Arsenal suffered a deflating 2-1 loss against Bournemouth in their latest Premier League fixture at Emirates Stadium on May 3.
The Gunners cruised into a 34th-minute lead courtesy of Declan Rice’s crisp finish. However that was undone in the second half, as two blatant errors in defence meant they suffered just a second home EPL defeat of 2024/25.
Arsenal legend and football pundit Ian Wright was furious with the Arsenal players and their casual defending for both goals.
Cherries defender Dean Huijsen headed home from a long throw to bring the visitors back into the game 67 minutes before Evanilson stabbed home the winner eight minutes later.
In the build-up to the first goal, the Arsenal defenders failed to cover Huijsen in the box, as he glanced home a fine header, and they were caught out again by Evailson.
In their last five Premier League games, Mikel Arteta’s men have secured only one win, a 4-0 thumping against relegated Ipswich Town.
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The North Londoners have the best defensive record in the league this season, but Gabriel Magalhaes’ absence, has shaken things up ahead of a vital trip to PSG.
What did Ian Wright say about Arsenal’s defence vs. Bournemouth?
Wright was unhappy with the attitude of Arsenal’s defenders in the second half as they let a lead slip away.
“The two goals were soft goals,” he told Premier League Productions [via Football365] after the defeat.
“I don’t want to dig the boys out because I know what’s coming and I know how much it means to them. But at the same time, you need to put in a better performance than that.”
“For the first goal, I think it’s a really good goal from where he is, but the marking?
“Both defenders are not looking at the player who is about to score. That was really strange to see, especially when you know how diligent Arsenal are with their defensive work, but not this season, they haven’t been as good from set pieces,
The 61-year-old highlighted Martin Odegaard as an issue in the second goal with the Arsenal captain in the firing line of some recent criticism due to his underwhelming performances.
“When you look at that second goal, no one challenges. The ball is great, but if you look at Odegaard, he’s not looking at the ball he’s reacting off the man.
“If he is faced around, maybe the same as Lewis-Skelly, he can have a better opportunity to move into a position to stop it. He can’t see anything even if it has come off his arm.”
“It’s a concern. The biggest concern though is how static we were. We don’t have Gabriel to organise things and be a bit more aggressive. But the way we were in those incidents, no one seemed to be doing anything. It seemed very easy. It is poor defending.”
Arsenal now head off to Paris to lock horns with PSG in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League semi final. The North London outfit are tasked with overturning in the French capital after losing 1-0 at home in the first leg.
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