‘Not good enough’ – Mikel Arteta urged to drop Arsenal star after Bournemouth loss

‘Not good enough’ – Mikel Arteta urged to drop Arsenal star after Bournemouth loss Ben Fleming Published April 11, 2026 7:49pm Updated April 11, 2026 7:51pm Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook Comment now Comments Mikel Arteta’s side suffered a concerning defeat to Bournemouth (Picture: Getty)

Mikel Arteta has been urged to drop Gabriel Martinelli and give Max Dowman more starts after Arsenal’s disappointing 2-1 loss to Bournemouth.

Martinelli was returned to the starting lineup on Saturday after his impressive midweek cameo, which saw him set up Kai Havertz’s winner against Sporting CP.

But the Brazilian endured a forgettable afternoon in north London, touching the ball just seven times in the first half before being replaced by Leandro Trossard shortly after the break.

Arsenal’s substitutes, which also included Dowman and Eberechi Eze, did little to wrestle back momentum for Mikel Arteta’s side, and Alex Scott’s strike ultimately condemned the Gunners to their third defeat in four matches in all competitions.

After the game, former Premier League striker Jay Bothroyd questioned why Arteta opted to start Martinelli given his indifferent form for large swathes of this season.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: ‘When I looked at that starting team today, I was thinking to myself, ‘okay, Martinelli made an assist during the week. It was a great assist. But he hasn’t been good enough this year.’

Instead of Martinelli, Bothroyd urged Arteta to give more starts to 16-year-old Dowman to help Arsenal rediscover their attacking spark and get over the line in the league.

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Gabriel Martinelli had just seven touches of the ball in the first half (Picture: Getty)

‘As far as I’m concerned, Max Dowman needs to start,’ he added. ‘I don’t care no more. Arsenal need to go over the line.

‘That kid, when he plays, he’s fearless. He wants to ball. He goes at players. He might lose it, but he goes at them.’

Bothroyd also criticised Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres for post-match comments in which he suggested that a ‘dry pitch’ had affected Arsenal’s performance.

Jay Bothroyd wants to see Max Dowman starting more regularly (Picture: Getty)

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‘Listen, to me, that’s just silliness,’ Bothroyd added. ‘I was at the game, I saw the pitch. The pitch looked perfect to me.

‘The sprinklers were on before the game. They were on at half-time. Both teams actually play on that same pitch. I don’t know if you know that. 

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‘Both teams play on it, and Bournemouth took the opportunities when they came. I hear what he’s saying when he talks about being positive going forward, because I think in this situation, you kind of have to look at that, but at the same time, you really need to analyse what happened today because it was really poor. 

‘I think the xG (expected goals) was 0.19 in open play at home. That is just not good enough for a team of the calibre of players that Arsenal have. It’s just way off. It’s just not good enough.

‘Too many times they get into a position where they are just knocking the ball around the pitch. 

‘Raya is literally touching the ball. He has the ball at his feet, probably more than any other player on the pitch. And obviously, you’re 80 yards from goal. I don’t get that.’

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