Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta agree on Arsenal star criticism as two costly problems spotted

Aaron Ramsey has suggested that Gabriel Martinelli could have done more to prevent Bournemouth's opening goal in Arsenal's disappointing 2-0 defeat at the weekend. The Gunners fell behind in the title race after their unexpected loss on the south coast.

They were always likely to struggle after William Saliba was sent off in the first half, and goals from Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert after the interval secured a memorable victory for the Cherries. Known as the Premier League's set-piece masters, Arsenal got a taste of their own medicine when Christie scored the decisive goal following a smooth corner routine.

However, Ramsey believes it could have been easily avoided, singling out Martinelli and Kai Havertz for their roles in the lead-up to the goal. Speaking on Sky Sports, the former Gunners midfielder said: "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 also weighed in on Martinelli's performance, following remarks from Mikel Arteta. While the Arsenal boss didn't highlight the Brazilian's positioning for Christie's goal, he did express disappointment over the winger's missed opportunity.

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"We didn't capitalise and got punished," Arteta reflected after the match. "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."

Arsenal's title hopes took another hit as Manchester City narrowly escaped dropping points against Wolves, thanks to a late goal from John Stones. The Gunners now trail the reigning champions by three points and Liverpool by four points.

The road doesn't get any easier for Arteta's side, with Arne Slot's side next on the agenda in a challenging run of fixtures before the next international break. To compound Arsenal's problems, they'll be without William Saliba for three domestic matches due to suspension.

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