Preview: Bournemouth vs. Arsenal – prediction, team news, lineups

Arsenal will spend Saturday evening at the top of the Premier League table should they pass the Bournemouth test at the Vitality Stadium in Saturday’s 5.30pm kickoff.

The Gunners made it four wins on the spin with a 3-1 come-from-behind success versus Southampton two weekends ago, while the Cherries were bested 1-0 by a hitherto winless Leicester City.

Match preview

Conceding first against Southampton a fortnight ago evoked painful memories for Gooners, who witnessed their side’s Premier League title charge crash and burn in a pulsating 3-3 draw with the Saints in 2022-23, but Mikel Arteta’s older and wiser team avoided that six-goal fate this time around.

After Cameron Archer sent the away end into momentary delirium, Bukayo Saka – who else – inspired a magnificent turnaround for the championship-chasing Gunners, setting up Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli’s efforts before putting the cherry on top late on.

Arteta’s crop have come a long way since their customary comebacks of 2022-23 – the most memorable of which no doubt came against this weekend’s opponents – and with Manchester City and Liverpool not in action until Sunday, the third-placed hosts will rise to the summit with all three points at the Vitality.

While it is still far too early to be discussing an Invincibles repeat, Arsenal are still yet to lose in any competition this season and have now gone 16 without defeat across all tournaments – their last reverse came all the way back in April versus Bayern Munich.

As well as topping the rankings for a matter of hours, Arsenal will achieve a significant landmark should they triumph on Saturday; they are currently sitting on 1,999 wins in the English top flight and could become just the second team to reach 2,000 victories in the division after Liverpool.

The Bournemouth faithful will be waiting a while for their side to hit that four-figure milestone, but the home crowd will simply demand a marked improvement from the Cherries’ trip to the King Power Stadium, where Leicester City picked up their first league win of the season versus Andoni Iraola’s side.

Bright Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Facundo Buonanotte crashed in the only goal of the contest in the first half to send Bournemouth home empty-handed, subjecting Iraola’s outfit to their third defeat from their last four games, even if the other two did come against Chelsea and Liverpool.

Iraola was left to bemoan his side’s wasted openings in Leicestershire, and Bournemouth reside in an unremarkable 13th place in the Premier League table as a result, albeit with just a three-point gap to make up to Fulham in eighth place at this embryonic stage.

Top-half teams have proven to be the Cherries’ kryptonite in recent times, though, as each of the hosts’ last 10 victories in the Premier League have come against teams ranked 11th or below; they are without a win in their last 11 games against top-half sides.

Furthermore, a 3-0 beatdown at the Emirates in May represented Bournemouth’s fourth straight top-flight loss at the hands of Arsenal – who have netted at least three times in all of those triumphs – although the Vitality was the site of the Cherries’ only previous win versus the Gunners in January 2018.

Bournemouth Premier League form:

D

W

L

L

W

L

Bournemouth form (all competitions):

L

W

L

L

W

L

Arsenal Premier League form:

W

D

W

D

W

W

Arsenal form (all competitions):

D

D

W

W

W

W

Team News

Arteta’s pleas for an injury-free international break fell on deaf ears, as Saka sustained a hamstring issue on England duty and Martinelli damaged his calf while representing Brazil, although the former is apparently optimistic about his chances of being fit for the weekend.

The same goes for Thomas Partey and Havertz, despite their withdrawals from their national team camps, but captain Martin Odegaard (ankle) and defender Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) are reported to have suffered setbacks and will be sidelined for at least another month.

Kieran Tierney (hamstring), Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf), Ben White (groin) and Jurrien Timber (unspecified) are also in the infirmary, while second-choice goalkeeper Neto cannot face his parent club, so 16-year-old Jack Porter could act as David Raya’s deputy this weekend due to Tommy Setford’s own injury.

While Arsenal have no fewer than 11 concerns at present, Bournemouth could come into the weekend with a clean bill of health, as Iraola said before the international break that he was optimistic of Tyler Adams’s chances of returning from a back injury against the Gunners.

With almost all of his troops available, Iraola may ponder a change or two after their King Power horror show, most likely in attack after Justin Kluivert was withdrawn at half time in the Leicester loss.

Luis Sinisterra and Dango Ouattara are both alternatives to the Dutchman in attack – the former was a bright spark after his introduction against the Foxes – but Evanilson should still keep Enes Unal at bay in the number nine spot.

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

We say: Bournemouth 0-2 Arsenal

As toothless as Arsenal’s first-half performance was against Southampton, Arteta kept his big-hitters in reserve before calling on the cavalry in the second half, and there is hope that both Saka and the in-form Martinelli will be given the green light to feature here.

The Gunners should therefore pick up where they left off before the hiatus, as Bournemouth have been indifferent in front of goal and have flattered to deceive versus top-10 sides in 2024.