Arsenal knocked to the ground in stunning Premier League Saturday

Arsenal, vice-champion of England, suffered their first defeat of the season in the Premier League on Saturday at Bournemouth (2-0), where French defender William Saliba was sent off after half an hour.

Before that, the 8th day was marked by four stunning victories by Aston Villa, Tottenham, Leicester and Manchester United.

The prize for the “remontada” went to the Leicester “Foxes”. The promoted team were two goals behind for a long time at Southampton, but they managed to win 3-2 with a final goal from Jordan Ayew at the end of added time.

The surprise of the day, however, remains Arsenal’s defeat at Bournemouth, the first of 2024 away in the Premier League for the “Gunners”.

The Londoners remain third with 17 points behind Liverpool (1st, 18 pts) and Manchester City (2nd, 17 pts), engaged on Sunday respectively against Chelsea at home and at Wolverhampton.

Weakened by the new absence of captain Martin Odegaard and the withdrawal of winger Bukayo Saka, Arsenal made their task even more complicated after the early expulsion of Saliba (30th).

The centre-back surrounded Brazilian striker Evanilson while he was in a last defender position. His card went from yellow to red after using VAR.

Mikel Arteta’s players resisted until the last half hour, when they gave in under pressure from Bournemouth and the winning tactical choices of Andoni Iraola.

From a corner, Justin Kluivert deflected the ball for Ryan Christie (70th, 1-0), seven minutes after the two players came into play. Kluivert doubled the lead on a penalty (79th).

Arsenal is now under direct threat from Aston Villa (4th, 17 pts), who won 3-1 at Fulham.

Unai Emery’s team, trailing after five minutes, equalized four minutes later and made the difference during a long-contested second period in numerical superiority.

“I am very happy because we reacted well and obtained three points, playing seriously, in a mature and responsible manner,” rejoiced the Spanish coach.

In the standings, the Birmingham club is closely followed by Brighton (5th, 15 pts), who emerged victorious 1-0 from their trip to Newcastle (8th, 12 pts).

Tottenham (7th, 13 pts) is also lurking not far from the leading pack after overthrowing West Ham (4-1) on Saturday at home.

The “Hammers” may have hit hard, with a goal in the first twenty minutes, but they were then knocked out by the dominant “Spurs”.

Ange Postecoglou’s team, offensive as usual, broke through the defense of Alphonse Areola and Jean-Clair Todibo with three goals in the space of eight minutes.

“The second half was remarkable from the boys: good energy, good goals, good football,” listed the Australian coach. “If we continue like this, we will be difficult to stop.”

There was another happy, and relieved, coach on Saturday in England: Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, moved up to eleventh place after a 2-1 victory against Brentford.

Only the second success this season for the “Red Devils” at Old Trafford lightens a little the heavy atmosphere which surrounded the Dutchman after three league matches without winning or scoring a goal.

Alejandro Garnacho (48th, 1-1) and Rasmus Hojlund (62nd, 2-1), with two nice goals as a bonus, erased the visitors’ goal (45th+5, 0-1) and rewarded the offensive ambitions of their partners .

Manchester United had scored just five goals in the previous seven matches, making them the penultimate striker in the Premier League.

“We created enough chances (in previous matches), but we didn’t score enough. It’s just a victory, we have to build on this,” ten Hag commented.