‘It’s all a bit ridiculous’ – Rob Green baffled by Amine Adli incident in Bournemouth vs Arsenal
Amine Adli was at the centre of a shocking moment as Bournemouth fell to defeat at the hands of Arsenal at the Vitality Stadium.
Gabriel Magalhaes was certainly rusty after returning from injury recently, and his mistake at the back was rather surprising, allowing Evanilson to open the scoring following a misplaced pass.
The Brazilian atoned for his error, with Declan Rice‘s brace meaning that not even Junior Kroupi‘s late strike could seal a point at home for the Cherries.
There has been plenty of speculation around Andoni Iraola’s future on the south coast, but full focus was on his side getting an equaliser, and that was clear as Adli pushed until the final whistle.
In the fifth minute of added time, the Bournemouth man charged down David Raya, who had picked the ball up inside his area, before running into Gabriel’s elbow and falling to the floor in comedic fashion.
Amine Adli runs into Gabriel Magalhaes in late penalty call
It was a moment that completely baffled both sets of supporters, with some even suggesting that he could have seen a second yellow during his 25 minutes on the pitch.
Reacting to the incident live on BBC Radio 5 Live (3 January, 7:25pm), Rob Green said: “Amine Adli headbutted Gabriel on the elbow. He went all the way across to press David Raya. It’s all a bit ridiculous.
“It gives Arsenal a few seconds to kill,” and that’s exactly what happened, with the Gunners running down the clock, which was especially important after Junior Kroupi’s long-range strike.
What did Andoni Iraola make of Bournemouth’s defeat?
It would have been a very frustrating result for Iraola, who set his team out perfectly in the first half, but it was clear that his players ran out of steam towards the full-time whistle.
Speaking after the game, he said, “It is a feeling we’ve had a lot lately. We do a lot of good things, but go away with one point or no points. Today, we conceded three goals against Arsenal.
“But they have not had a lot of chances. Overall, it was quite a level game. We were better in the first half, but Arsenal had the better of the second half. It is very difficult to score two against Arsenal, but to finish without a point is frustrating.“
The Cherries are now without a victory in 11 games, drawing five of those, and slipping down to 15th in the Premier League table, which could get even worse during the January transfer window.
Iraola appears set to lose his biggest star, Antoine Semenyo, to Man City, and given that he accounts for 29 per cent of their Premier League goals this season, he could be impossible to replace.
The winger might still be able to stop the Gunners from winning the league, but likely not in a Bournemouth shirt.