Eddie Howe Claims His Bournemouth Side Did Not Deserve To Lose To Arsenal Following 3-1 Defeat

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Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has told Sky Sports that his side deserved more from their 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.

Callum Wilson’s first half penalty had cancelled out Alexis Sanchez’s opener and the Cherries were arguably the better side in the opening period, having created several openings.

However, the Gunners hit back in the second half and further goals from Theo Walcott and Sanchez, condemned Howe’s men to a 3-1 defeat which means they now slip into the bottom half of the table.

Speaking after the match, the Bournemouth boss was quick to praise his players and insisted they were unlucky to end up on the losing side., 90min reports.

When asked whether he thought the result was a fair reflection of the match, Howe said:

“Not at all from our perspective, I thought we were good today. It was a really tight game. With minutes to go we’re thinking we could try and get an equaliser, and I think we deserved one.

“To come here and create as many chances as we did is a really positive thing.

The visitors surprised many with their performance and in particular, their willingness to attack an Arsenal side that is well renowned for it’s passing ability. Howe continued to praise his team’s intent and insisted they should remain upbeat despite the defeat.

“[To park the bus] It’s not really our style, I don’t think we do it very well. We are what we are. We’re a football team, a high pressing team, we tried to show that today while trying to get a result, and the players did it superbly at times.

“I thought we passed the ball well, created chances. To perform in the manner we did without key players is a huge boost for the squad I think.

“We’re disappointed, we came here to win, but we have to leave with our head held high and positive for the games ahead.”

The Cherries boss also went on to defend his centre back, Steve Cook, whose woeful back pass gifted Arsenal a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute. Cook has made a number of errors when passing out from the back this season, but his manager insisted he would not point the finger of blame at his defender.

Howe added:

“I’m not going to sit here and criticise one of my players, I’ll say is that when mistakes like this occur, it’s how we play, it’s what we do, it’s one of our strengths, sometimes individually you won’t get it right. We back Cooky, he’s been excellent this season.”