Martin Keown says he 'could see little things happening all over the pitch' as 'nervous' Arsenal succumb to 'pressure' in defeat to Bournemouth

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Martin Keown deemed Arsenal's 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth a "huge disappointment" as The Gunners failed to open up a 12-point lead at the top of the table. There remains a nine-point gap between Arsenal and second-placed Manchester City, who now have two games in hand, but Mikel Arteta's men missed a real opportunity to lay down a marker in their bid to end their Premier League title drought.

'They were outplayed' - Keown and Hargreaves assess Arsenal's loss to Bournemouth

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TNT Sports expert Martin Keown believes the pressure was too much for Arsenal on Saturday as they slipped to a 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth.

The Gunners fell behind to a 17th-minute Junior Kroupi strike but were level with 10 minutes of the first half remaining after Viktor Gyokeres rifled past Djordje Petrovic from the penalty spot.

However, Arsenal failed to build upon the Sweden international's 12th league goal of the season as Bournemouth took the initiative with 16 minutes to play through Alex Scott.

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Mikel Arteta's men huffed and puffed, but they failed to haul themselves level for the second time on a frustrating Saturday afternoon in north London.

The result means Arsenal have now lost three of their last four matches in all competitions, following up their Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City with a 2-1 FA Cup loss to Southampton either side of the international break.

TNT Sports pundit Keown labelled the latest setback a "huge disappointment" and believes that the pressure got to the players as the Premier League leaders.

'Potential heartbreaker for Arsenal' - Scott 'waltzes' through to restore Bournemouth's lead

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"Huge disappointment," Keown began. "Bournemouth were magnificent, but how many times are we saying that now - Southampton were last week.

"You’ve got to be better than you were today. Not developing play through midfield, Bournemouth again pressed exceptionally well.

"I’ve written down here ‘stick together’. You’re going to have to. You’ve got a huge game in midweek and everyone is going to be writing you off now.

"Does that change the psychology, does that help the players? It seems like the pressure today was too much at times.

"And the energy, they were lacking energy. Bournemouth were fantastic in the duels, they seemed really fired up.

"I know they’ve had 22 days’ rest and Arsenal have had a lot of football, but nonetheless it’s nearly there for you, you’ve got to find the energy from somewhere.

"Bournemouth were just too good for Arsenal today. I’m not a nervous type. And they look like that.

"When you’re in competition it’s easy, because you can exert all that effort. And I could see little things happening all over the pitch."

'Make sure the wheels do not come off'

Keown added that the "leaders" in the squad need to come forward as Arsenal look to avoid an end-of-season crumbling in their pursuit for a first Premier League title since 2003/04.

"Now people have got to stand up, personalities have got to come forward, leaders have to emerge," former Arsenal defender Keown continued.

"Because the pressure will come on. It’s still in your hands because Manchester City are next in the Premier League.

"And you’ve got to play the Champions League in midweek and make sure the wheels do not come off this season."

'In a beautiful spot' - Iraola praises Scott after goal in Arsenal win

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Arsenal face the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Sporting CP on Wednesday - live on TNT Sports and HBO Max - as they look to follow up last week's 1-0 win in Lisbon with a positive result.

And they follow up their European clash with a potentially season-defining visit to Manchester City.

City may well close the gap to six points by the time their clash at the Etihad Stadium comes about with Pep Guardiola's side in action against Chelsea on Sunday.

'Not a big fan of it'

Arsenal will need to quickly move on from Saturday's defeat as they look to rescue their season in their double bid.

In order to do so, they will need a steady foundation. And TNT Sports expert Owen Hargreaves felt that was something they lacked in the defeat to Bournemouth.

Hargreaves praised goalkeeper David Raya ahead of the game, but claimed he is "not a big fan" of modern-day goalkeeping and looking to play the ball out from the back.

"It’s a current trend, a modern trend, and I’m not a big fan of it," Hargreaves said.

"The ball goes back to Raya all the time and for a team that presses as well as Bournemouth, all you’re doing is inviting pressure.

"Raya received 38 back passes today. This is against one of the best pressing teams in the country, so that allows them to squeeze up.

'A twist in the title race!' - Kroupi goal stuns The Emirates and gives Bournemouth early lead

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"That’s a remarkable stat - David Raya played the second most passes in this Arsenal team today, only Declan Rice played one more. He is brilliant with his feet, but why would you encourage that?

"Then the crowd gets a little bit nervous. Even though he’s brilliant with his feet, there were a couple of passes in the second half that were high risk and Iraola knew that.

"I just think get the ball forward quicker, get it into the channel, win duels, second balls, and then you get up the pitch."

Stream the Premier League, men’s and women’s FA Cups, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

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