Bournemouth took full advantage of two refereeing decisions that went in their favor and dispatched a flat Arsenal side who had hoped to rise to the top of the table.
The away team predictably had the ball in their hands in the opening phase, but Andoni Iraola’s men looked more threatening and fought fiercely out of possession. When David Raya gifted the ball to the opponent, Antoine Semenyo missed a handy opportunity.
Then, with the match moving at a tepid pace, came the crucial moment: a reckless tackle from William Saliba on Evanilson as the Brazilian appeared to be racing towards goal. Referee Rob Jones gave a yellow card, but the VAR sent him to the monitor and there was no escape from a red card.
Arsenal tried not to let the decision hinder them and a few minutes later two summer signings, making their first start of the season, created a good chance.
Bournemouth made the most of two refereeing decisions that went in their favor as they dispatched a flat Arsenal side
Justin Kluivert headed home with an arrogant no-look penalty to cause the Gunners even more misery
The result was a blow to Mikel Arteta’s men, who were hoping to top the table
Raheem Sterling found Mikel Merino, who arrived from Real Sociedad to much fanfare, with a cutback but the Spaniard could only hit the side netting.
However, it was soon the end of the hapless Englishman’s afternoon, as the Chelsea loanee was grabbed in place of Jakob Kiwior in a defensive reshuffle.
Bournemouth threatened with a couple of solid chances, which fell to Semenyo and Marcus Tavernier, but Raya was equal to the task of keeping the scoreline goalless and Arsenal went all in at half-time after a spirited response.
The home side came out firing and Semenyo soon had his head in his hands again after he somehow managed to fire the ball over the crossbar from just ten yards out and into pockets of space.
As Bournemouth entered the second period, it seemed only a matter of time before they would break the deadlock and take a big step towards ending a rotten spell against the Gunners dating back to 2019.
And it came from a corner, Arteta’s favorite way of getting a goal turned against him.
Lewis Cook fired a ball to the edge of the area, Justin Kluivert made a dummy and Ryan Christie fired home to complete the training ground routine.
VAR then came back to bite Arsenal again as David Raya brought down Evanilson after being sold short by a pass from Jakob Kiwior.
As the match moved along at a tepid pace, the crucial moment arrived: a reckless tackle from William Saliba on Evanilson as the Brazilian appeared to be racing towards goal. A red card followed
Defensive stalwart Saliba had to leave and Arsenal struggled to keep up with Bournemouth
Antoine Semenyo missed a series of good chances as the Gunners held on
But when David Raya fell short due to a pass from Jakob Kiwior, he committed a costly foul
Kluivert then fired home an arrogant no-look penalty to cause the Gunners even more misery.
Bukayo Saka was a late absentee from Arsenal’s playing list and as the away side continued to pursue fruitless dead ends, the Englishman’s importance in their front line became increasingly apparent.