AFC Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe felt Mathieu Flamini should have seen red early in Arsenal's 2-0 Premier League win at the Vitality Stadium.

Howe's men lost for the first time in four top-flight games thanks to goals from Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the space of 88 seconds midway through the first-half.

But that was after Flamini had been shown a yellow card for a heavy ninth-minute challenge on Dan Gosling, with the Bournemouth manager feeling referee Kevin Friend got the decision wrong.

"I thought it was a red," Howe told Sky Sports. "I had a very good view, it looked like it was two-footed and potentially off the floor. 

"I have only seen it live but my initial view was definite red card. I am going on first viewing but for me it was not a difficult decision. I felt that the two-footed challenge has been outlawed and it was a red card."

Howe did not feel Bournemouth were their usual selves until the second half, by which point they had a two-goal deficit to try and make up.

He added: "We were slow out of the blocks, which is unlike us. If you give a team like Arsenal time on the ball they will punish you.

"We were much-improved in the second half without getting that goal to put them under pressure, but we kept fighting.

"The quality that they have got in the front positions decided it. Early in the game we found it difficult to get pressure on the ball to really influence their possession and ultimately on the back of that they scored two goals."

Bournemouth's next two matches are also at home against Stoke City in the Premier League and Everton in the FA Cup.