10-man Arsenal lose 2-0 to Bournemouth

Arsenal have suffered a shock 2-0 defeat away to Bournemouth on Sunday morning (AEDT) in the English Premier League.

Reduced to 10 men after French centre-back William Saliba was shown a red card at the half-hour mark, the resistant Gunners eventually fell behind in the 70th minute when Ryan Christie scored from a brilliant corner set-piece.

The hosts then doubled their lead seven minutes later through substitute Justin Kluivert, who converted from the spot after Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya brought down Francisco Evanilson inside the box.

Dropping all three points at the Vitality Stadium means Mikel Arteta’s men are third on the table with 17 points, level on points with Manchester City, and one point behind league leaders Liverpool.

The extent of Arsenal’s defeat could be amplified on Sunday if Liverpool and champions Manchester City win their respective matches.

This was Arsenal’s third red card in eight games, an outcome that complicated things for the Gunners, according to manager Mikel Arteta.

“Very disappointed with the result, we came here to win the game,” said Arteta after the match.

“It is tough enough to play against this opponent, but then we have to play 60/70 minutes with 10 men.”

“It is the third time we play with 10 players and it makes things very complicated.”

“We tried very hard, had the biggest chance of the game with Martinelli. It is a game of errors, today we made two big ones.”

Arsenal return to action on Tuesday night where they will host Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth will be at Villa Park next Saturday, with top sports bookmakers offering $1.89 odds for Aston Villa to defeat the Cherries ($3.91) in the EPL.

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