The Gunners had two defeats on the bounce heading into their Champions League tie against Sporting Lisbon. The threat of three in a row felt pivotal for the season. Losing three in a row will have mental repercussions at any stage, but at the business end? Damaging. Mikel Arteta sacrificed attacking spark for defensive structure. He would’ve been happy with the draw, but Kai Havertz wasn’t. The win will have restored some faith in the side, which is very important as they begin the final descent. Up next is a home fixture against Bournemouth, so let’s see what they’ll offer.

Form

Bournemouth sit 13th in the league. They’ve won 9, drawn 15 and lost 7. It’s clear what kind of side Bournemouth are from that statistic alone. Yes, the 15 draws is the highest in the league and by some distance. 12 is the next highest, held by Leeds. In fact, only five teams have entered double digits for draws this season. The Cherries’ have scored 46 goals and conceded 48. 46 is the highest in the bottom 10, with only five teams scoring more in the entire division. 48 goals conceded is quite high with only four teams allowing more in. Home form is decent as they’ve only lost twice at the Vitality Stadium. However, away form has been the biggest issue for this side. They’ve only won three times, dropping points in the other 12 games. This means it’s the 6th worst in the division.

Despite a disappointing showing on the Premier League table, Bournemouth are unbeaten in the league since January 3rd. That defeat came against Arsenal. Since then they’ve avoided defeat in 11 fixtures. That run includes four wins and seven draws. They’ve actually drawn their last five matches, scoring three and conceding the same. However, four of the six goals, that Bournemouth fans have seen recently, came in one match. That was the final fixture before the break which saw them draw 2-2 with Manchester United.

In terms of xG, Bournemouth are much better than what we see on the table. They’ve created 50.0 xG which is the 6th highest in the division. However, they’re let down by their xGA which sits at 46.6. Only four teams have allowed more expected goals. If we look at the xG table then they should be sitting 8th which is considerably better than the 13th they currently sit. They should also sit four points better off.

Absences

Andoni Iraola won’t have many absences to deal with. Lewis Cook and Justin Kluivert will definitely miss this fixture. Tyler Adams, Julio Soler and Ben Doak were doubts, but Iraola has suggested they’re in contention to make the squad.

Player to Watch: Rayan

The Brazilian hotshot has lit up the league since his arrival. Arsenal had been tracking Rayan before his move, but didn’t front the money. The 19 year old has been deployed wide right and has combined his pace and power to become a devastating product of Brazilian football. He’s only featured eight times for Bournemouth, scoring twice and grabbing one assist. The most impressive aspect is the fact that he’s earned an average match rating of 7.18. The fact that he’s only featured eight times will mean that he’s not going to feature in any top statistics for his team, but the eye test has shown that he will be a problem. He’s 6’1, quick, skilful and tireless. Whether it’s Riccardo Calafiori or Myles Lewis-Skelly up against him, they’ll need to be switched on.

Bournemouth Predicted Lineup

Bournemouth have the opportunity to mix things up due to near enough having a full squad. This is how I’d see them line up. If Tyler Adams is fit then he starts, he’s an excellent player that has been plagued with injury. They have a lot of technically gifted players and that could give Arsenal more to think about than they would like. Marcus Tavernier, Rayan, Alex Scott, Amine Adli and Evanilson like to play quick football. They’ll use the pace of Rayan and Adli to try and stretch the Gunners. Alex Jimenez and Adrien Truffert will get forward as much as they can to really create an overload. Marcus Senesi has quite an underrated talent in that he’s excellent at picking out the runs behind the defence. Whoever plays full back will have to watch out for that.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup

I’m really not 100% sure who will be fit, so my guess is based on who is almost definitely fit. This is likely the best we can come up with, even if I’m not 100% certain Calafiori will be around the squad. Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber were both not spotted in training, but that doesn’t 100% rule them out. I feel as though Mikel Arteta will opt for Cristian Mosquera to give Ben White a rest. Eberechi Eze has also been spotted in training, alongside Piero Hincapie, but I can realistically see them only making the bench. Which means they could be options later on. The team is good enough to win, despite recent struggles.

Predicted Result: Arsenal 2-0 Bournemouth

I’d love Arsenal to smash a team. From start to finish, a plethora of chances and taking a few. But, we just don’t seem to do that anymore. Sometimes we can end up with a big scoreline, but not after a half of struggling. I feel confident at home, but Bournemouth beat us in this fixture last season. The difference this time is that the squad is bigger and it didn’t come sandwiched between games against PSG. I feel like an aspect of this buildup is overrating the danger that Bournemouth could pose, it almost has the feeling we’re about to play Manchester City. We’re a vastly superior team, but how we’ve conducted ourselves recently has thrown fans into doubt. But, I have the confidence that Arsenal will get the job done and the usual suspects will get us across the line. Let’s get it!