Arsenal will look to continue their good start to the year as they make their way to the Vitality Stadium to face a Bournemouth side who are currently in the top 10 and will be feeling fairly confident having won their last game of 2016 with a 3-0 scoreline over Swansea City.
Eddie Howe has been garnering a lot of praise for his work with the Cherries and he will be up against a manager with whom he has been compared a lot in the recent past. With the limited resources at his disposal, he has been adamant about playing a certain brand of football and he has been moderately successful doing that.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have overtaken Manchester City in the Premier League table and will be looking to keep the pressure on Liverpool to overtake them as the main team challenging Chelsea’s frightening dominance.
Both the teams will look to play progressive football but it remains to be seen how much freedom the Cherries can play with given it is Arsenal who are their opponents.
Bournemouth Vs Arsenal: Preview, Trivia, Predicted Lineups And Odds
TRIVIA
- Callum Wilson’s penalty in the reverse fixture at the Emirates was Bournemouth’s first ever competitive goal against Arsenal.
- Arsenal have won all four of their previous meetings with Bournemouth in all competitions, scoring 10 goals and conceding just one.
- Mesut Ozil has scored twice and assisted another in his three previous Premier League games against Bournemouth.
- Bournemouth have conceded two or more goals in three of their last four at the Vitality Stadium (W2 L2).
- The Cherries have won five of their last eight Premier League home games – the same tally that they managed in their first 20 games at home in the competition.
- The Gunners have lost their last two Premier League away games 1-2, each time losing from a winning position; they haven’t lost three in a row since October 2011.
- Both teams have got on the scoresheet in seven of Arsenal’s last eight Premier League matches on the road.
- No Bournemouth player has more assists (7) or chances created (54) than defender Charlie Daniels in the Premier League.
- Alexis Sanchez has scored nine goals and assisted three more in nine Premier League away appearances this season.
TEAM NEWS & PREDICTED LINE-UPS
BOURNEMOUTH (4-2-3-1)
Jack Wilshere will be a big miss for the Cherries, as he will not feature against his parent club as part of his loan agreement. Steve Cook and Danny Pugh will also sit this one out.
Boruc; Francis, Cook, Ake, Daniels; Arter, Surman; Stanislas, King, Fraser; Afobe
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1)
Santi Cazorla and Per Mertesacker remain long-term absentees for the Gunners. Mesut Ozil is expected to return to the starting XI after missing the match against Crystal Palace through illness. Shkodran Mustafi made the bench against the Eagles and could be fit to start against the Cherries, although Gabriel Paulista has done well in his absence.
Cech; Bellerin, Paulista, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Xhaka; Chamberlain, Sanchez, Iwobi; Giroud
ODDS
BOURNEMOUTH- 15/4
DRAW- 29/10
ARSENAL- 4/5
