High-flying Arsenal visit the humble surroundings of Bournemouth for the three points on offer in Matchday 8 of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
Bournemouth will be at home to Arsenal who have sights on another title race this season, hence, the Cherries will be looking to halt their hopes.
Both sides met only recently during the pre-season Tour in the USA which ended in a draw over 90 minutes followed by a shoot-out win for Arsenal in Los Angeles. The corresponding fixture ended 4-0 in favour of Arsenal who won both legs by a 7-0 aggregate scoreline last season.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, will be hoping they can build on a decent first campaign under Andoni Iraola. The Cherries finished 12th in the table last season, with 48 points proving to be their best tally in a Premier League campaign.
Yet, it wasn’t a perfect campaign for the South Coast side who had a goal difference of -13 and lost more games than they won. There are signs of optimism and the improvement of individual players has also been notable as Dominic Solanke in particular enjoyed a fantastic campaign with his highest goal tally in a top-flight season.
There will be lots of goodwill for Bournemouth this term and they must get off to a good start. The campaign commences at Nottingham Forest and they have a fair run of fixtures that can build up their momentum gradually.
Nevertheless, getting the better of Arsenal is no mean feat considering they have ended as runners-up in the last two Premier League title races. Having led the league for most of the 2022/23 season, a series of dropped points saw them lose to Man City as they set a record for most time spent on top of the table without actually winning the league.
A reinvigorated Arsenal brought the fight to Pep Guardiola’s men the following season and ended a 12-match losing run against City to signify their ability to compete. However, 28 league victories were not enough to stop the Cityzens but it surpassed the record of wins by The Invincibles of 2003/04, while the Gunners finished in the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2009/10.
Relentlessness is the watchword for Mikel Areta’s men who look to make it third time lucky for their first Premier League title in over two decades. Their league campaign kicks off against Wolves and they have some tough opponents thereafter, making it necessary to have a good start to proceedings.
It is pertinent that they build up some early momentum to make another strong case in the race against Man City’s record-extending fifth consecutive title.
The squad must also be capable of going toe-to-toe with the most expensive side in Europe for what will be a battle of slim margins.
Match tickets
This Premier League fixture takes place on Saturday, 19 October 2024 with kick-off scheduled for 3 PM UK time. Match tickets are available for sale on each club’s website but note that season ticket holders and club members will be given priority consideration.
One of the Premier League title favourites is coming to town so Cherries supporters will be desperate to lend their voice to what they hope is a memorable day out. This means every single seat in the 11,000-capacity Vitality Stadium should be occupied for this occasion.
Official ticket sources will surely be overwhelmed with purchase requests, hence we urge those looking for Bournemouth vs Arsenal tickets to purchase them on a resale site.
Team news
Iraola has a tight-knit group of players that were so impressive in his maiden campaign and only a few more have been added to their squad so far. Following the arrival of Alex Paulsen and the permanent signing of Enes Unal, Bournemouth have also signed Daniel Jebbison on a free transfer.
On the other hand, Ryan Fredericks, Jamal Lowe, Darren Randolph and Emiliano Marcondes were all released on free transfers and we could see several incomings to replace the numbers.
Meanwhile, they have some fitness worries going into the season as Tyler Adams required an operation on his back injury which will rule him out for the start of the season. Owen Bevan has also joined Enes Unal, Alex Paulsen and Luis Sinisterra on the sidelines but the club will be keen to have some of them available by then.
Arsenal have completed a permanent move for David Raya while they are close to completing a €50million deal with Bologna for Riccardo Calafiori.
Those close to the exit door include Emile Smith Rowe, who has been heavily linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah, which could prompt the need for attacking reinforcements for the Gunners. Arsenal look set to lose academy marksman, Chido Obi-Martin, to Manchester United after the 16-year-old scored 32 goals in just 16 Under-18 Premier League games last season.
Line-ups
Solanke will once again be the main man but Bournemouth will be pleased that his supporting cast which features the likes of Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo also delivered tangible goal contributions last term.
Bournemouth: Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Scott, Cook; Semenyo, Christie, Kluivert; Solanke
Arsenal have been the second-best team in the league for the last two seasons and continuity is required to get them to the next level of their evolution into a title-winning side. Nonetheless, a couple of additions are expected to make them even stronger next term.
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Prediction
The Gunners have been utterly dominant in previous games against Bournemouth with 13 wins from 16 games. Their last four encounters have also seen 15 goals scored, with Arsenal netting at least three in each of those matches.
Bournemouth will be desperate to improve their pitiful record against the Londoners but they would do well to get a point, given Arsenal’s current form. It is hard to look past a comprehensive away victory here.
Bournemouth 0-3 Arsenal