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Mikel Arteta reveals how Arsenal players surprised him during Bournemouth draw


Arsenal drew to Bournemouth in Mikel Arteta’s first match as manager (Picture: Getty)

Mikel Arteta has revealed how his Arsenal players surprised him during their draw to Bournemouth in the Premier League.

In Arteta’s first match since taking over as head coach, Arsenal came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth at Dean Court.

Dan Gosling gave the hosts the lead in the first-half but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 12th Premier League goal of the season saw Arsenal return to the Emirates with a point.

Arteta admits his Arsenal team surprised him with their performance at Bournemouth and says the aggression and commitment was ‘better than he expected’.

He said: ‘Absolutely, in terms of attitude, desire, aggression and commitment it was better than I expected, to be fair.

‘They kept fighting, and they are not used to playing at this rhythm. But a lot of things that I saw in terms of attitude were terrific.

‘I’m still to learn a lot of about the players, how we can help them more, what are the priorities for them to be more secure when they jump on to the pitch.

‘But we’ve just started, it’s been three days, we tried to put some things in place and I think the majority of them were good today.’

Bournemouth have endured a difficult run in the Premier League and Cherries boss Eddie Howe was ‘pleased’ with the point against Arsenal.

It was a mixed afternoon for the Gunners (Picture: Getty)

‘I’m pleased with the performance, it was a very difficult game in tough conditions,’ he said. ‘We didn’t quite know what to expect from Arsenal.

‘We assumed the philosophy would change and I think it did, it was quite visible to see Arsenal playing in a slightly different way.’

Arsenal face Chelsea on Sunday while Bournemouth travel to Brighton the day before.

MORE: Aubameyang ‘did not look happy’ during Arsenal’s draw with Bournemouth

MORE: Mikel Arteta praises Mesut Ozil after Arsenal’s draw against Bournemouth





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