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Arsenal welcome AFC Bournemouth to the Emirates Stadium for Saturday’s Premier League clash.
After securing a hard-fought 3-2 victory in January’s reverse fixture, the Gunners will be aiming to complete a league double over the Cherries and maintain their push at the top end of the table.
Match preview
Arsenal head into this game in strong form, having won four games in a row and picking up crucial points late on against Everton last time out in the Premier League to keep pace in the title race.
Viktor Gyökeres’ 89th-minute opener and Max Dowman’s late first Premier League goal sealed the victory for the Gunners and sent them nine points clear of Manchester City in second place.
After suffering domestic cup disappointments, having lost to Manchester City in the EFL Cup final and been knocked out of the FA Cup by Southampton in the quarter-final, Arsenal turned their attention to the Champions League, where they downed Sporting CP 1-0 late on in the first leg of their quarter-final clash.
Kai Havertz’s stoppage-time winner gave Arsenal the narrow advantage heading into the second leg at the Emirates Stadium next Wednesday.
Currently on a 11-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, Bournemouth will hope to set a new club record of 12 games without losing in the English top-flight against the Gunners.
Andoni Iraola’s side held Manchester United to a 2-2 draw in their last Premier League outing, which left the Cherries languishing in 13th place, four points behind seventh-placed Brentford.
Bournemouth have won two of their last three league games against Arsenal, more than they had in their previous 14 (W1 D2 L11).
Team news
Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes and Leandro Trossard shook off their knocks and featured against Sporting, but Martin Odegaard picked up fresh issues and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Piero Hincapie and Mikel Merino are sidelined due to injuries, while Riccardo Calafiori, Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Justin Kluivert and Lewis Cook are unavailable with injuries for the visitors, while Tyler Adams, Julio Soler and Eli Junior Kroupi could make their return from injury.
Predicted line-ups
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Havertz, Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
AFC Bournemouth (4-2-3-1): Petrovic, Jimenez, Hill, Senesi, Truffert, Christie, Scott, Rayan, Kroupi, Tavernier, Evanilson.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 AFC Bournemouth.
