After a resounding close to 2025 with a battering of Aston Villa at home, Arsenal begin 2026 looking to build off another statement performance as they travel to face AFC Bournemouth for the 20th match of their Premier League campaign.
The year has already started out in the Gunners’ favor. Manchester City’s draw at Sunderland on New Year’s Day extended Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to 4 points. It’s not a lot, but every point matters when City are in pursuit. Mikel Arteta’s side have struggled
to put daylight between them and the chasing pack, but now have a chance to (temporarily) push it to 7 if they can take all three points at the Vitality Stadium.
As with any Premier League match, those points are far from a guarantee. The Cherries enjoyed their first ever double over the Gunners last season, the lone club to best the Gunners home and away during a frustrating campaign for the north London side where middle table clubs were a consistent cause of frustration. The hosts enter Saturday’s tie in the midst of a poor run of form, but on the back of a come-from-behind draw with Chelsea that surely bolstered their self belief (while also putting the nail in Enzo Maresca’s tenure at the Blues).
Arsenal are on a four match winning run since their last-gasp loss at Aston Villa in early December. There were questions raised leading up to Tuesday’s match after a series of uncharacteristic performances, but they answered them with aplomb. After their first commanding performance in a few weeks, can the Gunners notch a 5th straight win for the second time this season and further cement their spot at the top of the table?
Here are three talking points ahead of Saturday’s match:
Know the Enemy
Bournemouth enter Saturday’s match in 15th place on 23 points with a record of 5W/8D/6L
What a weird season it has been for the Cherries. They started out looking like a dark horse for a European spot, reaching as high as 2nd in the table by match week 10. At that point, Adoni Iraola’s men were looking like one of England’s most exciting sides, led by a fast-paced counter attack featuring the league’s most lethal winger, Antoine Semenyo.
Since then, their form hasn’t just dipped – it has have fallen off a cliff. Not only are they winless in their last 10, but Semenyo has all but solidified a move to Manchester City in January, a move that may or may not have an impact on the manager’s lineup selection for Saturday.
It’s not entirely a shock that Bournemouth have taken a step back. Over the summer, three of their top defenders were sold to major clubs, with LB Milos Kerkez off to Liverpool, CB Dean Huijsen joining Real Madrid, and CB Ilya Zabarnyi sold to PSG. You don’t need to be a tactical guru to understand how big of a gamble that is. Unfortunately for the Cherries, the inevitable downturn has been far more profound than they could have imagined. They have shipped the 4th most goals in the league (35), and are 3rd worst in xG allowed (29.11). They also have the worst success rate at aerial duels won and have given up the second most headed goals in the league (8), a stat that Mikel Arteta will have been looking at with an eager eye as Arsenal lead the league in headed goals (9).
Their strength, of course, is their attack. They have the third highest amount of shots on target (98) in the league, one spot above Arsenal, and are in the top 8 in most attacking metrics. They like to shoot, and they are pretty good at it. They are direct and don’t wait to launch a counter-attack, causing problems for undisciplined defenses with a league-leading 7 goals from fast breaks. They will have seen Aston Villa’s success in the first half at playing long against the Gunners and look to replicate that to try and pin Arsenal back and keep them from controlling the pace of the game.
Regardless of their current form, they have only managed one loss at the Vitality Stadium all season when they lost 0-1 to Everton at the beginning of December. Couple that with the fact that Arsenal suffered their first loss of the season away to Bournemouth last season, the Gunners are no strangers to the threat that Bournemouth pose at their home strip under Iraola. That they also did the double over Arsenal last season will no doubt be a major talking point entering the match.
Historically, Arsenal have dominated this tie. The two losses last season make up 2/3 of the Cherries’ victories over the Gunners over the 18 times they have met, with Arsenal winning 13 of those previous meetings. If Arsenal want to return to that one-sided state of affairs, they will need to negate the hosts’ pacey attack and convert their chances like they did at home against Villa. Otherwise, they could be in for a tiring basketball game.
Injuries & Suspensions
Barring any announcements from Arteta, the Arsenal squad managed to escape a Premier League match without adding anyone to the injured list. As far as belated Christmas gifts go, that’s a fantastic one.
OUT: Cristhian Mosquera (ankle)
DOUBTFUL: Declan Rice (knee), Riccardo Calafiori (knock)
Predicted Lineup
Attack: Martinelli, Gyökeres, Madueke
This match comes between two huge league matches with Liverpool on deck midweek, so this may be a “rotate where possible” match. Gabriel Martinelli was left on the bench against Villa, so this would be a prime time to get him a start. His defensive prowess could enable Arteta to field the quick-footed Noni Madueke opposite him and give Bukayo Saka a little rest. At striker, Gabriel Jesus could get the nod after scoring his first goal of the season as a sub, but Gyökeres has been slowly finding his feet. Kai Havertz has a shot to come on late as a sub to get his first minutes since returning to full health.
Midfield: Rice, Nørgaard, Eze
After narrowly missing out on Tuesday, Declan Rice comes back into the side. His absence was glaring, so it will be nice to have him and his relentless work rate back in the fold. Arteta has begun to trust Christian Nørgaard more in recent matches, and Zubimendi could use a little breather as the only player to appear in all 19 of Arsenal’s PL matches so far. Does Eberechi Eze, who hasn’t seen the pitch in a PL match since the loss to Villa, finally get another start? Martin Ødegaard has been outstanding in his last two performances, but managing minutes during this run of matches is paramount. Unless he has somehow landed in the gaffer’s doghouse, you have to think this is an opportunity to get Eze and his fresh legs involved again.
Defense: Lewis-Skelly, Gabriel, Saliba, Timber
I’m a firm believer in keeping the defense intact when possible, especially after injuries have forced Arteta into countless backline combinations. Piero Hincapie was quite good on Tuesday, but is a decent candidate for a rest after playing a full 90. Myles Lewis-Skelly has looked to have found a good rhythm in recent performances and should get the LB spot on Saturday, especially with his pace. Gabriel Magalhães came off with what appeared to be a cramp, but until further news, he has to be the main man at LCB. Timber is also back, and though Ben White being back gives options so Timber doesn’t get run into the ground, White has just recovered from a hamstring strain, so a match against a counter-heavy side probably isn’t where you want to start him.
Keeper: Raya
Another match, another ridiculous Raya save. Granted, he conceded a pretty silly one right after, but he was once again a massive presence in between the sticks.
Arsenal’s New Year’s resolutions are obvious – keep winning, stay healthy, and win some silverware. Easier said than done, sure, but certainly ones that feel more attainable the longer they maintain their lead at the top. The win against Aston Villa saw them get their finishing sorted as they looked much more like the Gunners that looked nigh unstoppable in October. They have stepped up in the big games, but have had a few worrying performances against teams outside of the top half of the table. Getting all three points at Bournemouth to begin the new year keeps them sharp and confident, and takes them one match closer to reaching those lofty goals.
WHO: Arsenal at AFC Bournemouth
WHAT: Premier League match day 20
WHEN: Saturday, January 3rd, 12:30pm EST/9:30am PST/5:30pm GMT
WHERE: Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
HOW TO WATCH: Broadcast live on the NBC network. Streaming on the Peacock app.
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