Premier League leaders Arsenal travel to Bournemouth on Saturday.placeholder image
Premier League leaders Arsenal travel to Bournemouth on Saturday. | Getty Images
Arsenal will aim to increase their lead at the top of the Premier League when they travel to face Bournemouth
Arsenal will be given the opportunity to go seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table when Mikel Arteta’s side travel to face Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Gunners emphasised their title-winning credentials with an emphatic second-half display in a 4-1 thumping of Aston Villa, who had previously been on an eleven-game winning streak but were no match for the leaders at the Emirates.
Manchester City host managerless Chelsea the following evening on Sunday, and victory for Arsenal on the south coast would ramp up the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s side as they look to keep up the pace at the top.
Arsenal have seen their fair share of injury issues in recent weeks as have many clubs across the division, with Arteta set to face a selection dilemma ahead of facing the Cherries, who started the season strongly but have slipped down the table in recent months and now sit uncomfortably in 15th place.
Arsenal predicted XI vs Bournemouth: goalkeeper and defence
Arsenal were buoyed by the return of Gabriel to the starting XI against Aston Villa, and the big Brazilian centre-back rather fortuitously forced home the opening goal after putting Emiliano Martinez under pressure from a corner. He will continue if passed fit to start alongside impressive defensive partner William Saliba – the pair, with David Raya in goal behind them, have enjoyed the best defensive record in the division this term.
Arteta has confirmed that first-choice left-back Riccardo Calafiori will remain on the side-lines having not returned from an injury picked up in the warm-up against Brighton, while Cristhian Mosquera will also miss out alongside Max Dowman.
Jurrien Timber returned from injury to face Villa and will look to keep his place, while the Arsenal boss may decide to rotate at left-back and bring in Myles Lewis-Skelly to start in place of Piero Hincapie, as the Gunners continue to utilise their squad effectively.
Arsenal predicted XI vs Bournemouth: midfield and attack
The biggest doubt hanging over Arteta’s midfield is the fitness of maestro Declan Rice, who started out of position at right-back against Brighton but picked up a knee issue which meant he had to sit out of the big win against Villa.
The Arsenal boss gave an update on Rice in his press conference on Friday: “We have another session today, let’s see how he comes today and how that’s feeling, but [the Villa game] was too early for him.”
If Rice is not passed fully fit then he is unlikely to be risked by Arteta, who can call on Mikel Merino to keep his place in the midfield alongside Martin Zubimendi. Captain Martin Odegaard has returned to form in recent matches and will hope to affect the game once again.
In attack, there have been calls for Arteta to hand a start to Gabriel Jesus, who scored late on following his introduction against Unai Emery’s Villans and has made a quick impact since his return from an ACL injury. The Gunners’ £64m marquee signing Viktor Gyokeres could drop to the bench to make way for the Brazilian, and still has a way to go if he is to justify the extensive outlay made for the Swede over the summer. Kai Havertz also returned to the matchday squad against Aston Villa and could be in contention to appear off the bench.
Bukayo Saka has bagged four goals and four assists in the league this term and will look to cause havoc from the right, whilst Leandro Trossard continues to keep Gabriel Martinelli and Eberechi Eze out of the side, with neither of the pair having appeared off the bench in the last two matches.
Full predicted XI (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Merino; Saka, Jesus, Trossard.
Continue Reading