Bournemouth vs Arsenal predictions: Cherries may be picked apart
- Arsenal’s last five away wins in the league have been accompanied by a clean sheet
- Bournemouth are without a win in their last ten Premier League matches
- Recommended bet: Arsenal to win to nil
Arsenal and Bournemouth’s last meeting featured one of the most dramatic finishes in Premier League history, but this latest encounter may prove a little more straightforward from the Gunners’ perspective.
Arsenal beat the Cherries twice last season, but had to come from 2-0 down in March’s encounter at the Emirates Stadium, Reiss Nelson’s last-gasp strike completing the comeback in a 3-2 win.
Mikel Arteta will hope his side don’t have to dig as deep again to record a third straight away win in the league this season at the expense of a new-look Bournemouth side who are still awaiting the first top-flight win of manager Andoni Iraola’s reign.
Team news
Bournemouth are sweating on the fitness of topscorer Dominic Solanke after he picked up an ankle injury in Wednesday's EFL Cup win over Stoke.
Solanke could join Alex Scott, Chris Mepham, Lloyd Kelly and Ryan Fredericks on the sidelines, with none of that quartet expected back this weekend.
Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are Arsenal's two main injury concerns after the pair failed to finish the 2-2 draw with Tottenham last weekend, with Arteta saying that both will undergo late fitness checks.
This game is likely to come too soon for Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli, while Thomas Partey is still nursing a groin issue.
The stats
Arsenal had the best away record in the Premier League last season, collecting 39 points from their 19 road assignments, and have begun this season in similar fashion with 1-0 victories at Crystal Palace and Everton.
The Gunners won 3-0 at the Vitality Stadium last season, making it four wins from their seven visits to Bournemouth in all competitions.
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has kept two clean sheets in his first three starts for the north London outfit and tends to enjoy his meetings with Bournemouth, who have yet to score a Premier League goal against the Spaniard in two attempts.
And the Cherries may have a tough time getting past Raya without Solanke, who has scored three of Bournemouth’s five Premier League goals this season.
Solanke opened the scoring at Brighton, but Iraola’s men couldn't build on that strong start as they fell to a 3-1 loss. No top-flight side has dropped more points from winning positions than the Cherries (8) this season.
This will be the 13th time Bournemouth have faced Arsenal and as well as only ever beating the Gunners once previously, the South coast side have yet to keep a clean sheet against the north Londoners.
Prediction
Traditionally, this fixture has not gone well for Bournemouth and it is tough to see them ending their wait for a first league win of the season against Arsenal on Saturday.
The Cherries are still adapting to life under Iraola and while they have performed well for periods in games, they are still to put together a complete performance.
Iraola’s eagerness to press teams high up the pitch is a gamble that is yet to pay off and the way Bournemouth now try to operate may play into the hands of Arsenal.
The Gunners recently picked apart a PSV Eindhoven team that tried to press them in the Champions League, running out 4-0 winners, and the Cherries will need to strike the right balance.
Injuries are Arsenal’s main concern heading to the South Coast and if both Saka and Rice are out, that will make life a lot harder.
But a full-strength defence that has kept three successive clean sheets in the last three away games in all competitions, coupled with the quality Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus and others bring to the attack should be enough to see Arsenal take all three points.
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