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Analysing Artur Boruc’s performance during Bournemouth’s capitulation against Arsenal
By the 58th minute of Bournemouth’s clash with Arsenal at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday night, it was all rosy for the home side as Ryan Fraser added to earlier strikes by Charlie Daniels and Callum Wilson to put the Cherries 3-0 up over the Gunners and seemingly have Eddie Howe’s men home and dry in an unassailable position. However, in football, nothing is ever guaranteed, and the whole “not over ’til it’s over” cliche returned to haunt the hosts, as a headed goal from Alexis Sánchez and a sensational Lucas Pérez volley hauled Arsenal back into contention with 15 minutes remaining. Simon Francis then saw red for the hosts after a challenge on Aaron Ramsey, and then Bournemouth’s capitulation was complete, as Arsenal rounded-off their comeback with a stoppage time headed equaliser from Olivier Giroud.
So a 3-3 draw following a pulsating match will ultimately prove a setback for both teams. Arsenal cannot complain about a point in the circumstances, but the loss of two points doesn’t help their title ambitions, whereas Bournemouth, who probably would’ve taken a point before the game, will be hurting at the loss of a three goal lead and three valuable points. The draw keeps them ninth.
A telling statistic however is that despite having 14 shots, Arsenal only managed four on target, yet were able to score from three of them, compared to the three goals the Cherries managed from six efforts on target. One could say that’s simply the sign of a clinical side, an attribute teams must have if they harbour hopes of the title. However, could it be that four shots hitting the target equalling three goals firmly points the finger of blame at the man in-between the sticks for Bournemouth, goalkeeper Artur Boruc?
As it was, the only time that the Cherries shot-stopper would be called into any sort of action would be in the final 20 minutes of the game. The Gunners were continually second-best against the Cherries and struggled to cope with their direct, radical and attacking 4-4-2 set-up.
But from the 60th minute mark, just two minutes after Fraser had put the hosts 3-0 up, the Cherries began to take their foot of the gas and when on 63 and 68 minutes Joshua King and Ryan Fraser were withdrawn for Smith anf Andrew Surman, Arsenal set about dictating possession as the substitutes struggled to get into the game. Arsenal ended the game enjoying 60% of match possession overall, and nine of the 14 shots they managed throughout the game all came in the last half an hour. Their four shots on target, including their three goals, all arrived in the last twenty minutes.
It was in the 70th minute, from the first attempt on target for the Gunners, that the comeback would begin. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain angled in a cross which found the head of Olivier Giroud, and having gotten in front of his marker Steve Cook, he helped the ball onto Sánchez, who had peeled away from Simon Francis at the far post, and had the task of simply heading down into the bottom left corner to get his side onto the scoresheet.
The defending from both centre-halves can be questioned, as both slacked off on their men, but Boruc’s starting position from when the cross arrives is culpable. The Pole was far too close to his left-hand post from the moment Oxlade-Chamberlain released the ball, but even then he was able to cover the distance across his line quickly and effectively to try to prevent the eventual goal. Only, when he reached his far-post, Boruc opted to go to ground, but was unable to get down quickly enough to prevent Sánchez’s effort from sneaking in. He covered the distance of his goal-line effectively and almost reached the ball, but his starting position left him with just a little too much to do in getting across goal and then being able to react quickly enough to bring the ball into his body or turn it around the post.
The growing nerves as Arsenal began to dominate possession and look more threatening began to really take their toll on the Bournemouth goalkeeper, and that could also be seen within his passing. Throughout the first-half, Boruc opted to play the ball short, or out to the flanks within his own half for the wide men to carry it forward in attack, all of which he completed. In the second half however, more of Boruc’s kicks were being aimed centrally and over the halfway line into the Arsenal half. Overall Boruc aimed ten kicks in such a way, all bar one of them failed to reach their intended target and culminated in a turnover of possession in favour of the Gunners. Three such failed passes came in the last half an hour of the game, as Arsenal upped the pressure and the anxious goalkeeper aimed to punt the ball as far upfield as possible. However, contrary to playing it short in the first-half, this just gifted possession back to the visitors and invited on further pressure.
Just three minutes after Sánchez had struck, Boruc was called into action again but this time was equal to the effort, as Giroud found himself in possession around 25-yards from goal with a pocket of space after Sánchez had picked Harry Arter’s pocket and found the Frenchman, but Giroud’s speculative effort was straight down the middle of goal and an easy save for Boruc to make.
Arsenal’s second was no fault of the goalkeeper, and it took some one-touch passing quality from the Gunners, topped off by a stunning finish to unlock Bournemouth a second time, just two minutes after Giroud’s missed chance. Sánchez had found himself with some space out on the left flank after Giroud’s pass, and looking inside, he played the ball into Granit Xhaka in acres of space who played a first-time pass into Giroud, with his back to goal. and Nathan Aké and Steve Cook lingering behind him. He flicked the ball on first-time to Lucas Pérez, who timed a wonderful run to perfection in-between Cook and right-back Simon Francis.
Boruc’s positioning was spot-on edging towards the right of his goal to close down the angle Pérez ad to shoot, but the former Deportivo forward came up with a moment of quality, flashing a left-footed first-time volley across goal and into the far corner to cut the deficit to 3-2. It was a moment of team brilliance from Arsenal, and there was very little Artur Boruc could have done to prevent it in light of Pérez’s world class finish.
After Simon Francis’ dismissal, Bournemouth were clinging on but Arsenal still did nothing to call Boruc into further action until the second of six minutes of stoppage time. Hector Bellerín carried the ball forward but checked back to find Granit Xhaka, who once again had the freedom of the Vitality Stadium pitch to put a ball into the danger area. His left foot cross was aimed towards Gabriel, who had come forward from defence, and slightly behind him Olivier Giroud.
The presence of the two left Steve Cook with too much to do in the air, and it was Giroud who managed to get a header onto the ball and send it headed towards Boruc’s bottom-left hand corner. From Bellerín’s moment on the ball, Boruc again looked too near to his left-hand post, but by the time the cross had arrived he had resumed a central position on his goal-line, but not too far over to the right of his goal given Giroud and Gabriel’s position to the left of the penalty spot facing the goal. Boruc’s positioning thus left him with too much distance to cover, and his despairing dive didn’t see him get close enough to keeping out Giroud’s effort with his outstretched hand, the ball kissing the post on its way into the corner to complete Arsenal’s comeback.
The defending for all three goals is culpable, with defenders slacking regarding marking their man and leaving far too much space between the defence and the midfield for Granit Xhaka to wreak havoc with balls into the box, but despite having precious little to do, the hosts were let down for the first and third goals, the two headed efforts, by Artur Boruc’s positioning.
The former Celtic and Southampton shot-stopper assumed a position to close to his left-hand post at the time the ball was delivered on both counts, which ultimately, in relation to where the goalscorer was lurking in the box, left him with just too much distance to cover in order to keep the ball out. The defence may well have done better on both occasions, but had the goalkeeper assumed a decent position at the time the ball was played, he may well have made the save and allowed Bournemouth to cling on for a victory.
On this occasion however, it did not happen, and the starting position of the goalkeeper is something that Eddie Howe and the management team will need to highlight on the training ground as he will surely look to sure up the defence again ahead of their FA Cup clash at Millwall this weekend, and their return to league action at Hull City the following Saturday.
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