Arteta aggro as Gunners shoot themselves in the foot at Bournemouth after VAR drama
Arsenal have warmed up for their Champions League semi-final second-leg showdown at Paris St Germain with another deflating home defeat, this time 2-1 to Bournemouth in the Premier League.
Declan Rice had fired the Gunners ahead after 34 minutes but Andoni Iraola’s visitors staged a spirited second-half comeback at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Dean Huijsen equalised in the 67th minute and eight minutes later Evanilson bundled in the winner to help Bournemouth complete a league double over the Gunners and boost their own faint European qualification prospects.
It was hardly the way coach Mikel Arteta would have wanted to go into Wednesday’s crucial second leg in Paris after his side had been beaten 1-0 at the Emirates in midweek.
“Certainly what happened today is that if you defend the way we’ve done, very few set-pieces but very poorly, in the league you’re going to get punished. It doesn’t matter if you are ahead or behind in the scoring,” he said.
“We certainly wanted to create a really good vibe, a positive result would really help us to build what we wanted towards Wednesday.
“So what we have created now is a lot of rage, anger, frustration and a bad feeling in the tummy. So make sure that we use that for Wednesday to have a massive performance in Paris, win the game and be in the final.”
While Arsenal’s title hopes were ended last week, their bid to be runners-up for the third year in a row is now also under threat from Manchester City and Newcastle, and even Champions League qualification is not yet completely nailed on.
It’s been an alarming domestic slump in the second half of the season for the Gunners, who’ve won only three of their last 10 league games and just one of the last five.
Blowing the lead against Bournemouth was the fourth time in five league games that Arsenal have dropped points from a winning position.
There was VAR drama when Evanilson’s winner was examined for a potential handball and although it was cleared, Arteta thought his team had been dudded: “I’ve just seen a few images, it looks different to the decision. But they made that decision.”
Arsenal are now three points ahead of City with three rounds to go, with fourth-placed Newcastle five behind the Gunners with a game in hand.
Youri Tielemans had earlier helped keep Aston Villa in the hunt for Champions League qualification, the midfielder’s first-half header sealing a 1-0 win over Fulham that moved them to seventh, level on points with Chelsea in fifth and Nottingham Forest in sixth.
In a battle between relegated sides, Leicester won for the first time since January by beating last-placed Southampton 2-0.
Leicester gave their fans some rare cheer with only their fifth league win, as club great Jamie Vardy — leaving at the end of the season — scored in the 17th minute and Jordan Ayew added the second from a free kick just before halftime.
Relegated Ipswich also had a decent afternoon as they fought back from 2-0 down to draw with Everton 2-2.
Beto and Dwight McNeil put Everton in control in the Merseyside club’s penultimate game at their venerable Goodison Park home before they move to a new stadium.
But Julio Enciso’s stunning long-range effort before the break sparked a comeback for Ipswich. Substitute George Hirst levelled with a far post header.
with AAP