2 weeks Ago
The Chelsea loanee had featured in each of Bournemouth's previous four matches, but he was a notable absentee from the matchday squad for the clash at Villa Park. Arrizabalaga was replaced by Republic of Ireland international Mark Travers , who came into the side to make his second appearance of the season. The Republic Ireland international produced a Man of the Match display, making seven saves to help Bournemouth take a precious point, with Evanilson netting a 96th-minute winner to cancel out Ross Barkley 's opener.
© Imago Speaking after the dramatic draw, Iraola explained the reason behind Arrizabalaga's absence from the matchday squad. The Bournemouth boss confirmed that the goalkeeper, along with attacker Luis Sinisterra , was ruled out of Saturday's draw due to injury. Iraola told the Daily Echo : "I think we've had a very difficult week, very difficult week in the injury department, let's say.
"I think the only really bad one is obviously the Alex Scott one. Philip Billing was ill so I suppose we recover him, but Kepa and Sini [Luis Sinisterra], they are small, small injuries. "Kepa had in his left abductor some issues.
He couldn't hit the ball properly and it didn't make any sense to take any risk having also the two keepers we have." © Imago Travers ultimately rose to the challenge in Arrizabalaga's absence, with his strong performance drawing praise from his head coach. "He made very good saves and kept us in the game when we were suffering," Iraola said in an interview with BBC Sport .
"Everyone has stepped up and we finished much better." As a result of the 1-1 draw, Bournemouth have now collected 12 points from nine matches, leaving them in 11th spot in the Premier League table . The Cherries will now turn their focus to next weekend's difficult home clash against Premier League champions Manchester City.
It is currently unclear if Arrizabalaga will be available for that fixture, but Travers has proven that he is more than ready to deputise if the Spaniard is unable to prove his fitness in time for matchday 10..
