Arsenal have gone from fighting for the Premier League title to now having to look over their shoulders for a top-five finish in wake of Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Bournemouth.
The Gunners took the lead in the first half through Declan Rice, who was one of the best players for the home side on the day.
However, Arsenal were then caught out by Antoine Semenyo’s long throw-in, which enabled Dean Huijsen to head home in the 67th minute.
Then, in the 75th minute, Bournemouth sealed their first ever away win at Arsenal when Evanilson bundled in following a corner.
Ian Wright did not pull any punches when he gave his verdict on the Gunners after the final whistle went on such a disappointing defeat.
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Ian Wright accuses Arsenal of not being ‘up for it’ against Bournemouth
Wright was impressed by how Arsenal had played in the first half, pleasing them on how focused they were despite such a huge game next week at PSG.
At half-time, Wright told Premier League Productions: “I am pleased with the way we’re playing simply because there is a massive game coming next week and you have to be focused on this one.
“It’s no surprise that Declan Rice has had such an influence on the game, and you can imagine when Merino is there how dangerous they can be.
“It’s a strange game because we know what’s coming, but Bournemouth are still quite dangerous.”
However, Wright was extremely disappointed with Arsenal at full time, accusing them of not being up for the fight against the Cherries.
“Unfortunately, like I mentioned about Palace, Everton, Brentford, the draws, there are games that if they had won, they would be a little bit more comfortable now,” said Wright.
“But having to still try and qualify for the Champions League, and be in the semi-finals, and to raise yourself again to earn the right to win, I don’t think we were up for it today, we didn’t earn the right to win it.”
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Why Arsenal should be getting nervous
Arsenal have now played 35 games and they sit second on 67 points, but Manchester City are just three points behind, having played the same amount of games.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United are fourth on 62 points, while Chelsea and Nottingham Forest are fifth and sixth respectively on 60 points – but all three have played 34 games.
With City having nine more points to play for and Newcastle, Chelsea and Forest having 12 more points to play for, Arsenal need to refocus quickly on the league.
Otherwise, they risk losing their grip on second and, if things go really bad, there’s the risk they could slip out of the top five altogether.
On the plus side, Arsenal are currently monitoring several Bournemouth players, and they’ve certainly passed the audition.
