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Arsenal legend Ian Wright delivered a scathing critique of the club’s defensive display in their 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth, describing both goals conceded as “soft” while still maintaining faith in Mikel Arteta’s side to reach the Champions League final.
The Gunners took an early lead through Declan Rice on Saturday evening at the Emirates Stadium but were undone by two second-half set-piece goals. Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen rose unchallenged to head in from an Antoine Semenyo throw-in, before Evanilson sealed the win by converting at the back post following a corner — brushing aside Martin Ødegaard to finish from close range.
The defeat marks another collapse from a winning position for Arsenal, who have now dropped 21 points from such positions this season. Worryingly, it is the third consecutive home match in which they have conceded crucial goals from set plays.
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Reacting to the performance, Wright told Premier League Productions: “The two goals were soft goals. I don’t want to dig the boys out because I know what’s coming and how much it means to them. But at the same time, you need to put in a better performance than that.”
Wright was particularly critical of the marking for both goals, accusing Arsenal defenders of failing to track key players. “Both defenders are not looking at the player who is about to score. That was really strange to see, especially given how diligent Arsenal usually are in defence,” he said.
Arsenal suffered their fourth defeat of the season against Bournemouth on Saturday (Image credit: Getty Images)On Evanilson’s goal, Wright noted Ødegaard’s poor positioning. “If you look at Ødegaard, he’s not looking at the ball, he’s reacting off the man. If he’s facing the right way, like Lewis-Skelly was, he might’ve had a better chance to stop it. It’s poor defending.”
The former striker also pointed to the absence of centre-back Gabriel as a major factor in Arsenal’s fragility at the back, highlighting a lack of leadership and organisation during key defensive moments.
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“We don’t have Gabriel to organise and be aggressive. In those incidents, no one seemed to be doing anything. It looked too easy — very static. It’s a concern,” Wright added.
The disappointing loss follows a 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final first leg last Tuesday. With the second leg in Paris looming on Wednesday, Arsenal face a tough task to overturn the deficit.
Despite the setback, Wright is still confident his former club can deliver on the European stage. When asked whether the Gunners could still reach the final, he responded without hesitation: “Yes they can.”
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