Fresh from sending out a huge statement of intent in the Premier League title race, Arsenal hit the road for a date with Bournemouth on Saturday evening, in gameweek 20 of the 2025-26 top-flight campaign.
The Gunners will rock up at the Vitality Stadium buoyed by their incredible 4-1 beating of Aston Villa during the week, recovering from an awkward first half to put one of their title rivals to the sword in convincing fashion.
Arsenal's success ensured that the Gunners would start 2026 at the summit of the Premier League table, but their hosts - formerly tipped as Champions League outsiders - have fallen way off the European pace of late.
Andoni Iraola's men are now winless in their last 10 matches in the Premier League, although their 2-2 draw with Chelsea in midweek was praiseworthy, and the Cherries should still have Antoine Semenyo in their ranks by the time the Gunners arrive.
Here, Sports Mole looks at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between Arsenal and Bournemouth.
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 18
Bournemouth wins: 3
Draws: 2
Arsenal wins: 13
Not until a 1987-88 EFL Cup showdown - which Arsenal won 3-0 before being beaten by Luton Town in the final - did the Gunners lock horns with Bournemouth, and the pair had to wait until 2015 for their maiden battle in the top flight after the Cherries' historic promotion.
As a result, the head-to-head history between the two teams is relatively modest - they have only crossed paths 18 times in competitive matches down the years, and Arsenal have come up trumps in 13 of them.
In contrast, Bournemouth only have three successes to their name against the three-time Premier League winners, although one of those did come in the two most recent showdowns, a 2-0 win in October 2024 thanks to William Saliba's early red card and a 2-1 victory at the Emirates a few months later, one that represented their first-ever away win vs. the Gunners.
Prior to 2024-25, the Gunners had conquered Bournemouth five times on the spin across all competitions, easing to a pair of triumphs over the Cherries in the 2023-24 Premier League season by an aggregate scoreline of 7-0.
A 4-0 Vitality Stadium slaughter preceded a 3-0 Emirates victory for Mikel Arteta's side in May 2024, although that was nothing in comparison to their battle in North London on March 4, 2023, where Philip Billing scored the second-quickest goal in Premier League history.
A Marcos Senesi header made Arsenal's uphill climb even steeper, but Thomas Partey and Ben White got the Gunners back on terms before Reiss Nelson's heroic 97th-minute winner, which triggered Emirates celebrations like none other.
That 3-2 spectacular was the second of four straight games in which Arsenal have scored at least three times against Bournemouth, who had also never kept a clean sheet in a competitive game against the North London giants before the 2024-25 season.
Last 18 meetings
May 03, 2025: Arsenal 1-2 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Oct 19, 2024: Bournemouth 2-0 Arsenal (Premier League)
May 04, 2024: Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Sep 30, 2023: Bournemouth 0-4 Arsenal (Premier League)
Mar 04, 2023: Arsenal 3-2 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Aug 20, 2022: Bournemouth 0-3 Arsenal (Premier League)
Jan 27, 2020: Bournemouth 1-2 Arsenal (FA Cup Fourth Round)
Dec 26, 2019: Bournemouth 1-1 Arsenal (Premier League)
Oct 06, 2019: Arsenal 1-0 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Feb 27, 2019: Arsenal 5-1 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Nov 25, 2018: Bournemouth 1-2 Arsenal (Premier League)
Jan 14, 2018: Bournemouth 2-1 Arsenal (Premier League)
Sep 09, 2017: Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Jan 03, 2017: Bournemouth 3-3 Arsenal (Premier League)
Nov 27, 2016: Arsenal 3-1 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Feb 07, 2016: Bournemouth 0-2 Arsenal (Premier League)
Dec 28, 2015: Arsenal 2-0 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Oct 27, 1987: Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth (EFL Cup)
Last 10 Premier League meetings
May 03, 2025: Arsenal 1-2 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Oct 19, 2024: Bournemouth 2-0 Arsenal (Premier League)
May 04, 2024: Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Sep 30, 2023: Bournemouth 0-4 Arsenal (Premier League)
Mar 04, 2023: Arsenal 3-2 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Aug 20, 2022: Bournemouth 0-3 Arsenal (Premier League)
Dec 26, 2019: Bournemouth 1-1 Arsenal (Premier League)
Oct 06, 2019: Arsenal 1-0 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Feb 27, 2019: Arsenal 5-1 Bournemouth (Premier League)
Nov 25, 2018: Bournemouth 1-2 Arsenal (Premier League)