Key events
Arsenal have been given a dose of their own set-piece medicine. This was a gem, straight from the training ground. A left-wing corner was curled low and hard towards the near post, where Kluivert flicked the ball nonchalantly into the space near the penalty spot. Christie arrived late in the area, opened his body and sidefooted a first-time shot high into the net. Brilliant goal.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-0 Arsenal (Christie 70)
Ryan Christie rams Bournemouth in front!
69 min: Fine save by Kepa! He needed to make it, too, because it was his awful pass straight to Merino that led to the chance. He waited for Martinelli’s run before guiding the ball into his bath, and Martinelli’s first-time shot was superbly saved to his left by Kepa.
68 min Ben White is booked for timewasting.
67 min Apologies, I spent the last couple of minutes losing the will, during which time an Arsenal corner led to a header that was comfortably saved. It wasn’t a chance.
66 min “The FA rule, I believe, is that a red card should be given for denial of an obvious (not a clear) goal scoring opportunity,” says Sam. “Evanilson’s goal scoring opportunity was not *obvious*. One would need to know how fast Ben White is relative to Evanlison, and what the distance is that Evanilson and White would need to cover in order for White to present an obstacle to Evanilson’s run on goal. One would also need to know how much Evanilson would be slowed down by keeping control of the ball on his way towards goal. White doesn’t have to worry about keeping the ball at the right distance ahead of him, but Evanilson does.
”There was nothing obvious about this goal scoring opportunity. That is why so few red cards are given when a foul happens that close to the halfway line, unless I am much mistaken.”
If there was nothing obvious about it, why did two senior referees and multiple ex-players all concur it was an obvious/clear opportunity? You can argue it was the wrong decision but to say there was “nothing obvious” about it is patently absurd and fr- oh I can’t be bothered any more.
64 min: Arsenal substitution Gabriel Martinelli replaces Leandro Trossard.
63 min: Triple substitution for Bournemouth Dango Ouattara, Alex Scott and Marcus Tavernier are replaced by Justin Kluivert, Luis Sinisterra and Ryan Christie.
Antoine Semenyo was booked just before that substitution.
62 min It’s a statement of the offensively obvious but you always have a chance with 10 men if you have an outstanding defence. That was the case with Arsenal in the late 1990s, when the Back Four just rolled their sleeves up even higher if somebody was sent off, and it’s the same with this Arsenal team. Overall I think they’ve managed the game really well since Saliba was sent off.
60 min Tavernier flicks a speculative header across goal and wide. Bournemouth are showing the first signs of impatience.
I’m telling you: 1-0 to the Arsenal, 98th minute, Christopher Wreh.
59 min “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one reminded of a similar sending off for Gary Rowett?” sniffs Tom Hopkins. “Pulling back Brian Deane on the half way line in a Derby v Leeds cup game in 1996?
”From memory, some rather harsh views were aired about the probability of Deane sprinting half the length of the pitch in any circumstances. I feel that VAR is currently too objective – let’s liven it up by factoring in the ability of the fouled player to take advantage of the opportunity denied him.”
So even if Teddy Sheringham had a 20-yard start on the defender it wouldn’t count as clear goalscoring opportunity?
57 min A deep cross from the left is palmed into a dangerous area by Raya, who is relieved to see a lilac and light blue shirt get to the ball first.
56 min Havertz was a passenger in the second half at Manchester City but he is giving Arsenal an occasional outball here.
51 min There’s no Bukayo Saka to waft the corner under the crossbar. Instead Rice takes and Havertz heads over at the near post. An eighth-chance at best.
50 min Havertz does superbly to win a corner for Arsenal, beating Scott and then Kerkez on the right. Gabriel wanders forward with mayhem in mind…
48 min “On US television, Tim Howard thought the red card may be justified because Raya was backpedalling and not coming to meet the ball,” says Adam Roberts.
Raya definitely wasn’t a factor. The only possible case for Arsenal is that, because Evanilson had so far to run, White might have been able to get back. But he was so far across that it feels like a bit of a reach.
