MY ACCOUNT
Bournemouth boss Scott Parker said his team’s performance was “unacceptable” after they fell to a 3-0 defeat against Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Cherries, back in the top flight after promotion from the Championship last term, were dominated in their own back yard by a freewheeling showing from Mikel Arteta’s side.
The hosts were so off the pace of their opponents that they failed to register a single shot or touch in the opposition penalty area during the first half, just the second time a home side has blanked in such a way since 2008-09 in the Premier League.
That first such occasion saw Bournemouth as the lacklustre team involved too, before Parker’s time, against Manchester City in 2019.
Former Fulham boss Parker was stinging in his criticism after the full-time whistle.
“The first half was unacceptable from us in many ways,” he told Sky Sports. “We needed to have humility in terms of understanding the dynamics of the game and what we were up against.
“I thought in terms of our body language and our dynamics, we were nowhere near it. Without that, when you’re a team like us, there’s no disgrace losing to Arsenal, but what is not acceptable is how we went about it in the first half.
“I didn’t expect to see what I saw in the first half. I expected them to show a certain ingredient which we didn’t show and it was far too easy in terms of recovery runs, getting back into shape and the quality we were playing against.
“There’s some big learning to do regarding this game, which is a good thing, but we need to learn from that.”
