'Amid all the anger' - Arsenal told they aren't 'serious' title contenders after Bournemouth defeat

Arsenal's naivety cost them the three points in the race for the title after a 2-0 defeat to .

The game on the south coast turned on its head in the 30th minute when William Saliba was sent off for a foul on Evanilson, who was the last man near the halfway line. was initially shown a yellow card before an on-field VAR check saw referee Rob Jones upgrade it to a red.

had chances of their own despite being down to 10 men, but the hosts eventually found the breakthrough in the 70th minute when Ryan Christie netted the opening goal. Justin Kluivert then made no mistake from the penalty spot.

Speaking after the game, said: "Absolutely [the red card changed the game]. We are very disappointed with the result and gutted because we had to play in that context again. Even more difficult than the previous two that we have faced this season to do it with 65 or 68 minutes with 10 men at this level, it’s just an impossible task.

"It’s an accident waiting to happen not to get the points. I cannot fault the team for their effort, their commitment, to play in the way we had to do it. There was a big moment at 0-0 when we have a one-vs-one with the ‘keeper and we don’t manage to score. Then in the other end we do that."

With that said, football.london has taken a look at what the national media had to say on the match.

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The Guardian

that 'it was not about the red card to William Saliba' but 'about the extraordinary self-destructiveness that led to those decisions, the poor passes, the lack of discipline, the woolly-mindedness that so often afflicts Arsenal at key moments.' They were also reminded that '90 points is effectively the minimum required' to win the title and therefore cannot afford to drop up points 'like this if a team is to be regarded as a serious contender.'

He adds: "Arsenal succumbed, yet again, to their strange habit of making life difficult for themselves. Dramatic comebacks, late winners and nerve-jangling victories are all very well, but title-winning teams tend to have a number of routine victories, matches in which, without expending too much nervous energy, they rack up points almost unnoticed.

"Whether they’re having players sent off, missing chances or conceding daft goals, every point seems to come with the absolute maximum of fuss. The storms can blow up from nowhere, unexpected but for the fact that this is Arsenal and that is what they do. Modern champions have to demonstrate an almost impossible consistency. That is hard enough without giving points away through little more than carelessness."

The Telegraph

the Gunners the Premier League is 'a ruthless competition and there are only so many times that Arsenal can survive playing in it without 11 footballers on the pitch.' He also observed that 'their disciplinary problem is becoming increasingly damaging' after receiving red cards in three of their eight games this season.

"It was hardly the most violent of fouls but it seemed clear that Saliba had denied Evanilson a clear chance to score. In front of the watching refereeing boss Howard Webb, match official Robert Jones upgraded the initial yellow card to a red following a visit to the pitchside monitor.

"Amid all the anger in the away end, there was time for some humour, too. “10 men again, 10 men again, olé, olé,” sang the Arsenal supporters as Arteta reorganised the structure of his team."

The Independent

that Arteta's side faced an 'impossible task' after going down to 10 men at Bournemouth. There was belief that they could 'nick it' if it wasn't for Kepa Arrizabalaga's 'brilliant save with his legs' after giving the ball away with a casual pass.

"It capped Arsenal’s best spell since the red card but soon they were rocked by Christie’s rocket 20 minutes from time, blasted in first time from a corner past a static David Raya as Kluivert’s clever flick fooled the visitors’ defence.

"There are things that we’ve discussed in relation to certain topics," said Arteta of his side’s disciplinary issues. "Football is a sport where errors are part of that. Tonight we made two big errors that have cost us the game unfortunately."