Bournemouth end Arsenal's unbeaten start after William Saliba red card - 5 talking points

Arsenal slumped to their first defeat of the season as secured a memorable 2-0 victory at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

The Gunners' task was done no favours as in the first half following a VAR review. He dragged down Evanilson as the last man.

Bournemouth should really have taken advantage after the break but failed to convert a golden chance through Antoine Semenyo. Gabriel Martinelli was then guilty of his own glaring miss as his week shot was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga after his mistake.

Ryan Christie showed them both how it was done as he finished off a brilliant corner routine to give his side the lead. Justin Kluivert sealed the points late on as he scored from the penalty spot after Evanilson was fouled by . Here are all of the talking points from the Vitality Stadium:

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Sterling replaces Saka

Even before the match, were handed a significant blow as The winger picked up an issue on international duty and did not recover in time for the trip to the South Coast.

loanee was drafted in as a replacement but was unfortunate to get only 36 minutes on the pitch. The England star was hauled off as Arsenal attempted to deal with Saliba's dismissal. Sterling will certainly hope to be handed more chances over the coming weeks even if Saka regains full fitness.

What went wrong for Arsenal vs Bournemouth?

Merino makes full debut

Spanish midfielder Mikel Merino has only been handed fleeting oppotunities to impress since his summer move from Real Sociedad. He picked up an injury during one of his early training sessions.

But a couple of substitute appearances have given Merino the platform for his full Arsenal debut - which came against Bournemouth. He did himself no harm at all, but he was not able to show his passing range at full effect due to the man disadvantage.

Merino should also have opened his goalscoring account after fizzing a presentable effort wide in the first half.

Saliba sees red

William Saliba has been imperious for Arsenal so far this season but saw his weekend's outing ended after less than 30 minutes. The defender hauled down Bournemouth striker Evanilson just past the centre circle.

Initially the Frenchman was only shown a yellow - a decision that left the home side incensed. But Saliba did not get as much of a reprieve from VAR.

Referee Rob Jones reviewed the incident and brandished a red. Saliba might feel slightly unfortunate given how far away from goal Evanilson was, but regardless, he will now miss next weekend's titanic clash with . Saliba is the third Arsenal player to be sent off this season after and .

Set-piece undoes Arsenal

Arsenal have long been the kings of the set piece in the . But it was their undoing at the Vitality Stadium. A low corner was steered into the Gunners' penalty area and Dutch forward Justin Kluivert got a deft touch.

The ball found its way to substitute Christie. The ex-Celtic man stayed composed to smash a shot high past to open the scoring.

It was a very clever routine from the hosts, with their set-piece coach getting the acclaim in the celebrations. And it will be even more satisfying given it set them on their way to a priceless win.

Penalty seals points

After Saliba's red and Christie's opener, Arsenal goalkeepr David Raya added to his side's woes as Bournemouth rounded off a well-earned win. A poor back-pass from Jakub Kiwior was picked off by Evanilson, who attempted to round the goalkeeper.

But he was taken down by Raya, resulting in a penalty. Justin Kluivert was the man to step up and he fired beyond Raya to put a seal on a memorable evening for the Cherries.

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