Mikel Arteta: Arsenal manager 'gutted' by mistakes as unbeaten start comes to an end at Bournemouth

React to this story

Arsenal lost ground in the nascent Premier League title race with an unexpected 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday. After William Saliba was sent off in the first half, goals from substitutes Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert gave the hosts victory and left Arsenal to reflect on a first league defeat of the season. Mikel Arteta said he was "gutted" by the result.

'One of the best' - Managers react to Tuchel becoming new England boss

Video credit: SNTV

Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal's 2-0 loss at Bournemouth was the result of "two big errors".

The Gunners fell to a first league defeat of the season after William Saliba was sent off on the half-hour mark for bringing down striker Evanilson, who was through on goal.

Arsenal held out until the 70th minute, when Ryan Christie put Bournemouth in front, before Evanilson was fouled by David Raya in the box and Justin Kluivert scored the resulting penalty.

Premier League

How to watch Forest v Arsenal on TNT Sports and discovery+

10/09/2025 at 16:42

And Arteta bemoaned the costly mistakes that saw his side leave the Vitality Stadium with nothing.

"We are very disappointed with the result and gutted because we had to play in that context [with 10 players] again," he said in his post-match press conference. "It’s an accident waiting to happen not to get the points in this context.

"I cannot fault the team for the way they approached it. Tonight we made two big errors that cost the game."

Saliba's dismissal was Arsenal's third red card of the season, more than in the entirety of 2023/24 with just eight games played of the new campaign.

While Arteta acknowledged the need to avoid more red cards, he claimed Saliba's sending off was "unpredictable".

"There are things that we have discussed in relation to certain topics," the Arsenal boss said. "What happens today is almost unpredictable. Very difficult to plan it.

"We need to play with 11 versus 11 if we want to win at this level."

Asked if Arsenal could have performed better having lost Saliba, Arteta added: "I don’t know what more we can do. When you play away from home in this league, what we’ve done with 10 is quite remarkable."

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was in a defiant mood despite defeat, insisting he and his team-mates would bounce back.

“I could say a million things,” he said. “But I’m proud of the players. Going down to 10 men was not ideal, we knew that as a group of players.

"We’ve just said in there [the dressing room], that’s three times in eight games that we’ve let our standards slip and if you want to compete at the top you cannot let that happen.

“But again, the reaction we showed to that and the belief, even on the pitch at half-time, that we could go and win the game and the chances that we had. I’m proud of these boys and I’m proud of the mentality that these boys and the club show.

“We’ll keep pushing, we’ll keep fighting on, I think that’s the most important thing."

Arsenal are next in action in the UEFA Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night, live on TNT Sports.

TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024/25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.

Football

Gyokeres 'really excited to get going' as Arsenal complete signing of striker

26/07/2025 at 20:34

Transfers

Petrovic joins Bournemouth from Chelsea to replace Kepa

16/07/2025 at 15:12

Related Matches

Bournemouth

Arsenal