Former Premier League player, Yannick Bolasie, has criticized Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi following the Gunners’ 2-1 defeat to AFC Bournemouth.
He asserted that they were playing too conservatively, while goalkeeper David Raya was taking greater risks.
In a post on X, Bolasie remarked that Raya had more touches of the ball than the attacking players.
He further stated that both the players and the fans are overly focused on statistics, commenting, “All comes from Raya dancing on the ball like he has all game. When your back line is touching the ball more than any offensive players it’s a big problem, dead stats people get rated for these days.”
Raya attempted 49 passes during the match, successfully completing 38, whereas Rice managed 43 successful passes out of 50 attempts.
Zubimendi had only 38 attempted passes, with 29 completed, while the third midfielder, Kai Havertz, recorded 17 successful passes from 22 attempts.
Bolasie criticized the midfielders for their overly cautious play and stated, “Of course your pass rates gonna be 95% if you’re always passing backwards and side to side, same way wingers who don’t lose the ball aren’t trying to take on the full backs….safety first.
“Raya passing the ball more than Declan Rice or Zubimendi is the strange thing about football today, the players with the least attacking ability touching and passing the most.”
Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat has resulted in them missing the chance to extend their lead to 12 points over Manchester City.
They currently hold a nine-point advantage over the Cityzens, who have two games in hand, with the top two teams set to face each other next week.