Arsenal could spend Saturday evening atop the Premier League table if they can overcome Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium in the 5:30 pm kickoff.
The Gunners are riding high after a 3-1 comeback win against Southampton two weekends ago, while Bournemouth suffered a 1-0 defeat to a previously winless Leicester City.
When Arsenal fell behind to Southampton a fortnight ago, it brought back painful memories for fans, reminiscent of their 3-3 draw with the Saints during last season’s title race. However, this time Mikel Arteta’s more experienced team managed to avoid a similar fate.
After Cameron Archer gave Southampton an early lead, Bukayo Saka sparked a remarkable turnaround, assisting goals from Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli before sealing the win with a late goal of his own.
Arsenal has made significant progress since their comeback struggles last season, particularly against Bournemouth. With Manchester City and Liverpool not playing until Sunday, a victory would see Arsenal rise to the top of the table.
Though it’s too early to talk about repeating an Invincibles season, Arsenal remains unbeaten in all competitions this year and has gone 16 games without a defeat, their last loss being in April against Bayern Munich.
If they win on Saturday, Arsenal will also reach a significant milestone: their 2,000th victory in the English top flight, making them just the second team to achieve this after Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth fans will be hoping for a much-improved performance after their last outing, where they fell to Leicester City, who secured their first league win of the season against them.
Facundo Buonanotte scored the only goal of the match, leaving Bournemouth with three losses in their last four games, with the other two coming against Chelsea and Liverpool.
Bournemouth currently sits in 13th place in the Premier League, just three points shy of Fulham in eighth. However, they’ve struggled against top-half teams lately, with their last 10 Premier League wins coming against sides ranked 11th or lower, and they haven’t won in their last 11 matches against higher-ranked opponents.
A 3-0 defeat at the Emirates in May marked Bournemouth’s fourth consecutive loss to Arsenal in the Premier League, with Arsenal scoring at least three goals in each of those victories. The last time Bournemouth triumphed over Arsenal was at the Vitality Stadium back in January 2018.
INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
Arteta's hopes for an injury-free international break didn’t pan out, as Saka picked up a hamstring issue while on England duty, and Martinelli sustained a calf injury representing Brazil. However, Saka seems optimistic about being fit for the weekend.
Thomas Partey and Havertz also withdrew from their national teams, but they are hopeful of playing. Unfortunately, captain Martin Odegaard (ankle) and defender Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) have both faced setbacks and will be out for at least another month.
Arsenal's injury list continues to grow, with Kieran Tierney (hamstring), Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf), Ben White (groin), and Jurrien Timber (unspecified) all sidelined. Additionally, second-choice goalkeeper Neto can’t face his parent club, so 16-year-old Jack Porter may step in as David Raya's backup due to Tommy Setford's injury.
On the other hand, Bournemouth could head into the weekend with a clean bill of health. Iraola mentioned before the international break that he was optimistic about Tyler Adams’s chances of returning from a back injury to face Arsenal.
With most of his squad available, Iraola might consider making a change or two after their disappointing performance against Leicester City, particularly in attack, where Justin Kluivert was substituted at halftime.
Luis Sinisterra and Dango Ouattara are both options to replace him, with Sinisterra showing promise after coming on against the Foxes. However, Evanilson is likely to keep his spot as the striker, keeping Enes Unal on the bench.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Cook, Christie; Semenyo, Tavernier, Sinisterra; Evanilson
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Havertz, Partey, Rice; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli
EXPERT PREDICTION
AFC Bournemouth 1-2 Arsenal
Arsenal's first-half performance against Southampton was lackluster, but Arteta chose to hold back his star players until the second half, bringing in fresh talent when it mattered. There's optimism that both Saka and the in-form Martinelli will be cleared to play this weekend.
With that in mind, the Gunners are expected to continue their momentum from before the break, especially since Bournemouth has struggled to find their scoring touch and has often disappointed against top-10 teams in 2024.
