The Premier League title race was blown open as Arsenal slumped to a deserved 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal never got going in Saturday's early kick-off as they missed the chance to pull 12 points clear of title rivals Manchester City, who have two games in hand and are at home when the top two meet in a massive fixture next weekend.

Neither team had a shot until the 17th minute, when Bournemouth took the lead following a slick move. Ryan Christie's defence-splitting pass released Adrien Truffert, and after the left-back's centre deflected off William Saliba, Junior Kroupi pounced to steer home.

Mikel Arteta's team drew level through Viktor Gyokeres' 35th-minute penalty, awarded when Christie blocked Gabriel Magalhaes' shot with his arm, but they did not kick on from there.

Indeed, Gyokeres' penalty remained their only shot on target by the time the Swede finished one-v-one in the 65th minute, only for the flag to go up for a clear offside.

And Bournemouth's decisive goal arrived in the 74th minute, as Evanilson flicked David Brooks' pass into the path of Alex Scott, and the England World Cup hopeful advanced into the area before finishing into the roof of the net.

Gyokeres missed Arsenal's best chance to equalise for a second time, but Bournemouth were relatively comfortable throughout the closing stages as they climbed to ninth in the table. 

The Gunners are still nine points clear of Man City, but that gap could be cut when Pep Guardiola's side visit Chelsea on Sunday.

Data Debrief: Arsenal abject in attack as Iraola beats Arteta again

Arsenal appeared frozen by nerves throughout and of their 2.41 expected goals (xG), a mere 0.19 came from open play.

Only once have they recorded a lower figure in a home Premier League game, since Opta records began in 2021-22, against Crystal Palace in October 2025 (0.17).

After only suffering three defeats in their first 49 matches this season in all competitions (W37 D9), the Gunners have now lost three of their last four (W1), piling on the pressure ahead of a week that also sees the conclusion of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Sporting CP.

Bournemouth overperformed their 1.2 xG as Andoni Iraola registered his third Premier League win over Arteta, with only Guardiola (seven) and Jurgen Klopp (four) beating the Arsenal boss more often.