Eddie Howe Insists Bournemouth Players Need to Accept Responsibility for 5-1 Defeat to Arsenal

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe rested the blame for his side's 5-1 defeat to Arsenal firmly on his players, claiming their performance was not good in 'any aspect of the game'.

The Cherries were no match for the Gunners, as a first-half display from Mesut Ozil saw them go 2-0 behind. Despite Lys Mousset pulling one back before half-time, three goals courtesy of Laurent Kosciely, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in the second half quashed any hopes of a comeback.

The defeat has left Bournemouth without a win in an away game since October, marking their worst away run in 85 years with nine consecutive league defeats.

Speaking post-match, as quoted by Bournemouth's official website, Howe said: "They were too good for us, it was a difficult night. We never truly recovered from the start, and it was uncharacteristic.

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"But that mindset takes away ownership of what we delivered with our own team. They may have played well but our perspective is clear that we can do so much better and are capable of much more than that.

"We will not kid ourselves and our analysis has to be that it was not acceptable.

"We will reflect on the game honestly, it was a difficult night epitomised by our start to the match and it was uncharacteristic of us to not be good in any aspect of our game."

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The Cherries ended a winless February and will no doubt be hoping to put their poor run of results behind them and make March a lot more successful.

"It hasn’t been enjoyable at all and I speak on behalf of the players for that," Howe added. "Results have to change, they will at some point but we are giving everything to put things right."

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Mousset provided a rare moment of joy as he got his team back into the game, but it wasn't to be for the away side.

"He did OK, the team didn’t have a lot of the ball and we were reliant on the counter attack, but he took his goal well. He did have other moments of joy but it was a tough night," Howe claimed. 

"He’ll be judged on goals and those moments and he took it well, they look easy but they never are as easy as they look. But ultimately I can’t shell out too much individual praise on a tough night"