Aaron Ramsey joins Mikel Arteta and calls out Arsenal star after Bournemouth loss

Former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has had his say on Saturday's loss against Bournemouth and questioned two players for their role in the game's opening goal

Aaron Ramsey believes Gabriel Martinelli could have done more to prevent Bournemouth's opening goal in Arsenal's chastening 2-0 defeat at the weekend.

The Gunners lost ground in the title race following their shock loss on the south coast. They were always likely to be up against it after losing William Saliba to a red card in the first half and goals from Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert after the break were enough to seal a famous win for the Cherries.

Widely regarded as the Premier League's set-piece kings, Arsenal received a taste of their own medicine as Christie bagged the game's killer goal following a slick corner routine.

But Ramsey reckons it could have easily been prevented and pinpointed Martinelli and Kai Havertz for their roles in the build-up to the goal. Speaking on Sky Sports, the former Gunners midfielder explained: "The only issue is the two Arsenal players against their two on the edge [of the box]. Martinelli’s position needed to be altered a bit.

"The [space] is too big. It invites the ball to come around for Christie. I would say Havertz as well, he needs to be more on the half-turn. He’s got to be more aware of what is is coming and whether he can get an arm across him or disrupt the run just to put him off balance maybe. Those would be my two things."

Ramsey's comments on Martinelli come hot on the heels of ones made at the weekend by Mikel Arteta. The Arsenal manager may not have questioned the winger's positioning for Christie's goal, but he did rue the Brazilian's inability to convert a golden chance.

"We didn’t capitalise and got punished," the Spaniard said in his post-match assessment. "We had the biggest chance in the game with Martinelli. It’s a game of errors and tonight we made two big ones and it cost us the game."

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To make matters worse for Arsenal, title rivals Manchester City avoided dropping points right at the death against Wolves courtesy of another important goal from John Stones.

They are now three points ahead of the Gunners, who are four points behind league leaders Liverpool, who put Chelsea to the sword at Anfield as they continue to look the part under new head coach Arne Slot.

It's Liverpool up next for Arteta and Arsenal, who now face a daunting run of games before the next international break. They will also be without Saliba, who must now serve a three-match domestic ban.

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