Arsenal is still on track to accomplish something they haven’t since legendary ex-manager Arsene Wenger’s illustrious 2003/04 team: winning the Premier League (PL) championship, even though they won’t be invincible this season. The gun-toting Arsenal thrashed Everton 4-0 on midweek, giving them a five-point lead at the top after doing so for the 12th time in the Premier League against the Toffees – a record for one team against another in the league.
Concerningly for Bournemouth, the North Londoners are coming off of eight straight Premier League triumphs over newly promoted teams, so the comparisons with Wenger-led Arsenal sides don’t stop there. Only under Wenger (2002–2003) did Arsenal manage a longer such record (nine), and given that they have defeated Bournemouth by an aggregate score of 14-2 in all five of their home Premier League head-to-head matches, another dominant performance from the Gunners might not come as a surprise.
This record might be made worse by the fact that the Cherries have the poorest defensive record in the league this season and have never defeated Arsenal in the Premier League (W1, D2, L8) (GA: 48). This is partially attributable to the 4-1 beating they received from title contenders Manchester City in their most recent match, which left them one point outside of safety going into the round.
Only bottom-placed Southampton has more road losses than the Cherries, who may need to improve their league away record (W2, D2, L8) to ensure their top-flight survival. With a 1-0 victory over Wolves in their most recent away game, they did snap an eight match winless streak in the Premier League (D2, L6), which would encourage them to record their first league victory over a “Big Six” team since 2019.
Bukayo Saka scored and provided an assist in Arsenal’s recent thrashing of Everton, becoming the sixth-youngest player in the Premier League to reach 50 goal contributions. The Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi, who has a goal and a yellow card from his last three games, will be his opponent. Senesi is seeking for consecutive Premier League away clean sheets for the first time this season.
TEAM NEWS
Gabriel Jesus and Mohamed Elneny are both still recovering from knee injuries, so no players should leave the Emirates hospital this weekend. But, Gabriel Jesus is once again practicing with the ball at his feet at London Colney and could make a comeback later this month.
Eddie Nketiah, who was experiencing discomfort near the conclusion of the victory over Everton owing to a recent injury, has given Arteta a new worry. As a result, the 23-year-old may sit out his third straight game as Leandro Trossard continues to have an influence.
Thomas Partey could find his way back into the starting lineup on Wednesday because Jorginho was forced to leave the game at halftime due to illness, but his teammate has fully recovered and won’t give up his spot lightly. Given the short turnaround, Kieran Tierney, Emile Smith Rowe, and Fabio Vieira will also advocate for selection.
Matias Vina, Junior Stanislas, and Marcus Tavernier were all sidelined with recent injuries prior to Bournemouth’s loss to Man City, and all three of them will be absent here along with Ilya Zabarnyi and David Brooks.
On a more positive note, Lewis Cook and Lloyd Kelly are recuperating well and should be back in the lineup, although O’Neil is in a pickle with his formation after trying a five-man backline against Manchester City with little success.
Yet, given the manner in which the Cherries played, the visiting manager may remain with that defense-heavy configuration in the hopes of containing Arsenal’s rabid attack.
Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney, Xhaka, Partey, Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, and Trossard are possible starters for Arsenal.
Neto, Smith, Mepham, Senesi, Stephens, Zemura, Ouattara, Billing, Lerma, Traore, and Solanke might be Bournemouth’s starting lineup.
We predict: Arsenal 3, Bournemouth 0.
Last weekend, Bournemouth gave Man City a few scares and successfully pierced the champions’ defense. Nevertheless, Arteta’s revitalized crop will put up a strong fight against any future attempts to hush the Emirates fans.
Arsenal should maintain their insurmountable lead in first place with another easy win, scoring many goals along the way, even with midweek fatigue working against them.