Early morning October 20 (Vietnam time), Arsenal will visit Bournemouth in round 8 of the 2024-2025 Premier League. Bringing back 3 points will help them temporarily take the top spot, as Liverpool and Manchester City both play on Sunday.
Coach Mikel Arteta's side arrive in the south coast without a number of injured players, including Bukayo Saka.
The England international has only missed four Premier League games since the 2021-22 campaign and it appears to have had a significant impact on the game, with around 25 minutes of poor action.
However, a moment of contention in the 30th minute changed the game. William Saliba challenged Evanilson, referee Robert Jones initially showed the centre-back a yellow card, but after VAR intervened, the Frenchman was shown the first red card of his career.
Saliba left the field, dragging along the unfortunate Raheem Sterling when Arteta sacrificed him to change the defense.
With the advantage in numbers, Bournemouth continuously attacked Arsenal's goal, in which Antoine Semenyo forced goalkeeper David Raya to excellently block a shot from a tight angle.
Still in control after the break, the Cherries missed a golden opportunity to take the lead when Semenyo fired over the bar while unmarked in the box.
Arsenal also had a good chance, starting from a mistake by goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, but substitute Gabriel Martinelli's shot was too weak.
Immediately after that chance, Arsenal conceded a goal, from their strongest weapon - corner kicks. In the 70th minute, Justin Kluivert and Ryan Christie combined to bring home the opening goal.
Ten minutes later, Jakub Kiwior, who replaced Sterling, made a poor back pass, forcing Raya into a one-on-one with Evanilson in the box. The referee pointed to the penalty spot and Kluivert doubled Bournemouth's lead.
Arsenal’s subsequent response was ineffective, with the Gunners eventually suffering their first away defeat in the Premier League this calendar year, and their first defeat to Bournemouth since January 2018.
The Gunners also missed out on becoming just the second Premier League side, after Liverpool, to reach 2,000 wins in the English top flight.
They will face Liverpool next weekend without the suspended Saliba.
Arteta's side remain third in the table, but could see their points gap widen by Liverpool and Man City.
