Arsenal need to close the gap between them and 1st place if they still want to maintain hopes for the title. Leicester managed an amazing win against Manchester City and are now 8 points in front of the Gunners who are very likely to end their negative streak against Bournemouth. Wenger’s side has won only 2 of their last 6 games and need to step up and not let Leicester go too far ahead. What is even more important is the fact that a win against the Cherries would give Arsenal good morale for next week’s crucial game against the current Premier League leaders. Hopefully a solid performance and a domestic winning streak will also set up the Gunners for a good performance against Barcelona.
Despite the fact that Bournemouth have the upper hand with 4 wins out of their last six matches, it`s still Arsenal who are favorites. The Gunners just have to find their scoring rhythm again. Giroud will be up front and is expected to step up after being a bit under the weather so far in 2016. His drop in form will not cost him his spot in the starting eleven as he is expected to be the number one pick ahead of Walcott.
Wenger will need to watch out for Benik Afobe who is in great form since his move to Bournemouth from Wolves. He scored three goals in three consecutive games and is now considered the number one threat. Fortunately, Arsenal’s defense is doing well and should not have issues handling Bournemouth’s attacking line. The issue is up front where things are not going as well as they did during the end of 2015.
Arsenal may look past Bournemouth and be more concerned with the Leicester match which would be a mistake given the recent form of Eddie Howe’s side who have beaten Man United and Chelsea in recent memory. The Gunners really need a win against Leicester however so Wenger might also rest one or two players, hoping that they will make a difference on the 14th of February and if you want to have a flutter on Arsenal in the coming weeks then why not take advantage of some bonusues for mobile betting at ladbrokes.
Here are the predicted line-ups:
Arsenal:
Starting XI: Cech; Monreal; Koscielny; Gabriel; Bellerin, Ramsey, Elneny; Ramsey; Sanchez; Ozil; Campbell; Giroud
Substitutes: Ospina; Chambers; Oxlade-Chamberlain; Walcott; Gibbs; Gabriel; Coquelin
Injured: Welbeck; Wilshere
Bournemouth:
Starting XI: Boruc; Smith; Francis; Cook; Daniels; Ritchie; Gosling; Surman; Arter; Pugh; Afobe
Substitutes: Federici, Elphick, Butcher, MacDonald, King, Grabban, Iturbe
Injured: Gradel; Wilson; Mings
Both teams have a similar system with 4 defenders 5 midfielders and a single attacker. Arsenal are clearly the most offensive by using a 4-2-3-1 formation that turns into a 4-1-3-2 formation during the attack. Bournemouth are more conservative and often play with just two lines that will be hard to break down.
Score Prediction: Bournemouth 0 – 1 Arsenal