MIKEL ARTETA'S WORRY: DECLAN RICE INJURY THREATENS ARSENAL'S TITLE LEAD
Arsenal secures a vital 2-0 win to go five points clear, but the victory is overshadowed by a calf injury to star midfielder Declan Rice. Arteta is concerned.
After Arsenal's 2-0 victory over Brentford on Wednesday, Mikel Arteta is worried that a growing list of injuries could hurt their chances of winning the Premier League. Declan Rice and Cristhian Mosquera both had to leave the game early.
Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka scored at the Emirates Stadium, putting Arsenal five points ahead of Manchester City, who are in second place.
The Gunners now have an 18-game unbeaten streak and have won their last eight home games.
However, Arteta already has Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba out with injuries. To make matters worse, Mosquera had to be taken off the field right before halftime due to an injury.
Even more concerning, Declan Rice seemed to hurt his calf and was replaced with 10 minutes left in the game.
It's never good when this happens. Declan had to come off, and we're not sure what's wrong yet. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out," Arteta said. He also mentioned that Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard are currently injured.
Declan is able to walk, but he's unable to play. He's been playing a lot, and now we had a game on Wednesday night and have to play again on Saturday morning.
Arsenal has had a tough week, with wins against Tottenham and Bayern Munich and a draw against Chelsea. Because of the packed schedule, Arteta decided to rest Saka, Jurrien Timber, and Eberechi Eze for the Brentford game.
However, all three players had to come off the bench eventually. Arteta is frustrated with the team's injury problems and is questioning the Premier League schedule, especially with an early Saturday game coming up against Aston Villa, who are playing well.
Rest is a good way to put it, considering the circumstances. We had to make some changes, he said.
We had a very tough week in every way. We were asked to play again just three days later, which meant we had less time to recover than our opponents.
It's okay for us to play a lot, but it would be great if they could give us a little more time to rest so that the players' health is better taken care of.
BOURNEMOUTH SHOCK ARSENAL 2-1; ALEX SCOTT HITS 74TH-MINUTE WINNER TO STUN LEAGUE LEADERS
Arsenal fall 2-1 to Bournemouth. Junior Kroupi and Alex Scott secure the shock win to ignite Man City’s title hopes.
Arsenal took a painful hit in the Premier League title chase on Saturday, falling 2-1 at home against Bournemouth. That loss cracked the door open for Manchester City to keep dreaming about overtaking the longtime leaders. Things looked shaky from the start at the Emirates. Junior Kroupi gave Bournemouth an early lead, and even though Arsenal managed to equalise through a Viktor Gyokeres penalty before halftime, they never got their groove back.
Mikel Arteta threw on more attacking players early in the second half, but Arsenal just couldn't break down Andoni Iraola’s lively Bournemouth side. Then, in the 74th minute, Alex Scott finished off a slick passing move, smashing the ball past David Raya to steal the lead again.
Arsenal pressed for another equaliser, but nothing stuck. In the end, it was only their second league loss at home all season, a real setback at a critical stage.
Now, with six games left, Arsenal still sit nine points ahead of City in second. They're desperate for their first Premier League trophy since 2004, but things suddenly feel a lot tighter. If Guardiola’s side beats Chelsea on Sunday and then topples the Gunners at the Etihad next week, that lead drops to just three points.
Arsenal came into this game on a high after edging Sporting Lisbon 1-0 in the Champions League quarterfinal midweek. But they looked oddly flat against Bournemouth, who moved the ball better and showed more energy right from kickoff.
That first Bournemouth goal in the 17th minute was smart team play; Ryan Christie threaded a perfect pass to Adrien Truffert, whose cross bounced off William Saliba and landed neatly for Kroupi to tap in. At 19, Kroupi became the first teenager since Robbie Keane in 1999/2000 to hit 10 Premier League goals in his debut season.
Kai Havertz missed a golden opportunity moments later, sending a header over the bar and adding to the frustration inside the stadium. Still, Arsenal caught a break in the 35th minute, Gyokeres buried a penalty after Christie’s handball.
Arteta, often accused of playing it too safe, tried to shake things up after halftime by sending on Eberechi Eze, teenage debutant Max Dowman, and Leandro Trossard. It didn't work. Arsenal ran out of ideas, resorting to hopeful long balls toward Gyokeres, who missed another late chance.
It’s hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, Arsenal were chasing that rare quadruple before being knocked out by City in the League Cup final and then by Southampton in the FA Cup. They’re still favourites for the league, but with City holding two games in hand and a trip to Chelsea coming up, that title race feels far from over.
DAVID RAYA GUARANTEES CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GLORY FOLLOWING MASSIVE QUARTER-FINAL FIRST-LEG VICTORY
Kai Havertz and David Raya inspire Arsenal to a 1-0 win over Sporting. Read the Champions League reaction and Raya's bold claim.
Kai Havertz feels something incredible is brewing at Arsenal. After David Raya confidently said he’s “100 percent” sure the Gunners can win the Champions League, Havertz delivered a dramatic stoppage-time goal against Sporting Lisbon, giving Arsenal the edge in their quarter-final tie before next week’s second leg at the Emirates.
Things were tense heading into Tuesday’s match at the Jose Alvalade Stadium. The team had just lost two games in a row for the first time this season, so their momentum was hanging by a thread. But that late 1-0 win flipped the mood completely, suddenly fueling Arteta’s squad with hope they won’t finish the season empty-handed.
Havertz admitted, “That win was huge. We’ve all been frustrated these last few weeks. But now’s the moment to move forward, stay positive, and stick together. As a group players, staff, fans we can still make something happen. This season can still turn into something special. That’s what we’re aiming for, and now we just need to keep winning games.”
The man behind much of Tuesday’s success? Goalkeeper David Raya. The Spaniard was controversially benched for both of Arsenal’s cup defeats against Manchester City and Southampton, but after coming back into the lineup, he put on a show, making a stunning early save against Maxi Araujo and stepping up with two more crucial stops before Havertz’s late goal.
Raya’s clean sheet was his 22nd in 41 games so far no other goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues has more. After the match, Raya didn’t hold back with his confidence, saying Arsenal not only will reach their second-straight Champions League semi-final (a first in club history), but could go on to win the whole thing.
He told Amazon Prime, “We believe completely we can win it. We have to take it step by step, game by game, and keep showing what we’re made of. Belief matters; if you don’t believe, you won’t win, so you keep believing, no matter what. After two losses, we had to learn from them, use that pain to push ourselves and get better every day. That’s important, and that’s the message we need to send.”
Arsenal jump back into Premier League action this Saturday, hosting Bournemouth. With a win, they could stretch their lead over Manchester City from nine points to 12. City face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge the next day, so the pressure’s on.
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