Premier League: Arsenal’s First Loss Was ‘An Accident Waiting to Happen,’ Says Arteta

Mikel Arteta acknowledged Arsenal’s unexpected 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth, describing it as “an accident waiting to happen” after William Saliba’s red card left them playing with 10 men for most of the match. The loss marked Arsenal’s first Premier League defeat since April.

French defender Saliba was sent off after an hour for a professional foul on Bournemouth’s Evanilson. Initially shown a yellow card by referee Rob Jones, the decision was upgraded to a red after a VAR review. This was Arsenal’s third red card in the league this season, following dismissals of Declan Rice against Brighton and Leandro Trossard at Manchester City.

Arteta admitted the frequent red cards were making it more difficult for his team to win, as Arsenal have only managed to secure two points from the three games in which they’ve had to play with 10 men.

“It’s very hard to win in the Premier League when you’re down to 10 men for 60 minutes,” Arteta said. “It’s just an accident waiting to happen. We’ve had to deal with it in three games, and it has cost us. We had a big chance to score and change the game, but then we conceded.”

Reflecting on the red card situations, Arteta noted, “The three red cards have all been different, with different outcomes, but they’ve had a significant impact on us.”

This defeat, Arsenal’s first in the league since their 2-0 loss to Aston Villa at the Emirates last season, cost them the opportunity to move ahead of Liverpool at the top of the table. Arteta acknowledged that his third-placed side was not at their best for much of the game.

“The team gave it their all, and the effort with 10 men was fantastic, but it wasn’t enough to win today,” he added. “It took us time to figure out what we needed to do in the first 15 minutes, but after 30 minutes, the game changed.”

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was even more candid about the team’s lackluster performance, pointing to Leandro Trossard’s misplaced pass as the catalyst for Saliba’s red card. The pass forced Saliba into a panicked foul on Evanilson, resulting in the dismissal.

“It was a careless mistake by Trossard, and if we want to challenge for the title again, we need to eliminate those kinds of errors,” Rice said. “We’ve shot ourselves in the foot three times in eight games, and while we got away with it against Brighton and Manchester City, Bournemouth kept pressing and made it 2-0.”

Rice praised the team’s fighting spirit but stressed the importance of avoiding costly mistakes. “I’m proud of the players for battling, even with 10 men, but we need to stop making naive errors. You want your best 11 players on the pitch for the full 90 minutes—that’s how you win games. We believe in ourselves, and we’ll stick together.”