Arsenal will endeavour to return to winning ways when they entertain Bournemouth at the Emirates in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
The Gunners’ Champions League hopes were dealt a major blow on Tuesday night when losing 1-0 at home to PSG in their semi-final first leg, in a game that brought up two of my three selections.
With Liverpool clinching the Premier League title last weekend, salvaging their bid to conquer the continent will be the priority for Mikel Arteta ahead of next week's return match in Paris.
As such, Arsenal’s top flight fixture with Bournemouth this weekend is nothing more than a dead–rubber from the hosts’ perspective.
While the Cherries have earned plenty of plaudits for their performances this season, there is every chance they could finish the campaign with a real whimper.
Last Sunday's 1-1 draw with Manchester United means that Andoni Iraola’s side have won just one of their last nine Premier League matches.
How the bookies view it: Gunners to get the job done
Despite drawing each of their last two Premier League home games, Boylesports make Arsenal 21/20 favourites on Saturday evening.
Bournemouth enter the Emirates as 12/5 outsiders on Boylesports, while the draw is also considered unlikely at 13/5 with the same firm.
Head to head: History favours the hosts
Arsenal boast a 100% record across their eight home games with Bournemouth in all competitions. However, it’s worth noting that Bournemouth claimed top honours from this season’s reverse fixture at the Vitality Stadium thanks to a 2-0 victory.
Players to watch: Leandro worth a look?
Given that Leandro Trossard has hit the target in four of his last five appearances for Arsenal, the same selection on Saturday evening looks worthy of support at 4/5 with Bet 365.
Tyler Adams has committed two or more fouls in six of his last seven Premier League appearances for Bournemouth, making a repeat at the Emirates an enticing option at 10/11 on Bet 365.
Predicted line-ups
With one eye on next week’s Champions League semi-final second leg, Arsenal boss Arteta will almost certainly shuffle his pack on Saturday evening.
Bournemouth boss Iraola will once again be unable to call upon the services of injured trio Enes Unal, Luis Sinisterra and Ryan Christie.
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Odegaard, Partey, Zinchenko; Nwaneri, Trossard, Sterling
Bournemouth: Kepa; Smith, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Adams, Scott; Semenyo, Kluivert, Ouattara; Evanilson
Anything else catch the eye?
In what is as good as a meaningless match for both sides, I’m more than happy to propose a play on both teams to score at 4/5 on Bet 365.
There have been goals at both ends in each of Arsenal's last three Premier League home games, all of which were against a similar standard of opposition to that of Bournemouth.
As for the Cherries, eight of their last nine league games away from home would have delivered a winning BTTS selection.
This English Premier League match between Arsenal and AFC Bournemouth will be played on and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Arsenal vs AFC Bournemouth prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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