Mikel Arteta warns Arsenal players after seeing 'a lot of strange things' in Bournemouth defeat - 'Fight or you're out’

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Mikel Arteta did not mince his words after Arsenal fell to a third defeat in their last four games. A 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth increased the nerves around the Emirates, handing Manchester City the chance to make up some ground before their head-to-head clash at the Etihad next weekend. Arteta told TNT Sports that his players must "fight", adding that he was concerned by "strange things".

'We did a lot of strange things' - Arteta reflects on Bournemouth defeat

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Mikel Arteta has warned his under-performing Arsenal players to ”stand up and fight, or you are out” after Bournemouth delivered a ”punch in the face” in their Premier League title pursuit.

The Gunners romped into a nine-point lead at the summit of the table in March, but have since suffered an alarming dip in form as nerves start to fray.

Bournemouth claimed a deserved 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday as Arteta’s side put in a below-par performance in their first league match for almost a month.

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"It’s really disappointing, obviously," Arteta told TNT Sports. "It’s a big punch in the face, and it’s about how we react now."

Asked about how much the players were hurting, he responded: "A lot. It has to hurt, and you have to take it on the chin.

"There are no grey areas now. You stand up and go for the fight, or you are out. That’s it. That’s what this level is going to require now.”

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

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Arsenal remain nine points clear of Manchester City on top, but their rivals have two games in hand, and get another chance to make up ground when they host Arteta’s side at the Etihad Stadium next Sunday.

The Gunners were beaten 2-0 by City in the EFL Cup final in March, the first of three defeats in four games that also included a shock 2-1 defeat away to Championship side Southampton in the FA Cup.

Their one victory during that run came in Lisbon last week when they claimed a 1-0 victory over Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg, and Arteta will try to finish the job with the second leg in London on Wednesday night - live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

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With potentially decisive games in Europe and the Premier League coming up, Arteta was asked if this was the biggest week of his career.

"It’s a big week, a lot at stake," he said. "We are still in a really good position in both competitions, but we need to do better."

Addressing the game, Arteta was unhappy with his team’s performance, accusing his players of doing ”a lot of strange things".

'We know how good we are' - Gyokeres defiant after Bournemouth blow

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Junior Kroupi fired the Cherries into an early lead before Viktor Gyokeres levelled from the penalty spot before the break, but a well-worked Alex Scott goal sealed victory for the visitors 16 minutes from time.

"Credit to them for what they’ve done, it’s a team that hasn’t lost for 11 games for a reason, because they do a lot of things right," Arteta said.

"When we had such possession in the first half, a lot of opportunities, when we break the press and we regain the ball, to run, try and open the spaces, we were far from efficient.

"The first opportunity they had to attack the box, it’s a deflection. We had a really bad defending action, and it cost us the goal. That is, emotionally, something we have to deal with.

"We tried to recover from that, tried to push them, scored the goal from the penalty. In the second half, you expect a different game, but we did a lot of strange things today, I would say."

Arteta was then asked if the level his players delivered came as a surprise.

"Yes, because we’ve been very consistent," he said.

"It can happen, this is football. Some days you have to give credit to the opposition as well for what they do, the way they capitalised - I don’t know how many shots they had - but the way they capitalised on our actions and our errors. We were far from the level today.”

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Video credit: TNT Sports

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