Arsenal icon spots incredibly worrying Mikel Arteta issue during Bournemouth game

An Arsenal legend has made an unexpected remark about Mikel Arteta after the Gunners’ 2-0 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday evening.

Arteta’s team experienced their first defeat of the season at the Vitality Stadium. Centre-back William Saliba received a red card for tugging on Evanilson’s shirt as they approached David Raya’s goal in the 30th minute. Initially shown a yellow card by referee Robert Jones, the decision was later upgraded to red after a review.

Following the red card, Arsenal struggled to maintain their usual attacking rhythm, managing only one shot on target throughout the match.

The deadlock was broken by a clever set-piece, which Ryan Christie capitalized on to score the first goal for Bournemouth in the 70th minute.

Just nine minutes later, a misplaced pass from Jakub Kiwior fell short of Raya, leading to a foul on Evanilson. Justin Kluivert converted the resulting penalty with ease, extending Bournemouth’s lead. Besides the disappointing performance, another aspect caught attention.

Typically, Arteta is seen animated on the sidelines, but on Saturday, he appeared more restrained.

Former Premier League midfielder Emmanuel Petit noted that his old club had an off night. “Even Mikel Arteta looked quiet on the bench today,” Petit remarked to Premier League Productions. “He usually urges his players to be energetic and engages with them constantly, but today he seemed very subdued.”

The defeat leaves Arsenal in third place in the Premier League, with title contenders Manchester City and Liverpool set to play later.

After the match, Arteta projected resilience, stating his team wouldn’t be “feeling sorry” for themselves ahead of their Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday. “We will use the pain from this moment to motivate us for Tuesday,” he said in the post-match press conference. “We can’t dwell on the fact that we’ve faced setbacks again and are missing key players like Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard, and Jurrien Timber. That won’t help us—let’s focus on the energy these boys deserve and get ready for Tuesday.”

When asked about Saliba’s red card, Arteta said he was uncertain if the decision was justified. “It’s a split-second decision. The striker wasn’t expecting the ball and then it comes his way. A decision was made, and the referee opted to issue a yellow, then a red.”