Bournemouth recorded only their second ever Premier League victory over the Gunners as Andoni Iraola’s side ran out 2-0 winners against ten-man Arsenal at the Vitality Stadium
The Cherries ended Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the season courtesy of second-half goals from substitutes Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert after William Saliba had been sent off before the break.
Saliba’s dismissal mid-way through the first half changed the complexion of the game entirely, but Bournemouth made the most of the numerical advantage as Iraola emerged victorious in the battle of the Basque Country managers.
Mikel Arteta was without Bukayo Saka for the clash on the south coast after suffering an injury on international duty, while summer signing Mikel Merino made his first start for the Gunners.
Despite Saka’s absence, Arsenal were still firm favourites going into the tie, with the last time Bournemouth taking points in a league game with their north London opponents coming during Arteta’s first game in charge.
We are decent pic.twitter.com/i9Xu1tW2lu
— AFC Bournemouth 
(@afcbournemouth) October 19, 2024
The opening 20 minutes, however, was largely uneventful: a contest between two teams with similar playing styles that yielded very few chances.
But on 27 minutes came the turning point in the match, as Saliba was shown a straight red card for a pull back on Evanilson.
Saliba had initially been cautioned for tugging Evanilson back as the Brazilian looked set to race clear after latching on to Leandro Trossard’s wayward pass, but the decision was changed to red following a VAR review.
It meant that for the third time this season, Arsenal were forced to play a significant portion of the game a man down.
The dismissal appeared to spark the crowd to life as the noise levels inside the Vitality Stadium began to grow.
Bournemouth suddenly saw an opportunity for an upset. Antoine Semenyo stung the palms of David Raya in the Arsenal goal before Raheem…
Author : George Nash
Publish date : 2024-10-19 18:54:25
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
The post Cherries end ten-man Arsenal’s unbeaten start to season first appeared on Foot & Soccer.
—-
Author : footsoccer
Publish date : 2024-10-19 19:18:03
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.