Match Preview: Bournemouth vs Arsenal

Written by Jacob Burt

We're back in Premier League action this weekend following the end of the second international break of the season. We take on A.F.C Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium (5:30pm UK).

We head to the south coast full of confidence having not lost this season, and enjoying an incredible away record in 2024, which has resulted in 12 games without defeat.

In our 14 Premier League fixtures against the Cherries, we have only ever suffered defeat in one game. This came in Arsène Wenger's final season at the club.

Bournemouth Looking To Bounce Back

Having suffered three defeats in their last four games, Andoni Iraola's men will be searching for an uplifting result this Saturday. Score draws against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle started the season before their dramatic comeback at Goodison Park at the end of August. This was followed by two defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool before picking up a much-needed win against rivals Southampton. In their final game before the October international break, Bournemouth faced newcomers Leicester City, which resulted in a discouraging 1-0 defeat.

Their position in the league is reflected by their average of 1.14 goals a game, which leaves them 13th and level on points with the underwhelming Manchester United and struggling West Ham.
 

Recent Visits To The South Coast

We have undeniably relished our last two trips to the Vitality, scoring seven goals and conceding exactly zero. The 2023 fixture marked the start of Havertz's Arsenal career with his goal from the spot just after the second half had started. His goal was one of four strikes on the day, with the other three goals coming from Saka, Ødegaard and Ben White.

The early fixture in the 22/23 season sparked a hope and optimism amongst Arsenal fans that had not been a feeling associated with the club in a long time. Arsenal were 3-0 winners on the day and completely dominated the Cherries. This fixture also marked the birth of the Saliba chant which grew louder and louder after his left-footed effort in the second half. This win meant we had started the season perfectly with three wins from three which we later made five out of five.

Tactics and Threat of Opponents

Bournemouth have adopted the 4-2-3-1 formation since the appointment of Iraola in 2023. Iraola encourages the Cherries to move the ball forward quickly in order to maximise the use of their quick attackers which have posed a problem for many teams.

Players like Antoine Semenyo, Justin Kluivert, Marcus Tavernier and £31m summer signing Evanilson are ideal for the way the Cherries boss wants to play. With pace in attack they are quick in transition and can often catch teams on the break. Something Arsenal will be surely aware of.

Semenyo is Bournemouth's top scorer and will look to increase his tally of three goals this Saturday. He also has taken the second most shots in the league (31) which leaves him only behind the league's top goal scorer, Erling Haaland, who has taken 35 shots on goal.

However, Bournemouth have the third lowest conversion rate in the league with a conversion rate of 4.8%. This leaves them only above Manchester United and Crystal Palace in terms of chances taken.

Statistics and Facts

The Gunners have 5 straight wins in all competitions against Bournemouth. This includes a 1-2 away win in the fourth round of the FA Cup in 2020 (which we later went on to triumph in) with the other four coming in the league.

Bournemouth have gone 11 games in all competitions (excl. friendlies) without a single clean sheet, with their last one coming against Brighton in a 3-0 win in April.

Arsenal have scored in every single fixture against the Cherries, dating back to 1987.

Mikel Arteta's first ever game in charge of Arsenal came away at Bournemouth on Boxing Day in 2019.

Bukayo Saka will be aiming to provide a total of 10 goals and assists in what will be just his eighth game of the season.

Saka has also created the most chances out of anyone in the entire league after seven matchweeks.

Kai Havertz has scored four goals in his past four games in all competitions, which have all came at the Emirates Stadium.

Bournemouth are 5 points better off at this stage of the season (8 points) than they were in the 23/24 season (3 points)

Raheem Sterling has scored the most career goals in the Premier League versus Bournemouth, with 10 goals. This makes him Bournemouth's most feared opponent.

Arsenal's biggest win against Bournemouth was in a 5-1 thrashing at home in February 2019.

Our only ever defeat on the 16 occasions we have played Bournemouth in all competitions came in a 2-1 loss at the Vitality in January 2018.

Team News

Bukayo Saka started in England's defeat to Greece last Thursday but was taken off early in the second half due to a hamstring issue. However, it was later confirmed by England interim boss Lee Carsley that the injury was not thought to be serious and he was close to making the squad for their next game in Finland. It was later revealed that Saka had returned to Arsenal for further assessment ahead of the clash against Bournemouth.

Brazil confirmed that Martinelli picked up an injury in his right calf whilst away with his national team. He featured for the last 5 minutes in Brazil's 1-2 win against Chile on the 11th October prior to this news coming out. However, he was an unused substitute in their 4-0 win versus Peru which could indicate the injury isn't thought to be serious.

Reports of a recurrence of a knee problem for Tomiyasu have surfaced despite him only making his long-awaited return in a cameo in our last Premier League encounter against Southampton.

Despite playing the full 90 minutes in our last game before the international break, Havertz pulled out of the Germany squad due to a knee issue. The German FA announced his omission before their two encounters versus Bosnia and Netherlands.

Ødegaard still remains a glaring omission in the Arsenal squad due to his ankle injury he suffered playing for Norway in the September international break. It is reported that he could be set for a return next month. Tierney also remains out of action as a result of his hamstring injury he suffered in Euro 2024 for Scotland.

Match Officials

This will be Robert Jones' sixth time he has refereed one of Arsenal's games in the Premier League. In his five times officiating Arsenal, we have won 3 and drawn 2. His most notable appointment was in our 2-2 draw to Tottenham Hotspur at home last season.

He has only taken charge of two Bournemouth fixtures in the premier league despite officiating over 70 Premier League games.

Jones has an average of 6 cards per game this season, which is the fourth highest across all of the referees in the league.

Referee: Robert Jones

Assistants: Neil Davies, Simon Long

Fourth official: Tim Robinson

VAR: Jarred Gillett

Assistant VAR: Harry Lennard