Bolasie Faults Arsenal Midfield After Bournemouth Shock Defeat

Former Premier League winger, Yannick Bolasie, has criticised the performances of Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi following Arsenal’s 2–1 defeat to AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League.

Bolasie, reacting via his X handle, accused the midfielders of playing overly safe football, insisting that too many backward and sideways passes limited Arsenal’s attacking threat.

He argued that the team’s style made it difficult to create meaningful offensive play, noting that even goalkeeper David Raya was more involved in ball distribution than some outfield attackers.

According to match statistics, Raya completed 38 of 49 passes, while Rice recorded 43 successful passes from 50 attempts. Zubimendi made 29 successful passes from 38 attempts, and Kai Havertz managed 17 successful passes from 22 attempts.

Bolasie further stated that high pass accuracy figures can be misleading when most of the passes are conservative.

“Of course your pass rate will be high if you are passing backwards and sideways. Wingers not losing the ball does not mean they are taking on defenders,” he wrote.

He added that it was unusual for a goalkeeper to have more touches and passes than attacking players in modern football, describing it as a worrying trend in the game.

The defeat denied Arsenal an opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table to 12 points over Manchester City. They remain nine points ahead, although City have two games in hand as the title race intensifies.