BOURNEMOUTH and Arsenal will meet for the third time this season on Monday night when squaring off for a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Both respective sides have locked horns home and away in the Premier League this term, Arsenal edged the first fixture at the Emirates and a 1-1 draw was played out on the Dorset coast on Boxing Day.
Last month's meeting at this venue marked Mikel Arteta's Arsenal managerial debut and the capital club have since shown signs of improvement under the Spaniards stewardship.
Arteta paid tribute to his side on Tuesday night after his ten-man Gunners twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Bournemouth themselves picked up a positive result in midweek when bagging a vital 3-1 victory over Brighton at the Vitality – a much needed shot in the arm for the relegation-threatened south coast side.
However, the Cherries Premier League status remains under severe threat and that could see Eddie Howe tinker with his starting XI on Monday night, much like the hosts did in the last round against Luton.
The Betting Odds
Arsenal have drawn five of their last six Premier League matches and a repeat of that outcome on Monday night is priced at 14/5 (SportingBet), while a first away win of the Arteta era pays 10/11 (Boylesports)
Following their promotion to the Premier League back in 2015, Bournemouth have only defeated Arsenal once in 11 attempts and that is reflected in the 16/5 (William Hill) on offer for back-to-back home wins for Howe's men.
The Betting Angles
I landed a full house of winners in Arsenal's last league outing and I'm going to revisit one of those angles in this cup clash by backing Gunners starlet Gabriel Martinelli to get on the scoresheet.
The 18 year old took his tally for the season to 10 in 21 appearances and the 21/10 (Ladbrokes) on offer for Martenelli to make the net bulge on Monday night takes appeal.
Whether or not the brilliant young Brazilian bags another goal remains to be seen, however, I do like the look of backing Arsenal to score two or more goals in this cup tie at 4/5 (Bet 365)
The Londoners struck twice against Chelsea on Tuesday night and they will be coming up against a brittle Bournemouth backline who have shipped 12 goals in their last 6 league games – an average of two per game.
What's more, the Cherries have only managed to chalk up two clean sheets in their last 14 attempts – one of which was against lowly Luton – and I suspect that this competition will ultimately be higher up on Arsenal's list of priorities than that of the hosts.
With that in mind, coupled with the fact that Bournemouth have failed to score more than one goal in 16 of their last 17 top-flight tussles, the 10/11 (Boylesports) that is available for an Arsenal success looks a little too good to pass up on.
Furthermore, Arsenal are unbeaten in their last seven matches on their travels and I fancy the Gunners upward progression under Mikel Arteta to continue on Monday night.
This FA Cup match between Bournemouth and Arsenal will be played on Jan 27, 2020 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Bournemouth vs Arsenal prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.