points from 30 games, and face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon. Next weekend Arsenal travel to the Etihad to face Pep Guardiola’s side.

Art de Roche, James McNicholas and former Premier League referee Graham Scott analyse the key talking points…

What does this result mean for Arsenal’s title charge?

Sound the alarm: Arsenal are officially wobbling.

This was the latest in a series of in a series of concerning displays. At different stages of the game Arsenal looked inhibited, nervy, and uncharacteristically sloppy.

This defeat leaves Arsenal nine points clear at the top of the table. At this stage of the season, it could look a relatively healthy lead.

Few Arsenal fans will feel that way. Manchester City have two games in hand, and host Arsenal at the Etihad next weekend. If results go against Arteta’s team, that lead could be slashed to three points in a matter of days.

The greater concern is that Arsenal look so far from championship form. The title is still in Arsenal’s hands. But right now, that provides little comfort.

Struggling to rediscover their own form, Arsenal find themselves looking for favours from elsewhere — starting with Chelsea, who play City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

At various stages of the game, the Bournemouth fans taunted the home crowd with chants of, “Second again, ole ole!”. If performances like this continue, that nightmare could become a reality.

James McNicholas

Where was the urgency?

A major aspect of the crowd’s frustration during this loss was Arsenal’s lack of urgency in possession — a theme that has been developing across recent matches and proven costly.

Arsenal had multiple opportunities to break on Bournemouth before their winner, as they did in the first half, but players looked to settle on the ball too often or simply pass all the way back to Raya, who was in the midst of a rare off-day.

Each opportunity to go forward that was passed up gave the visitors encouragement, and that shone through for Scott’s decisive goal.

That casual nature gave Bournemouth all the momentum when they won possession in the build-up, turning a bad day even worse as Martin Zubimendi lost his bearings as Scott ran past him.

The lack of speed in Arsenal’s play is not isolated just to this loss. It was evident even in the Champions League win over Sporting and the FA Cup and Carabao Cup defeats to Southampton and Manchester City.

The fact that Bournemouth’s attack looked more threatening, and at ease when playing forward, across the 90 minutes is a concern.

At such an important stage of the season, Arsenal’s players need to recognise the situation they are in. Personality must return to their play if they are to truly hurt teams and get over the line in the Premier League.

Art by Roche

How did the crowd react as Arsenal dropped points?

Arteta is no stranger to building up matches he feels can be pivotal for Arsenal in his pre-match press conferences, so the importance of this clash with Bournemouth was lost on nobody when he told fans to have an early breakfast and be ready for the 12.30pm kick-off.

The anticipation that came from this rallying call was rife throughout the game. Even before Bournemouth went ahead, the home fans grew restless at throw-ins not being taken quickly enough. They knew the opportunity that was in front of them (going 12 points ahead of Man City) and desperately wanted the players to grasp it.

Kroupi’s opener was met by an initial silence before cries of encouragement from the stands, but the collective heart rate around the ground was yet to spike.

Declan Rice, their captain for the day, lifted the home support quickly after the goal with a lunging tackle that led to a chance from a corner but more frustrations were made clear when Arsenal players shirked chances to play forward.

It seemed that message was taken on board and Arsenal began to build momentum until Gyokeres’ penalty, which brought a rampant reaction even after play had restarted.

But Raya caused two big scares at the start of the second half when play had seemed settled, and the crowd flipped between offering encouragement and frustration.

The more errors that arose, across the Arsenal team, the more it was that other words from Arteta’s pre-match pressure conference began to ring true.

When asked what is the difference between teams who win and those who don’t, Arteta said: “The composure, I think that’s a massive one to maintain the emotional state in the right way.”

Still on top of the table, the Arsenal players and fans need to find a way to maintain that composure.

Art by Roche

Will Bournemouth feel hard done by over the penalty?

Once a player’s hand is raised above shoulder height, there is every chance he will be penalised if the ball strikes his arm.

The referee Michael Oliver would have been sure that it was a handball offence even though the ball is played from close range by the Arsenal defender Gabriel and Bournemouth’s Ryan Christie has no chance to react. Put simply, he shouldn’t put his arm there in the first place.

Had Oliver not given the spot kick, I would have expected the video assistant Darren England to intervene and recommend a review, given the current criteria for handball and the other penalties awarded in the Premier League so far this season.

The former Arsenal defender and TNT pundit Martin Keown, who unsurprisingly given his own career often sides with the defender in these situations, said Arsenal were lucky to be awarded the penalty, and Bournemouth and Christie might well feel hard done by given the proximity of the player to Gabriel — but it was the right decision.

Former Premier League referee Graham Scott