Arsenal blew their chance to pull further clear in the title race by losing to Bournemouth and former Crystal Palace winger Yannick Bolasie has hit out at the Gunners.
Once again, the Gunners never got going into their flowing best and they were punished, this time as loose ball after loose ball was seized upon before the Cherries got their winner.
An alarming observation from the day was just how much ball David Raya and the other defenders had.
Indeed, with Raya having among the most touches of any player on the field, Bolasie has suggested it’s time for Arsenal to change.
Yannick Bolasie unhappy with Arsenal’s use of David Raya v Bournemouth
Bolasie is a self-confessed Arsenal fan so this defeat will have hurt him like any other supporter.
However, Bolasie has not held back in criticising the team either, as he suggested the use of Raya in goal is costing Arsenal more than helping them.
“All comes from Raya dancing on the ball like he has all game, when your back line is touching the ball more than any offensive players it’s a big problem, dead stats people get rated for these days,” Bolasie posted in one tweet.
He then followed it up, adding that players with the least ability in terms of attacking touching the ball the most is a strange trait of modern football.
David Raya’s passing stats during Arsenal v Bournemouth
Bolasie makes a valid point here. While it’s all well and good involving the goalkeeper and creating the extra man, Arsenal are not using it well enough to influence games.
Quite remarkably, Raya had the second most touches of any Arsenal player today with 60, behind only Declan Rice. He also played 49 passes, again, second only to Rice who made 50.
Who was Arsenal’s worst performer against Bournemouth?
This is all well and good if Raya’s passes are breaking lines and forcing teams to come and get turned but at the moment, teams seem to have worked it out.
This is something Mikel Arteta has to address, and quickly. We simply cannot have our goalkeeper being the most involved player, especially with the quality of the midfielders on display.
The next two games are now crucial and if Man City beat the Gunners, then the title race is well and truly wide open.
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