Preview: Bournemouth vs Arsenal – Prediction, Team News & Line-ups

After securing their places in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, Bournemouth and Arsenal will renew hostilities at the Vitality Stadium in Saturday afternoon’s Premier League showdown.

If you’re eager to attend the match, you can buy Arsenal vs Bournemouth tickets at Seatsnet.com and make arrangements for the trip to the South Coast in anticipation of the weekend clash.

Bournemouth comfortably dispatched Championship side Stoke City with a 2-0 victory on Wednesday night, courtesy of goals from Dominic Solanke and Joe Rothwell.

Unlike their recent Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion, Bournemouth held their ground after taking the lead, showing resilience under the guidance of manager Andoni Iraola.

After being introduced at half-time, Solanke wasted no time making his presence felt, rifling a tidy effort into the bottom corner three minutes before Rothwell’s free kick doubled Bournemouth’s advantage.

The Carabao Cup victory was Bournemouth’s first in all competitions since overcoming Swansea City in the second round, earning a fourth-round date with Jurgen Klopp’s high-flying Liverpool.

However, they will first switch their attention to the weekend fixture, with the Bournemouth fans hopeful of watching their side secure their maiden victory of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.

The Cherries are one of just four teams yet to register a win after six games this season, which leaves them hovering above the relegation zone in 17th place.

Only newly promoted trio Luton Town, Sheffield United, and Burnley have performed worse than Iraola’s side in the league thus far, but they will hope to turn their fortunes around on Saturday.

Last weekend’s 3-1 defeat to Brighton extended Bournemouth’s winless run in the top flight to ten games since thrashing Leeds United 4-1 in April.

October will offer the Cherries a chance to change their fortunes, with upcoming matches against Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Burnley providing opportunities to secure crucial points.

However, their recent struggles on home turf have seen them ripple the net just twice in their last 450 minutes of Premier League football.

Their lack of ruthlessness will significantly hinder their chances of thwarting Arsenal, who boast an impressive track record of picking up clean sheets away from the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal narrowly defeated Brentford 1-0 in their midweek Carabao Cup encounter, with Thomas Frank convinced the Gunners were lucky to emerge from the London derby unscathed.

Reiss Nelson capitalised on a mistake from Zanka to break the deadlock for Arsenal just eight minutes into the tie, although the Gunners had goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and a Jakub Kiwior block to thank for preserving their victory against the Bees.

Arteta’s side are poised for a second successive Carabao Cup London derby having been drawn to face West Ham United in the fourth round. 

However, they will head to the South Coast to face Bournemouth this weekend on the back of three consecutive clean sheets on the road, having previously shut out Crystal Palace and Everton away from home.

Arsenal’s defensive frailties cost them in last weekend’s 2-2 North London derby draw against Tottenham Hotspur as Ange Postecoglou’s side came from behind twice to snatch a point thanks to a Son Heung-min brace. 

Arsenal are still unbeaten, but they have struggled to find their rhythm at the top end of the pitch, racking up just 11 goals thus far, the joint-worst attacking record among the top eight teams (alongside West Ham).

The trip to the Vitality offers Arteta’s men a chance to improve their goal tally, considering they put three past Bournemouth in last season’s edition of this fixture.

Although their lengthy injury list suggests they could struggle in the final third, with Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, and Bukayo Saka emerging as major doubts for the trip to the south.

Match Preview

Bournemouth

Bournemouth’s road to redemption will have to start in their own backyard, with the Cherries massively underperforming their expected goal (xG) total on home turf – they have just one goal from a 3.1 xG.

Everton, who are yet to open their goalscoring account at home, are the only team with a worse record than Iraola’s side, who will need to click into gear in the final third to upset the Gunners.

Still without a league win (D3, L3), Bournemouth will hope to avoid stretching their appalling run to seven games for only the second time in their history since 1994/95 when they won none of their first eight games in the third tier.

The Cherries are without a win in their last ten Premier League fixtures (D3, L7) – the longest ongoing run of any side currently in the top-flight division.

While they will be optimistic about their chances of turning things around, their record against Arsenal doesn’t inspire confidence, having won just one of their 12 league encounters against the Gunners since 2018 (D2, L9).

Arsenal

While the Gunners have barely set the league alight in the final third, they have grounded out results when needed and will back themselves to emerge from the Vitality with maximum points despite their injury list.

Arteta will hope for another lightening start from his side, who have taken the lead in all six league games this season, although they have failed to go on and win two of those games against Fulham and Spurs at the Emirates. 

They have already matched their tally from last season, where they only failed to win two of the first 25 games after taking the lead (W23, D2), which should prove a concerning statistic for Arteta.

Nonetheless, Arsenal will be eager to make it three wins from as many away fixtures, which isn’t a regular occurrence for them, having only achieved the feat in 2004/05 and 2013/14.

The Gunners have scored at least once in all 12 of their Premier League meetings with Bournemouth. They have rippled the net 29 times in total against the Cherries, boasting a 2.4 goals-per-match ratio.

Team News

Tyler Adams could make his long-awaited Premier League debut for Bournemouth after recovering from an injury problem he sustained while at Leeds United.

Centre-half Lloyd Kelly has also joined Emiliano Marcondes, Alex Scott and Ryan Fredericks in the treatment room after being withdrawn with a calf problem against Brighton.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are still sweating over the fitness of Saka and Declan Rice, with the pair picking up injury issues in last weekend’s North London derby.

Jurrien Timber, Trossard, and Martinelli are also sidelined. But once again, it will be interesting to see who gets the nod in goal amid a headline-grabbing tussle between David Raya and Ramsdale.

Bournemouth potential starting line-up:

(4-2-3-1): Neto; Max Aarons, Illia Zabarnyi, Marcos Senesi, Milos Kerkez; Lewis Cook, Philip Billing; Marcus Tavernier, Ryan Christie, Dango Ouattara; Kieffer Moore.

Arsenal potential starting line-up:

(4-3-3): David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Martin Odegaard, Jorginho, Fabio Vieira; Reiss Nelson, Edward Nketiah, Gabriel Jesus.

We Say: Bournemouth 0-2 Arsenal

Bournemouth have faced difficulties in scoring at their home ground this season, and their situation will be even more complicated by the absence of Solanke for the upcoming weekend match.

Despite being ravaged by injury problems, we anticipate Arsenal prevailing against the Cherries. However, Arteta’s team might need to work hard for a victory at the Vitality.