Arsenal had impossible task with 10 men for 60 minutes - Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta lamented the "impossible task" faced by Arsenal following William Saliba's red card as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth to miss the chance to go top of the Premier League.

The defender was dismissed after 30 minutes following a VAR review for hauling down striker Evanilson near the halfway line and denying him a clear run on goal.

It set the stage for a first league loss this season for Arteta’s side, who conceded a second-half rocket to Ryan Christie before Justin Kluivert’s late penalty, though the story could have been different had Gabriel Martinelli not fired a golden chance straight at goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga moments before the Scot’s opener.

"Playing for 65 minutes with 10 men at this level is an impossible task," said Arteta, whose side trail Liverpool by a point at the top having played a game more.

"It’s an accident waiting to happen not to get the points. I can’t fault the team for their effort, commitment, how intelligent they were to play in the way that we had to.

"There was a big moment at 0-0 when we had a big opening, a one-against-one situation with the keeper and we don’t manage to score.

"Football is a sport where errors are part of that. Tonight we made two big errors that have cost us the game unfortunately."

It was the third time this season that Arsenal had finished a game with 10 men following Declan Rice’s red card against Brighton and Leandro Trossard’s dismissal at Manchester City.

"There are things that we’ve discussed in relation to certain topics," said Arteta of his side’s disciplinary issues.

"What happened today is almost an unpredictable thing to happen. The winger is going to play the ball to your centre-back in the air and its going to be a challenge with 35 or 40