If Mikel Arteta squints his eyes, he might just see a benefit to chasing a deficit in Paris because nothing buckles Arsenal quite like the prospect of defending a lead.
My word, those frailties are awfully familiar by now, with this the 10th time in their Premier League campaign that points have been dropped from winning positions. Where the cost of the previous nine were draws, here it was a defeat.
There will be some disgruntlement about all that, given the nature of Bournemouth’s winner, which was cleared by the VAR despite the ball appearing to hit Evanilson’s elbow before he stabbed it past David Raya.
But there the injustice will end and the concern will begin. For this wasn’t an Arsenal side geared to go through the motions ahead of the real business of Wednesday’s second leg away at PSG. No, Arteta went close to full strength and still they fell flat on their faces, just as they did on the south coast in October.
To think, this gifted, lopsided squad has lost only four games in the league and half have been inflicted by Arteta’s childhood mate Andoni Iraola. With only three wins in 10, second place in the two-horse race is looking quite precarious.
This one appeared to be heading Arsenal’s way when Declan Rice benefitted from the vision of Martin Odegaard to make it 1-0 10 minutes before the break. At that stage, they had muffled Iraola’s side into an irrelevance, creating far more than they permitted.
Arsenal threw away a lead to lose to Bournemouth in a match marred by VAR controversy
Mikel Arteta decided against resting his stars for PSG but claimed no reward from his huge call
Declan Rice had given the Gunners a first-half lead but they were pegged back after the break
But then the collapse and the slips in concentration. Again. The equaliser was shipped to Dean Huijsen from a long throw and Evanilson provided the gut punch at another set-piece – they were Bournemouth’s only shots on goal all game.
As such, Arsenal must attempt to retrieve a 1-0 deficit against PSG in the shadow of back-to-back defeats for the first time in 16 months. If there is a relief, it is that the French champions will also enter on the back of a loss, but Luis Enrique fielded his second string at Strasbourg on Saturday; Arteta went the other way.
He brought in Thomas Partey, back from the suspension that kept him out of the European loss in midweek, and used Ben White ahead of Jurrien Timber.
The opening couple of minutes didn’t bode especially well for the changes. First, White played a loose ball to Dango Ouattara and then Partey rolled one directly to Tyler Adams.
Of the two, only Partey managed an improvement. White? At this stage in his return from injury, it would be a surprise if he was trusted with the Paris mission ahead of Timber. One cross for Rice aside, his first half was a bit of a trudge.
In White’s defence, the same would be said of both sides across the initial 15 minutes. That period reeked of a dead rubber – not a single shot from either, let alone one on target.
But Arsenal weren’t stationary for long. When they stirred, it came via one of those one-touch blitzes through the middle, with Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli collaborating to nudge Rice into a good spot. The angle was tight and the shot was dragged across goal off his left foot.
A moment later, he fluffed another finish – this time with his right – but Bournemouth were hopelessly lost in tracking his movements. Strong as he was in Partey’s absence against PSG, he is clearly optimised in the more advanced position.
Evanilson scored the winning goial and survived a VAR check, despite it appearing to hit his elbow
Arsenal must go to Paris on Wednesday and overturn a 1-0 deficit with most key stars unrested
Still needing to secure Champions League football, the big names such as Bukayo Saka started
England manager Thomas Tuchel cut a serious figure as he watched the action from the stands
Artetat looked downcast after a day which did him no favours in Europe or domestically
With Arsenal gaining speed, Bournemouth mangled a great chance for 1-0 when Evanilson sent a free header over the bar.
From that escape, Martinelli and Leandro Trossard both had decent opportunities before Rice popped up for 1-0.
Bukayo Saka and Partey were each involved, with the prime impact of sucking the game towards the right wing, before Odegaard devised a way through by slipping a fine ball between Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi. Rice’s first touch took him around Kepa Arrizabalaga and his second had Arteta punching holes in the air.
It’s possible his celebration was aimed more at Odegaard’s contribution than the scoreline – to stand a chance in Paris, an upturn in the Norwegian’s form would help.
Saka bent a shot wide early in the second half, before Iraola redirected the game with a double substation. Crucially, that meant the introduction of Antoine Semenyo. His first contribution was a surge stopped at the critical point by William Saliba and his next was a huge throw-in that Huijsen headed for the leveller after beating Rice in the air.
If that stung, the real pain quickly followed. Again, it was traced to a set-piece with no red shirt tracking the run of Marcus Tavernier, who glanced Alex Scott’s corner to the pack post where Evanilson prodded past David Raya. The VAR eventually permitted it, which is perhaps ironic given how much Iraola has grumbled about the system.
That gripe can swing back to Arteta for the time being, but he has other issues to focus on.