47 min: Semenyo misses a great chance! Kerkez’s backheel releases Ouattara on the left. He looks up and picks out Semenyo, weirdly unmarked at the far post. Semenyo watches the bounce carefully – and then sidefoots over the bar from 12 yards. That’s the best chance of the match by a distance. Maybe, as Alan Smith suggests on Sky, he had too much time.
46 min Bournemouth begin the second half, having switched Semenyo from left to right. Arsenal’s shape looks like 4-4-1, with Merino playing from the right and Trossard on the left.
Bournemouth substitution Adam Smith replaces Julian Araujo at right-back.
“Can anyone explain why no one has chosen to mention that Evanilson was clearly offside but no-one thought to check during the VAR review?” writes Mark. “Commentators never even raised it as a possibility in discussion, and officials clearly jumped straight to sentencing. Are fouls committed in an offside position now punishable? I must have missed that EPL rule change…”
You’re right: he was clearly in an offside position. And the pass was played by Leandro Trossard, so he wasn’t offside.
Half-time reading
Half time: Bournemouth 0-0 Arsenal
A dullish tactical battle came to life when William Saliba was sent off for denying Evanilson a clear goalscoring opportunity. Arsenal hunkered down, withstood the inevitable onslaught and were looking more comfortable by the end of the half. Make no mistake, all results are still on the table.
45+4 min “Thought it was a red live and I think the ref did too,” says Sean Orlowicz. “But he gave a yellow knowing he could double check on replay. I’m okay with that approach. Ben White wasn’t close enough to stop a one on one chance for Evanilson.”
I’m not sure about that, only because the threshold for VAR intervention is much higher this season so he couldn’t be sure he’d be told to go to the monitor. But yes, the more you see it, the harder it becomes to argue against the decision. White was too far across and there was nobody else who could have got back to cover.
45+2 min Evanilson makes a good run in the inside-left channel, away from Kiwior, who recovers well to concede a corner. It’s swung straight into the loving arms of David Raya.
45+1 min Four minutes of added time. Partey volleys over form 20 yards, an awkward chance.
45 min There’s been lots of Bournemouth pressure since the red card. This reeks of 1-0 to the Arsenal, with the winning goal scored from a set-piece in the 97th minute, probably by Steve Bould.
44 min “You know what they say about red cards,” says Niall Mullen. “One is unfortunate, two is careless, but three is clearly a Premier League conspiracy.”
Arf. I keep thinking how preposterously good Arsene Wenger’s early terms could be with 10 men. Anfield 2001, St James’ Park 1996, Upton Park 1998 and so on.
41 min: Good save by Raya! Semenyo storms down the left, far too quick for Kiwior, and drives a low cross. It’s spilled by the sprawling Raya, but he bounces to his feet to stop Tavernier’s follow up with his outstretched right foot. Excellent save.
40 min Calafiori has stayed at left-back, with Kiwior replacing Saliba in the middle. It looks like a 4-3-2 formation with Trossard supporting Havertz.
39 min You be the ref.
38 min “Bad all round,” says Charles Antaki. “Bad by Saliba, bad for Saliba, bad for this game, bad for the next game and, who knows, bad for Arsenal’s title chase. We had all been asking ourselves when this game was going get interesting. Well…”
37 min: Arsenal substitution Jakub Kiwior comes for Raheem Sterling. That probably means Calafiori will move to centre half. We don’t know yet because Bournemouth have a series of corners.
36 min Bournemouth have come to life. Semenyo cuts inside from the left, sells both White and Sterling a delicious dummy and goes back on the outside. Then he blasts a left-foot shot from a tight angle that is pushed round the near post by Raya.
35 min: Just wide from Merino! Sterling’s cross is half cleared by the diving Senesi at the near post. Merino controls it deftly, 15 yards out, and hits an instant shot that ricochets just wide off Senesi. The referee gave a goalkick but I’m almost certain that took a deflection.
35 min Saliba will now miss next Sunday’s Premier League game against Liverpool. Arsenal aren’t exactly short of centre-halves but he is hard to replace.
