Arteta: Bournemouth defeat 'a big punch in the face' for Arsenal

Mikel Arteta described Arsenal's defeat to Bournemouth as "a big punch in the face", after the Cherries blew the Premier League title race wide open on Saturday.

Goals from Junior Kroupi and Alex Scott guided Andoni Iraola's side to a deserved 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium, where boos rang out at full-time.

Arsenal were lacklustre in attack throughout the contest, only getting back on level terms in the first half through a Viktor Gyokeres penalty. Of the Gunners' total of 2.2 expected goals (xG), a mere 0.19 came from open play.

Since began recording xG stats in 2021-22, only once have they fared worse in a Premier League home match, against Crystal Palace in October 2025 (0.17). 

Arsenal have now lost three of their last four matches in all competitions (W1) - as many defeats as they had in their opening 49 games this season (W37 D8) - also suffering defeat in the EFL Cup final and exiting the FA Cup against second-tier Southampton.

Should Manchester City defeat Chelsea on Sunday, Pep Guardiola's team will move six points behind the Gunners with a game in hand, ahead of the top two facing off at the Etihad Stadium next week.

Arteta confessed after the match:"A very disappointing result, we were very far from the standards that we've shown all season, so it's a big punch in the face because we wanted to win this game so badly, and we didn't cope with the situations when they didn't go our way. 

"You have to give them credit for what they've done and how efficient they were with the chances they created. "

"But at the same time, we have to look at ourselves which is the most important thing, and after getting punched, it's about how you react. There's no more moment to protect anything, it's a moment to go and attack, and to be very aggressive."

There's an opportunity to get back to winning ways on Wednesday when we take on Sporting CP in the Champions League quarter-final second leg at Emirates Stadium.

Mikel said it was a big chance in a different competition and an opportunity to reach back-to-back semi-finals in the UCL for the first time in our history.

He said: "For sure, a different competition as well. We have the opportunity to go into the semi-finals of the Champions League, and that's what we have to focus on right now. But again, I think we need to go through that pain, and use it in the right way.

"If you want to win those kinds of competitions, you have to go through difficult moments and what we need for sure is all the players available and fit, in the best condition. We need to get that nailed as quickly as possible, because that's going to be very helpful. Go through the pain today, and tomorrow is a new day."

Arsenal face Sporting CP in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday, with that huge trip to Manchester following four days later.

Despite the pressure ramping up on his team, Arteta is adamant everyone at the club would have taken this position at the start of the season.

Asked how much the defeat hurt, the Gunners boss added: "A lot. It has to hurt. The players have to take it on the chin. 

"You stand up and go for the fight, or you're out. It's a big week, with a lot at stake. We're still in a good position in both competitions.

"It's painful. It's a terrible feeling, but tomorrow is a different day and if we said to people in August this would be our position in April, we would all take it."