Saturday was just an awful night for Arsenal. There haven’t been many of them in recent times, but that was certainly one of them.
It was one of those games when everyone was just a bit off. There were so many sloppy errors and that’s something you just don’t really get from Arsenal any more, so it was strange to see.
Look at Leandro Trossard’s pass that led to the incident that saw William Saliba sent off and then there was Jakub Kiwior’s back pass which led to the penalty. It was just a really slack performance from Arsenal and they were punished for it.
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I thought the Saliba red was just about justified, but I can also see the argument that once the referee has made his decision on the pitch, then the VAR shouldn’t really get involved.
Was it really a clear and obvious mistake? Saliba and Evanilson were a long way from goal. Referee Rob Jones had a good view of it and he clearly felt there was enough doubt over how the incident would have played out to only give Saliba a yellow.
So you can see why some Arsenal fans feel aggrieved that the VAR decided that a review was needed. The fact that Chelsea centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo escaped a red for a very similar incident against Liverpool 24 hours later only added to their sense of injustice.
But personally I can see why Saliba was sent off and I do think the Tosin incident was slightly different because of how close Levi Colwill was and the direction the ball was traveling in.
It was clumsy from Saliba and it summed up Arsenal’s display really. He didn’t need to commit to the challenge, but he panicked a bit. Yes, Evanilson was ahead of him, but had he let the incident play out I’m sure he would have got back and dealt with the Bournemouth striker.
It was just a really poor night for Arsenal and I don’t think the team selection helped. I was really surprised that Arteta went with all three of Declan Rice, Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino in midfield. That always looked like a midfield that would struggle to create and that’s how it played out.
With No Martin Odegaard or Bukayo Saka and with Gabriel Martinelli only starting on the bench, I would have liked to have seen Ethan Nwaneri start just to give the team a bit more creativity and attacking intent in those central areas.
It will be interesting to see what Arteta does against Liverpool on Sunday because that’s a huge game for Arsenal now. They have to get back on track and win that one and I’m sure the performance will be very different.
The fact that Saliba will be missing is far from ideal but Arsenal do have plenty of other options. If Jurrien Timber is fit, I would bring him in at right-back and move Ben White into the centre to play alongside Gabriel Magalhaes. That seems like the best option to me, because I can’t see Kiwior starting that one.
Arsenal still hope that Martin Odegaard will be available to feature before the next international break.
November has always been the month they have had in mind for his return and I’m not aware of anything that has happened that has changed that.
Obviously they want him back as quickly as possible because he’s such an important player, but they will not take any risks with him.
His return will be carefully managed because the last thing Arteta will want is for Odegaard to come back too early and suffer any sort of setback.
You can see how much the side misses his creativity in those central areas, so it will be a huge boost to get him back.
Bukayo Saka didn’t train on Monday ahead of the Shakhtar game, so he is obviously a doubt for Tuesday night and Liverpool on Sunday might also come too soon for him.
It’s too early to rule him out for that, but you can’t really take any risks when it comes to hamstring injuries.
One thing that is for sure is that Arsenal will do everything they can to have Saka available for the weekend.
They clearly missed both players against Bournemouth. To be without Odegaard is one thing, but to also have Saka out as well was a huge blow.
You could see the creative void that left in the side and they struggled to really cause Bournemouth many problems as a result, even when they had 11 men on the pitch.
It just shows how important it is that both players get back fit as quickly as possible.
Antoine Semenyo has had a strong start to the season for Bournemouth and his comments that he is an Arsenal fan certainly caught the attention of some fans.
I have no idea whether Arsenal have any plans on trying to make his dream of playing for the club come true at some point, but it will be interesting to follow his progress this season.
He certainly plays in an area where the club will look to strengthen their options in the summer and his performances for Bournemouth are clearly making some top clubs take notice.
But I think for someone like Arsenal to really consider making a move for him he will need to show he can maintain a top level consistently over the course of a campaign.
It’s not just about impressing in flashes, it’s about doing it consistently and showing you are ready to move up to the next level.
Jamie Gittens is another player who has been named as a potential target for Arsenal.
But, like Semenyo, it’s really too early to be talking with any real substance about who the club might look to bring in to strengthen their squad.
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal look to do any business in January. I’m sure they will if they can, but we all know it’s a very difficult month to do anything significant when it comes to transfers.
That’s not to say that they won’t dip into the market. If the right opportunity arises then I’m sure they will go for it, but it’s still more likely they wait until the summer to spend big money.
Gittens has caught the eye of late and we know Arsenal will be looking at options out wide. They have Raheem Sterling right now, but it’s tough to see that loan being made permanent come the end of the campaign.
So there will be scope to bring someone in and if Gittens continues to perform at a high level then he might be the type of profile Arsenal will consider.
Time will tell.
