Arsenal will battle Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium in the Premier League matchday 36 on Saturday, May 4 at 12:30 WAT.
The Gunners’ last outing in the league was against London rival Tottenham, where Spurs fought back in an enthralling 3-2 shoreline in favor of Arsenal.
Bournemouth, on the other hand, followed up their 1-0 defeat of Wolves with a decisive South Coast victory against Brighton, where one of Andoni Iraola’s attacking frontmen stole the show.
It was a quiet outing for Dominic Solanke at the Vitality Stadium, but Enes Unal shouldered the attacking burden – setting up Marcos Senesi’s opener before heading home himself – and the 3-0 win was rubber-stamped when Justin Kluivert finished off a sweeping counter-attack right at the end.
However, the Cherries travel north hoping to secure a top-10 finish, having already posted their record points tally in the Premier League and won their last two matches without conceding a goal.
Arsenal continue their title push when they lock horns with Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon, with Mikel Arteta’s men a point clear at the top of the Premier League table, having played a game more than fellow title contender Manchester City.
Bournemouth have scored 26 times away from home this season and have scored in all seven of their visits to teams above them.
Bournemouth have lost and scored in each of their visits to the top five and have lost eight of their nine clashes with the top five.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have won 13 of their 17 home League matches so far, while the Gunners have won and conceded on seven occasions at home this campaign.
Arsenal vs Bournemouth Team News
The Gunners have no fresh fitness concerns and they might have all of their senior players available this weekend, as ACL victim Jurrien Timber has now come through two matches with the Under-21s unblemished.
The Dutchman is optimistic about his chances of making the matchday squad for the visit of Bournemouth, but he will surely be considered for a spot on the bench, as Takehiro Tomiyasu holds the fort at left-back over Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Arteta who is not a fan of unnecessary rotation of his starting lineup is expected to stick with an identical starting XI from the win over Spurs.
On the other hand, Bournemouth are still battling with several injuries, as attacker Antoine Semenyo left the field on a stretcher against Brighton and was noticed limping out of the stadium on crutches amid fears that he could be set for several months on the sidelines.
Iraola is still waiting for the official diagnosis of Semenyo’s knee injury, but he will definitely be left out of Saturday’s’game, as will Chris Mepham who is dealing with illness.
Romain Faivre, Marcus Tavernier, and Luis Sinisterra are nursing a thigh issue, while Ryan Fredericks dealing with a calf problem.
Arsenal vs Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Arsenal
Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard
Bournemouth
Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kelly; Ouattara, Cook, Scott, Kluivert; Solanke, Unal
kick-off time, date & venue
Arsenal and Bournemouth game is scheduled to be played on Saturday, May 4, at Emirates Stadium at 12:30 WAT.
Prediction
Arsenal have one of the strongest home records in the Premier League this season, with their 41 points from 17 at the Emirates putting them at the summit with just a couple of weeks left to go.
Therefore, we say that the Gunners will secure all three points with a 3-1 scoreline.
