Preview: Bournemouth vs Arsenal – stats, team news, line-ups
Third-placed Arsenal will travel to Vitality Stadium to take on Bournemouth on Saturday evening in what should be an exciting Premier League encounter.
The Gunners will spend the evening at the top of the Premier League table if they claim maximum points against the Cherries, but it could be a tricky test for them.
Arsenal came from behind to secure a 3-1 victory over newly promoted Southampton to make it four wins on the bounce heading into the international break.
Bournemouth faced a similar test against a newly promoted side, but they failed to claim maximum points. They fell to a shocking 1-0 defeat against Leicester City, and Arsenal will be looking to pour more misery on the Cherries.
Arteta’s troops have been in scintillating form this season, and fans will flock to Seatsnet.com to buy Arsenal tickets and back their side to claim three points against Bournemouth this weekend.
They’ll be keen to keep pace with second-placed Manchester City and Liverpool at the summit.
Match Preview
Conceding first against Southampton two weeks ago stirred up painful memories for Arsenal fans, who saw their team’s Premier League title bid falter in a thrilling 3-3 draw with the Saints in the 2022/23 season.
However, Arteta’s side has evolved into a more experienced squad since and avoided a repeat of that six-goal drama, this time with a minimum of fuss.
Cameron Archer gave Southampton an early lead, but Arsenal talisman Bukayo Saka inspired a comeback, setting up Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli before sealing maximum points with a late strike.
Arteta’s team has evolved significantly since their nail-biting comebacks last season, particularly against Southampton.
With Manchester City and Liverpool not playing until Sunday, the third-placed Gunners can temporarily leap to the top of the Premier League table with a win at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium.
Arteta’s team has come a long way since their nail-biting comebacks last season, especially against Southampton.
With Man City and Liverpool not playing until Sunday, the third-placed Gunners can temporarily leap to the top of the Premier League table with a win at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium.
It is still far too early to be discussing a repeat of their incredible 2003/04 Invincibles campaign, but the Gunners are yet to taste defeat in any competition this season.
Their remarkable run has now hit 16 games, stretching back to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last season.
As well as topping the table for a few hours, a win on Saturday would mark a major milestone for Arsenal – they’ll claim their 2000th victory in the English top flight, a feat only bettered by Liverpool (2065).
Bournemouth’s supporters will be keen to see a much-needed improvement following the Cherries’ disappointing trip to the King Power Stadium last time out.
Leicester secured their first league win of the season at Bournemouth’s expense, with Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Facundo Buonanotte netting the decisive goal in the first half.
The 1-0 defeat marked Bournemouth’s third loss in four games under Andoni Iraola, although their other recent setbacks came at the hands of formidable opponents Chelsea and Liverpool.
Despite the challenging fixtures, Iraola expressed frustration over his team’s missed chances against Leicester, a game where Bournemouth had plenty of opportunities to turn the tide.
The Cherries now sit in 13th place on the Premier League table, with a three-point gap separating them from Fulham in eighth.
While it’s still early in the season, Bournemouth will need to close that gap soon if they are to climb into the top half of the table.
However, history is not on their side when it comes to facing higher-ranked opposition. In their last ten Premier League victories, all of Bournemouth’s wins came against teams sitting 11th or lower in the table.
Their struggles against top-half sides continue, as the Cherries have failed to win any of their last 11 matches against such opponents.
A 3-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium in May extended the Cherries’ poor run against Arsenal, making it four straight Premier League losses to the North London side, who have consistently found the back of the net at least three times in each of those contests.
Bournemouth’s only Premier League victory over Arsenal came back in January 2018 at the Vitality Stadium, a memory the home crowd would love to relive soon.
Key Stats
Arsenal have won 11 of their 14 Premier League encounters against Bournemouth. However, they’ve been even more ruthless since the Cherries returned to the top flight in 2022.
In the four matches since then, Arsenal have won all four games by an aggregate scoreline of 13-2, scoring three or more goals in each encounter.
Arsenal are still unbeaten after ten games – they haven’t enjoyed such a run from the start of a campaign since a 21 game streak that dates back to 2007/08.
Since the start of 2022/23, Arsenal haven’t lost any of their eight Premier League games coming immediately after an international break (W6, D2), with each of their previous five such fixtures also coming away from home.
Team news
Arteta’s hopes for an injury-free international break have been dashed, as two of his key players, Saka and Martinelli, sustained injuries while representing their countries.
Saka picked up a hamstring issue, while Martinelli damaged his calf playing for Brazil. Despite these setbacks, Saka is reportedly optimistic about his chances of being fit in time for Arsenal’s weekend clash.
Arteta remained tight-lipped regarding the exact status of his squad.
However, he did offer some positive news, confirming that Thomas Partey is in good shape and that several key players — including Kai Havertz, Ben White, Jurrien Timber, and Oleksandr Zinchenko — are pushing to be available for selection.
However, Kieran Tierney, Martin Odegaard and Takehiro Tomiyasu are ruled out, while on-loan goalkeeper Neto cannot face his parent team, so a spot on the bench may await 16-year-old Jack Porter.
While the Gunners have no fewer than 11 injury concerns to manage, Bournemouth head into this weekend’s contest with a clean bill of health.
Before the international break, Iraola expressed confidence that Tyler Adams could recover from a back injury in time to feature against Arsenal.
Left-back Milos Kerkez is also expected to be available despite withdrawing from Hungary’s squad during the break.
Bournemouth potential starting line-up:
(4-2-3-1): Kepa Arrizabalaga; Adam Smith, Illia Zabarnyi, Marcos Senesi, Milos Kerkez; Lewis Cook, Ryan Christie; Antoine Semenyo, Marcus Tavernier, Luis Sinisterra; Evanilson.
Arsenal potential starting line-up:
(4-3-3): David Raya; Thomas Partey, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori; Mikel Merino, Jorginho, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard.
