Mikel Arteta told decision on Arsenal star cost Gunners in Bournemouth defeat

Declan Rice gave Arsenal the lead in Saturday’s clash with Bournemouth but he was off the pitch when the visitors completed their comeback late on and earned a 2-1 win

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been told that he left his team with no cutting edge after taking Declan Rice off in their 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth. Rice, 26, scored his third goal in seven games to put the Gunners ahead in the 34th minute of Saturday’s Premier League clash.

But the £105million star, marking a century of appearances for Arsenal, was subbed off between Bournemouth’s two goals in the second half. Arteta’s side didn’t create any big chances to equalise after Rice had been replaced by Mikel Merino and former England goalkeeper Rob Green believes that without the midfielder, Arsenal lack ideas to score.

“You take Declan Rice out of the equation of this team and you’ve got a group of players bereft of confidence and ideas on how to score goals and have an incisive edge,” Green concluded on BBC Radio 5 Live. “There’s work to do and so little time to do it,” he added regarding Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain.

The Gunners are 1-0 down in the tie and will be hoping that Rice can repeat his goalscoring heroics against Real Madrid in the previous round. Rice will benefit from the return of team-mate Thomas Partey, who missed the first leg through suspension.

Partey allows Rice to play further forward and make runs into the final third. One of those was picked out by Martin Odegaard midway through the first half, as Rice rounded Bournemouth goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and slotted home.

READ MORE: Martin Odegaard points finger at Arsenal team-mates with two-word blastREAD MORE: Mikel Arteta names three things misfiring Arsenal stars have created ahead of PSG clash

The Cherries drew level on 67 minutes through Dean Huijsen and Arteta made the decision to hook Rice one minute before Evanilson’s winner. The decision was almost certainly with PSG in mind, as it could be a season-defining night in the French capital.

Arteta knows the importance of the fixture, saying: “We really wanted to create a very different vibe, atmosphere, and energy to go to Paris. But we certainly created a lot of frustration, anger and disappointment.

Should Mikel Arteta have taken Declan Rice off? Have your say in the comments section.

“It’s the time now to show our courage, our resilience, and go there using everything that we’re feeling right now to put an amazing performance there and win the game and be in the final. That fire in your belly now has to be there, and it’s time to step up in Paris and have an amazing match and win it.”

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