Arsenal ‘looked like strangers’ as Walcott questions squad’s ‘hunger’ and Redknapp names solution

Theo Walcott and Jamie Redknapp have both criticised Arsenal after they suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season to Bournemouth.

Arsenal went down to 10 men at the Vitality Stadium when a puzzling Leandro Trossard backpass caught William Saliba out, forcing him to pull back Evanilson and ultimately bring the striker down. Saliba was initially given a yellow card but this was upgraded to red as a VAR review confirmed that he was the last man.

The two teams went into the break at 0-0 but Antoine Semenyo should have given Bournemouth the lead soon after the restart when he fired over from close range.

Gabriel Martinelli then had a great chance but saw his shot saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga just before the Cherries took the lead.

A clever corner routine saw Justin Kluivert set up Ryan Christie, and the midfielder made no mistake with a brilliant left-footed strike into the top corner.

Arsenal substitute Jakub Kiwior was then guilty of another poor backpass, this time allowing Evanilson to draw a foul from David Raya in the box. Kluivert stepped up to score the spot-kick, rounding off a memorable 2-0 home win for Andoni Iraola’s side.

Arsenal, meanwhile, know they have to be almost perfect to beat Manchester City to the title, and this defeat could therefore prove to be damaging come the end of the season.

Defeat could be costly to title challenge – Walcott

On Sky Sports’ coverage of the match, former Arsenal star Walcott admitted he was shocked by the Gunners’ lack of coherence.

“It’s lick your wounds and try and move on and not dwell on the disappointment,” he said. “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.”

Walcott continued: “I never felt Arsenal were in control at any point. They felt really sluggish coming out of the blocks, it was like they didn’t really have a lot of time to work together.

“They were second to everything, it didn’t feel like they were hungry to get a result. They went through the motions at times and that was when Bournemouth smelt they can get something out of this game.”

Fellow pundit Redknapp added that Arsenal should have far more control when top stars Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka return.

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Redknapp questions ‘sloppy, leggy’ Arsenal

“Even before the red card they were sloppy, leggy, passive. I can’t remember Arsenal giving away the ball this many times in a long time,” Redknapp said.

“They were wasteful, no one was really getting hold of the ball. It does make you think – I really like Odegaard, he gives Arsenal a sense of control – how much they missed him today.

“They missed Saka, because as soon as the ball goes out to him something can happen. Raheem Sterling, he’s obviously a right-footed player, he’s playing on the right side and he’s not got that same flow that Bukayo Saka offers you.

“Straight away you look at that team sheet and think, ‘right, we’ve got a real chance today, let’s get after this Arsenal side, two of their biggest players aren’t playing’.

“That midfield [Declan Rice, Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino] was functional today, there was no one who was going to give you that guile.”

Odegaard is hoping to feature next week as he steps up his recovery from an ankle problem, while Saka missed the trip to Bournemouth after picking up a hamstring injury while on international duty with England. The winger’s exact return date is unclear, however.

Arsenal news: Transfer pursuit back on, Belgian rumour

Meanwhile, Arsenal have reportedly reignited their bid to sign Ajax defender Jorrel Hato .

The Gunners were heavily linked with Hato in the summer, but no deal materialised. According to the Italian press, Arsenal are back in the mix for the centre-back and are battling Juventus for him.

Ajax are aware of the growing interest in Hato and have set his price tag at €30m (£25m / $32.5m).

Defence is not the only area Arsenal chiefs want to improve in 2025. CaughtOffside claim they are also hoping to add versatile forward Charles De Ketelaere to their ranks .

De Ketelaere has returned to form following a tough spell with AC Milan, having played a key role for Atalanta in recent months.

The 23-year-old Belgian is also courting interest from Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.