Arsenal claimed a commanding 4-0 victory over Bournemouth, with standout performances from Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz.
After the match, Bournemouth’s manager Andoni Iraola expressed his disappointment in what he termed his team’s “weakest game” of the season.
Arsenal claimed a comprehensive 4-0 win over Bournemouth led by Martin Odegaard.
Odegaard orchestrated play from the midfield, notching a goal from the penalty spot.
Meanwhile, Havertz put in a standout performance, linking up effectively with Gabriel Jesus on the left flank and also scoring from the penalty spot.
The performance didn’t just secure three points for Arsenal but temporarily propelled the team to second place in the Premier League table.
Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth’s manager, had a less than satisfactory view of his team’s performance.
Speaking to MOTD, Iraola didn’t hold back, “It’s the weakest game we’ve played this season. I think we started quite well but from 1-0 we couldn’t beat them.
“We’ve had a lot of touches inside their box but they were defending really, really well, blocking everything. Then we made the mistakes on the penalties and we’re out of the game.”
His comments indicated a respect for the strength of the Arsenal side his team faced. “We were facing a really, really good team, we have to give our best if we want to have chances.
“We have to be more clinical when we have the chances. I think we can do more with the balls we had up-front. Two penalties are too much against this team,” said Iraola.
On the matter of the penalties that helped shape the game’s outcome, Iraola appeared pragmatic, “It looked like two penalties live, not gonna lie. I haven’t watched them but they looked like penalties.”
While Bournemouth have faced some formidable opponents earlier in the season, Iraola expressed disappointment over his team’s performance against Arsenal, making it the first time this season that he found himself not proud of his team’s effort.
“We’ve faced really good opponents. This is the first day I don’t feel proud of what the players have done. This was our worst performance and now this week we have to reset and prepare well for Everton,” Iraola concluded.
Iraola also took a moment to acknowledge the skill of this Arsenal side and his former teammate, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. “I congratulated him because they played a really good game and they deserved the win,” he said.