Arsenal vs Bournemouth: Arteta disagrees with reason given for Cherries defeat

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has urged his team to take the defeat to Bournemouth in their stride, emphasising the importance of maintaining their hunger and desire.

The Gunners suffered a debilitating 2-1 defeat to the Cherries at Emirates Stadium, a major blow to their Premier League title ambitions.

While they remain nine points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, they have played two more matches than Pep Guardiola’s side and still have to take a trip to the Etihad; the sum of all variables places them in touching distance of the Mancunians.

Speaking after the game, the Basque tactician admitted to being hurt and disappointed by the result, but he desires to move on quickly.

 "Tough one because we knew the importance of this. Now it is about the reaction, how you stand up. It is a painful day for sure," he said, per the BBC.

Factors like fatigue and pressure were suggested to Arteta as possible reasons behind their defeat, but he played them down, explaining that his team had their moments.

"That is too simplistic to analyse the game. We had some good moments; we were very inefficient when we broke the press. We had to capitalise on those moments. We had poor defending situations and then it is game on.

"I don't think there is pressure, we have been coping with a lot of pressure since the beginning of the season. Today there were some actions that are very far from the level that we have shown and that shocks the system. 

“We ask a lot from our crowd and today we didn't respond to those standards and we have to apologise, take it on the chin and move on."

Arsenal will have the chance to bounce back quickly when they host Sporting CP at the Emirates on Wednesday, April 15th, when they host the second-leg of the UCL quarter-final clash in which they have a one-goal advantage from the fixture in Portugal.