Former Premier League player, Yannick Bolasie, has slammed Arsenal duo, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi, after the 2-1 loss to AFC Bournemouth. He believes that they were playing it too safe, and goalkeeper David Raya was taking more risks.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Bolasie said that Raya had more touches of the ball than the attacking players. He added that the players are too focused on stats, along with the fans, and said:

“All comes from Raya dancing on the ball like he has all game, when your back line is touching the ball more than any offensive players it’s a big problem, dead stats people get rated for these days.”

Rayan attempted 49 passes in the match, completing 38, while Rice had 43 successful passes out of 50. Zubimendi had just 38 attempted passes, with 29 completed, while the third midfielder, Kai Havertz, finished with 17 successful passes from 22.

Bolasie slammed the midfielders for playing it too safe and posted:

“Of corse your pass rates gonna be 95% if your always passing backwards and side to side, same way wingers who don’t lose the ball aren’t trying to take on the full backs….safety first 😴”

“Raya passing the ball more than Declan Rice or Zubimendi is the strange thing about football today, the players with the least attacking ability touching and passing the most 😂”

Arsenal’s 2-1 loss has seen them miss out on the opportunity to go 12 points clear of Manchester City. They now sit nine points clear of the Cityzens, who have two matches in hand, and the Top 2 meet next week.

Mikel Arteta apologises to Arsenal fans after loss

Mikel Arteta issued an apology to the Arsenal fans after the 2-1 loss at home to AFC Bournemouth. He believes it is best to take the loss on the chin and move on. He said:

“Apologise, take it on the chin and that’s it. What I’m trying to do is give our best to the club, give the best possibility to our players, and I know, if the atmosphere, the fans, the support, the energy in the stadium is the best in the world, we have a much better chance.

“I don’t think that there’s any other possibility to perform better than when you have that kind of support. But then we have to respond, and we had moments in the first half where we did it, and there were other moments that we weren’t at our level. So, then we have to apologise to them and improve, for sure.”

Arsenal take on Sporting CP at home in the UEFA Champions League next week before taking on Manchester City.