Bournemouth (a)

The Premier League is back!!! and we head to the South Coast to face Bournemouth in the Sky Sports 5:30 LIVE!!!! offering.

Early Team News
Lots of injury doubts after a brutal international week.
David Raya kept two clean sheets and is thankfully available tomorrow. We won't have Neto, who cannot take part against his parent club, so a youngster will be on the bench. Tommy Setford is back from injury.

Right back remains a key concern. Ben White and Jurrien Timber are big doubts while Takehiro Tomiyasu's return was short lived.
Gabriel, William Saliba and Riccardo Calafiori all came back fit and healthy. Oleksandr Zinchenko remains out.

Thomas Partey sat out the Ghana games, but is not a worry for tomorrow. Declan Rice is fit and firing, while Mikel Merino got a beneficial run-out for Spain. Partey could be needed at RB, so Rice and Merino may be the midfield partnership.

Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz all missed their countries second fixture and are doubts for tomorrow. Saka and Havertz seem likely to be fit while a late decision on Martinelli will be taken. Leandro Trossard came throught the internationals unscathed and Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus stayed at Arsenal.

Martin Odegaard remains sidelined.


Bournemouth's form
It has been a hit and miss start for the Cherries, with 8 points from 7 games. They started with 2 draws with Forest and Newcastle before a dramatic 3-2 win at Goodison Park. They then lost at home to Chelsea and away to Liverpool, before a South Coast derby win at home to Southampton. A disappointing 1-0 defeat to Leicester last time out.

Head to Head
We had not played Bournemouth in the league until 2015 but have had 14 meetings since. We have won 11, drawn 2 and lost just once. All failures to win have, however, come at the Vitality where we have a 4W, 2D, 1L record - winning the last 2.
Last season saw us win comfortably, a 4-0 perhaps most notable for Kai Havertz scoring his first goal for Arsenal. Saka, Odegaard and White with the others. We also won 3-0 at home.
The one defeat came in 2018, as Callum Wilson and Jordan Ibe netted to overturn a Hector Bellerin opener. The draws came in 2019 and 2017, the second seeing us come from 3-0 down to snatch a draw.

Star Man
Antoine Semenyo has 3 goals and an assist so far, and is the dangerman down right. Evanilson came from Porto in the summer, and broke his duck against Southampton. Milos Kerkez is a highly rated left back who could be dangerous linking up with Marcus Tavernier as they look to exploit our RB issues.

Saka record chase
Should Saka play and score he would become the youngest-ever Arsenal player to score 50 goals in the Premier League at just 23 years and 44 days old.



It is a tough fixture, but one we are heavy favourites for. Hopefully the fitness concerns will ease for the game, and we don't have to see Jesus and Sterling start!