Arsenal 1 – 2 B’mouth

Bournemouth blew the Premier League title race wide open as they beat a nervous Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta called on Arsenal fans to be ready for the lunchtime kick-off by bringing their “breakfast, lunch and dinner” to create a hostile atmosphere, but the message did not get through to his players as they produced a sluggish and nervous performance to miss the chance to go 12 points clear at the top of the table.

Junior Kroupi gave Bournemouth a deserved lead (17) before Viktor Gyokeres (35) struck Arsenal’s equalizer from the penalty spot after Ryan Christie blocked Gabriel Magalhaes’ shot with his hand.

Arteta threw on Eberechi Eze, Max Dowman and Leandro Trossard in a bid to ignite his side, but it was Bournemouth who looked most likely to find a winner, and that came through Alex Scott (74) as the visitors celebrated a second successive win at the Emirates.

There was some booing from the home fans as ‘second again’ came from the away fans at the end of the game, and it could now become a reality after such a lackluster performance from the Gunners, who have finished as runners-up for the past three seasons. Rarely has a nine-point lead at the top looked so fragile.

Man City, who have two games in hand on the Gunners, have the chance to cut their lead at the top to just six points when they visit Chelsea, alive Sky Sports (kick-off 16:30) Sunday.

The Gunners then travel to the Etihad next Sunday in a game that takes on even greater significance after a third successive domestic defeat for Arteta’s men with major doubts over whether they can secure their first title in 22 years.

Arteta: Defeat a big punch to the face

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta:

“It’s extremely disappointing. It’s a big punch in the face; it’s about how we respond now.

“Credit to them for what they’ve done, they haven’t lost in 11 games for a reason.

“They got a lot of things right. When we had anticipation in the first half, when we got the ball back, we were far from efficient.

“The first opportunity they had to attack the box was a deflection, a very bad defensive move and it cost us a goal.

“It’s something we have to deal with emotionally. We tried to recover and press them, we scored from the penalty and you expect a different game.

“But we did a lot of weird things today.”

‘A terrible, terrible result’

Sky Sports’ Paul Merson on Soccer Saturday:

“Stay away from the newspapers and social media, because everyone will say here comes the meltdown!

“A terrible, terrible result. Bad performance, no energy, no real ‘let’s take the game to Bournemouth’. It’s a sloppy result.”

Asked if there was a glimmer of hope for Arsenal, he added: “I don’t think City will beat Chelsea on Sunday.”

Arsenal’s remaining league fixtures

It doesn’t get any easier for the Gunners…

• April 19: Man City (a) – live on Sky Sports
• April 25: Newcastle (h) – live on Sky Sports
• May 2: Fulham (h) – live on Sky Sports
• May 10: West Ham (a) – live on Sky Sports
• May 17: Burnley (h)
• May 24: Crystal Palace

Iraola: We rose to the occasion

Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola on TNT Sports:

“I’m very happy for the players, in this kind of big game you have to get the opportunity.

“We showed personality and enjoyed some moments on the ball which is sometimes difficult against Arsenal.

“It was good to get the job done, coming from a lot of draws which always brings a question mark, but three points today, which is massive for us.

“It was a strange situation before this game, coming off five draws in a row.

“You can’t fully enjoy it, but we needed this game to put us in a better position in the standings.”

Story of the match in statistics…

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