What Arsenal needed ahead of the most significant match in their recent history was momentum. Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta, that did not happen, as the Gunners’ preparations for Wednesday’s crucial Champions League semi-final second leg at Paris St-Germain were disrupted by a 2-1 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday.
Arsenal’s hopes for the remainder of this season depend entirely on their success in Europe. They head to the French capital needing to overcome a 1-0 deficit from the first leg.
The challenge looks even more daunting after Bournemouth rallied from an early goal by Declan Rice to secure two second-half goals. However, Arteta believes that such a loss could ultimately benefit his team.
“It didn’t create the right momentum,” he said. “It created a lot of anger, frustration, rage, and disappointment. Let’s use all of that on Wednesday. That’s what we have to do.”
While Arsenal was not at their best against Bournemouth, they controlled much of the game, as the visitors did not register a shot on target for the first hour. However, their first attempt did lead to an equalizer when Dean Huijsen headed in from Antoine Semenyo’s long throw.
A set-piece once again proved to be Arsenal’s downfall for the winning goal, as a corner was flicked on to the far post, allowing Evanilson to bundle the ball in.
This season, 38.7% of the goals Arsenal has conceded have come from set-piece situations, the highest percentage in the English top flight.
Arsenal needs to score on Wednesday and simultaneously contain a PSG side that has scored a league-high 42 goals in 16 Ligue 1 home games this season.
In their last five Premier League matches, Arsenal has taken the lead, but they failed to hold onto that advantage in four of those games. Overall, they have dropped 21 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, matching their highest total in a single campaign (also 21 points in 2019-20).
Another concern arising from Saturday’s defeat is that after Bournemouth took the lead in the 75th minute, Arsenal did not manage a single attempt on target or off-target for the remainder of the match.
