Glenn Murray has accused a top Arsenal star of having his worst game for the club as the Gunners slumped to a 2-0 Premier League defeat to Bournemouth on the south coast on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta’s men suffered defeat for the first time in the league this season after conceding two goals in the last 20 minutes, having been reduced to 10 men just 30 minutes into the contest when William Saliba saw red.
Ryan Christie put the home side ahead from a corner before David Raya brought down Evanilson and Justin Kluivert stepped up to score his spot-kick and secure all three points.
Raya has been one of Arsenal‘s best performers so far this season, having won the Premier League Golden Glove last term, but former Brighton forward Murray feels the stopper was way off his normal level at The Vitality in a poor overall Arsenal display.
“I just felt as though from the off they were not quite pressing Bournemouth, they didn’t have the same energy or the same life about them,” Murray told Premier League Productions.
“Their mentality under Arteta is something I’ve praised loads, I think the culture and the environment that he’s got at the football club at the moment is second to none, and that wasn’t his squad there tonight, that was Arsenal of old, almost.
“I think one man that kind of supposedly got away with it because we haven’t spoken about him much tonight, who was very under par for me and was probably one of his worst moments in an Arsenal shirt, is Raya.
“It was just like really silly little mistakes, he kicks it and he spams it out of play, his passing was bad, he just wasn’t quite at it. Don’t get me wrong, he made some big saves when needed, he wasn’t terrible, it was just a little bit of a sloppy performance, something I’ve not really seen from him at Arsenal.”
READ MORE ➡️ Premier League Signings of the Season Power Ranking: Arsenal star 6th, Tottenham striker 7th…
Petit shocked by Arsenal display
Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit was also critical of his old side as they missed the chance to go top of the table.
Petit, who was part of the 1997-98 Premier League-winning team, added: “I think they were all together the same level today. I think they looked really tired, physically and mentally, from the start of the game.
“They looked sloppy, the rhythm of the game, the passing, the aggressivity, the pressure on the opponent as well, I didn’t see the quality from the Arsenal squad that they’ve brought for years now.”
Former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has backed his old team to bounce back though, adding: “It’s lick your wounds and try and move on and not dwell on the disappointment. Of course at this moment in time it’s going to be disappointing because these are the games that really cost them in previous years.
“They struggled from minute one. It was like they were still on international duty, sort of locked away.
“They were strangers, which I found really profound. They lost the ball too often. There was a lot of arms thrown around, a lot of frustration I felt.
“It wasn’t the free-flowing football that we’re used to seeing Arsenal play, there was a lot of people arguing with each other.”
Latest Arsenal transfer news – Kolo Muani up for grabs / Semenyo asking price revealed
Arsenal and Manchester United are among a host of Premier League sides who have been offered the chance to sign PSG striker Randal Kolo Muani in an enticing January transfer, according to a report.
PSG signed Kolo Muani for roughly £70m (add-ons included) from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer of 2023. But while the 25-year-old remains a key figure in Didier Deschamps’ France side, he’s not held in such high regard at club level for PSG.
According to a fresh update from TBR Football, PSG manager Luis Enrique has ‘made it clear’ that Kolo Muani can leave.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth have reportedly named their price for exciting attacker Antoine Semenyo, as the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle all line up to sign the player.
Source link
[redirect url=’https://fastpowers.com/’ sec=’3′]