Bournemouth vs Arsenal: When Gunners travels to Bournemouth in Saturday’s late-start Premier League game, they will be attempting to make it three victories in a row.
While Bournemouth has defeated Aston Villa and lost to Manchester City in its opening two games, the Gunners have opened their season with victory over Crystal Palace and Leicester City.
Match preview
On August 6, Bournemouth made a strong comeback in the Premier League, defeating Aston Villa 2-0 thanks to goals from Jefferson Lerma and Kieffer Moore. However, the following weekend, the champions dragged Bournemouth crashing down to earth.
Scott Parker’s team was defeated by Man City by a score of 4-0, but the newly promoted team will not be making too much of the outcome because these are not the kinds of games that will determine their season.
With three more Premier League matches against Arsenal, Liverpool, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, as well as the opening of their EFL Cup season away to Championship team Norwich City the following week, the Cherries have a busy and challenging end to the month.
When the two teams last faced off at the Vitality Stadium in the league in December 2019, Bournemouth held the Gunners to a 1-1 draw despite the fact that they had only previously defeated Arsenal once in the Premier League (a 2-1 victory in January 2018).
The primary goal for Parker’s team this season will be to stay in the Premier League after finishing second behind Fulham in the Championship last season, which ensured their return to the top tier.
Arsenal finished fifth in the Premier League last season, two points behind fourth-place Tottenham Hotspur. As a result, they will compete in the Europa League this season rather than the Champions League.
However, after opening their campaign with two stunning victories over Palace and Leicester, the Gunners have the appearance of a team that is more than capable of finishing in the top four this season.
On the first night of the new season, Mikel Arteta’s team defeated Palace 2-0 before defeating Leicester 4-2 the following weekend. New acquisition Gabriel Jesus scored twice in both victories, and the Brazil international has undoubtedly made an immediate impact for the North London club.
Arsenal won’t be getting too excited about their early results, but a win on Saturday would put them in a good position for back-to-back home games against Fulham and Aston Villa, which come before a trip to Manchester United at the beginning of September.
The Gunners have won eight straight games, including preseason games, so it’s fair to say that confidence is high. Bournemouth will undoubtedly need to perform at their peak on Saturday to have a chance of coming away with a victory.
Bournemouth vs Arsenal Team News
Dominic Solanke, who missed Bournemouth’s match against Man City last weekend due to a foot injury, will be the subject of a late decision, according to manager Parker.
Ryan Fredericks and Joe Rothwell, two summer recruits for the Cherries, will both be out due to injury, despite the striker’s manager calling him a “maybe.”
Jordan Zemura is ready for selection after recuperating from COVID-19, while newcomer Marcos Senesi is set to make his debut for the team.
Reiss Nelson, who played for the Under-21s on Wednesday, won’t be able to be selected for Arsenal once more owing to a hamstring issue, while Fabio Vieira isn’t yet ready to make his first-team debut despite having played for the Under-21s.
The Gunners are in great shape overall, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Arteta stick with the starting lineup that has performed well thus far this season.
Hence, Emile Smith Rowe might play from the bench, Ben White will keep his place at right-back, while Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, and Martinelli will return to support Gabriel Jesus up front.
Probable Line Up
Bournemouth
Travers; Lerma, Senesi, Kelly; Smith, Cook, Billing, Zemura; Tavernier, Moore, Solanke
Arsenal
Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Thomas, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus
Bournemouth vs Arsenal Prediction
This weekend’s matchup should be an exciting one because it will determine whether Arsenal has what it takes to finish in the top four this season. While Bournemouth’s performance against Villa at home last time out was outstanding, we anticipate Arteta’s team to earn all three points with a tight victory.
We are predicting Bournemouth to lose 1-2 to Arsenal.
