Arsenal suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, a result that felt deserved given their performance. The match started slowly, with Bournemouth taking the initiative around the 30-minute mark when William Saliba was controversially shown a red card.
Initially booked for a foul on Evanilson, Saliba’s dismissal came after VAR prompted the referee to review the incident. This pivotal moment turned the match into a battle of offense versus defense—a pattern Arsenal has faced this season. Despite holding strong for a significant portion of the game and nearly scoring through Gabriel Martinelli, they eventually conceded from a well-executed corner taken by Ryan Christie. Later, Evanilson capitalized on a careless back-pass from Jakub Kiwior, leading to a foul by David Raya in the box, which allowed Justin Kluivert to convert the resulting penalty, sealing Bournemouth’s victory.
Here’s how football.london rated the Arsenal players:
**David Raya:** Struggled with some shaky build-up play and conceded a penalty. Made a few decent saves but was below par. **Rating:** 5.
**Ben White:** Had trouble against Ouattara and picked up a yellow card for time-wasting. His forward play was limited. **Rating:** 5.
**William Saliba:** Made a critical error leading to his red card, panicking after a back-pass from Trossard. **Rating:** 4.
**Gabriel:** Responded well after the red card with key blocks, keeping the team organized but couldn’t prevent the goal. **Rating:** 6.
**Riccardo Calafiori:** Struggled offensively at first but defended well after Saliba’s dismissal. Needs to improve his tackling discipline. **Rating:** 6.
**Thomas Partey:** Showed good work rate but was lacking in quality on the ball. Made several important tackles. **Rating:** 6.
**Mikel Merino:** Had a subdued debut, appearing slow in possession, though he put in good effort overall. **Rating:** 5.
**Declan Rice:** His set-piece deliveries were disappointing; despite making interceptions, he struggled with ball control. **Rating:** 5.
**Raheem Sterling:** Was unfortunate to be substituted after the red card; he posed a threat on the counter but lacked support. **Rating:** 6.
**Kai Havertz:** Worked hard up front but was often isolated. Criticism for failing to mark during the corner leading to the goal. **Rating:** 6.
**Leandro Trossard:** His back-pass that led to Saliba’s red card was a critical error, and he was generally ineffective offensively. **Rating:** 5.
**SUBSTITUTES:**
**Jakub Kiwior:** Defensively sound until a poor back-pass resulted in the penalty. Subbed off shortly after. **Rating:** 5.
**Gabriel Martinelli:** Made an impact with a good cross after coming on but missed a crucial chance. **Rating:** 6.
**Gabriel Jesus:** Came on too late to receive a rating. **n/a.**
**Ethan Nwaneri:** Came on too late to receive a rating.