Mikel Arteta's admission on Arsenal and William Saliba 'issue' speaks volumes

Arsenal were forced to face a third game with ten men as William Saliba was sent-off in their loss at Bournemouth as Mikel Arteta concedes their discipline is leaving them with an impossible task

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admits constantly playing with 10 men is "an issue we need to eradicate" after his team tasted defeat for the first time this season.

The Gunners were undone at Bournemouth as they lost ground to both their title rivals. William Saliba was sent-off in the first-half after VAR intervened - with the Cherries then able to take advantage as they scored twice in the second-half.

Saliba's dismissal means he's the third Arsenal player to be shown a red card in the opening eight games of the season. In every game the north Londoners have gone down to ten men they've dropped points. Declan Rice's red card at home to Brighton opened the door for the Seagulls to level.

Then weeks later Leandro Trossard was shown two yellow cards and dismissed at Manchester City, when Arsenal were leading 2-1. Despite a valiant defensive effort the champions equalised in stoppage time and Arteta admits it is near impossible to win games when you're down a man.

He said on Saturday night: "Playing with 10 men there is obviously an issue. When you analyse the three different actions and the outcomes it’s very different. We cannot continue to play with 10 men. The task becomes almost impossible. We need to eradicate that."

Speaking specifically on Saliba's red card he added: "It's a split of a second decision you have to make. The striker is on his back. Obviously, he doesn't expect the ball suddenly to be coming his way. He just made a decision and that's it."

Arteta has previously bemoaned the red cards given to Rice and Trossard - both of which were given for delaying the restart. Saliba though was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity and the Arsenal boss indicated there would be no appeal made.

Arteta confessed that playing with ten men is "an accident waiting to happen, not to get the points." Arsenal now find themselves three points behind champions Manchester City and four points behind Liverpool, who are topping the table at this early stage.

Saliba's red card also means he will now be missing for the blockbuster clash with Liverpool next weekend. The Gunners host the Reds as they look to cut the gap at the top, but they'll have to do so without their defensive linchpin, who has been hailed as one of Europe's best centre-halves.

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