AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth will be hoping to build on their Carabao Cup success when they host Premier League counterparts Arsenal on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Goals from Dominic Solanke and Joe Rothwell earned the Cherries a 2-0 win over Stoke City and set up a fourth-round clash with Liverpool at Vitality Stadium.
While Andoni Iraola’s team beat the Potters on Wednesday, Reiss Nelson’s goal saw Mikel Arteta’s Gunners overcome London rivals Brentford in the third round.
Nelson’s early strike earned Arsenal a trip to West Ham in the last 16 and also saw them maintain their unbeaten start to the season in three different competitions.
The Gunners opened their Premier League campaign with victories over Nottingham Forest (2-1), Crystal Palace (1-0), Manchester United (3-1) and Everton (1-0) as well as a draw with Fulham (1-1).
They eased to a 4-0 win over PSV Eindhoven in their first Champions League group game before drawing 2-2 with Tottenham in the North London derby last Sunday.
Ahead of Saturday’s clash, afcb.co.uk caught up with Simon Collings who covers the fortunes of the Gunners for the Evening Standard.
ARSENAL PROFILE
Founded: 1886
Ground: Emirates Stadium
Nicknames: The Gunners
Record appearances: David O’Leary – 722 games (1975-1993)
Record goalscorer: Thierry Henry – 228 goals in 377 games
Head coach: Mikel Arteta (appointed December 2019)
Club captain: Martin Ødegaard (pictured below)
League position: Fifth
Leading goalscorer: Bukayo Saka (four in all competitions)
Last game: Brentford 0 Arsenal 1 (Carabao Cup)
afcb.co.uk: How has the season started for the Gunners?
SC: It’s been a solid start. I don’t think it’s been the scintillating start they had last season.
Bournemouth fans will probably remember when Arsenal went there and put in a brilliant performance, they were on a great winning run.
They have been steady and solid and the fact they are unbeaten has pleased Arteta.
The next stage now is increasing the performances to get to where they were last season.
But it’s been solid and I think everyone at the club is pretty happy with how they have got going.
afcb.co.uk: Who has been the pick of their new signings?
SC: The frustrating one for them has been Jurriën Timber who came in from Ajax and damaged his ACL in the first Premier League game of the season against Nottingham Forest.
I think there was an expectation that he was really going to be someone who was going to make a big impression on the team.
With him being out, I think Declan Rice (pictured above) has been the real stand-out. They paid big money for him – £105million – but he has lived up to the price tag.
When you speak to people at the club, he has already become a leader off the pitch and the way he has slotted into that team justifies why they paid big money for him.
He’s bringing the best out of players ahead of him, players like Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka seem to have more licence. He’s fitted in as quickly as anyone would have wished.
afcb.co.uk: Give us an insight into Mikel Arteta’s intensity?
SC: The way he operates and has done since he’s been at the club is he’s pretty much a workaholic.
Sometimes he gets to the training ground at five o’clock in the morning to start planning the day ahead.
His work ethic and drive have become pretty much the heartbeat of the club.
Everyone talks a lot about culture at Arsenal but he’s the one who drives and sets it and that’s why the standards are so high.
We have seen it with players coming and going. The ones who are there now are all his players and they buy into what he’s doing. If you don’t, you won’t last very long at that club.
afcb.co.uk: What’s your take on the Aaron Ramsdale/David Raya situation?
SC: First and foremost, it’s a gutting one for Ramsdale. You think of when he joined the club, he was getting social media abuse and he had to prove all his doubters wrong. I think he did that.
He helped get the club back in the Champions League and now he’s lost his place in the team. I think the fans feel that way as well and are pretty hurt by it.
But if you are going from what we know about Arteta, he is absolutely ruthless and he will be doing this because he thinks Raya is a better goalkeeper. I think it’s very close.
But when you are at that point where the margins between you and Manchester City are a number of points and you are trying to make up that gap, maybe this is the way you do it.
I do feel for Ramsdale though and I don’t really see long term how it can really work because you can’t have two good goalkeepers and expect one of them to be happy with not playing.
afcb.co.uk: Who is their rising star?
SC: At 23, he’s not the youngest player in the squad. Jakub Kiwior (pictured above) joined in January and didn’t really get a kick last season.
He was finding it difficult in terms of the language, he didn’t really speak English and arriving mid-season is difficult anyway.
But I think he is someone who is slowly growing into the environment.
He’s been used at left-back and centre-back and can also play as a holding midfielder.
Over the course of this season, I feel he is someone who will have quite an important role to play when Arsenal are trying to juggle competing in four competitions if they keep going in the Carabao Cup.
He goes about his business in an unassuming way and could be an unsung hero who can fill in in multiple positions.
afcb.co.uk: Are any key players either injured or suspended against the Cherries?
SC: They have a fair few injury doubts.
They are definitely without Jurriën Timber (ACL) and Thomas Partey (groin) and could be missing both left-wingers as Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard have hamstring problems. They are hoping they could be back but it’s looking difficult.
Declan Rice had a back problem against Tottenham but could be fit. It doesn’t sound like a serious issue.
Bukayo Saka (pictured above) came off against Spurs with a foot problem and they are hoping to have him available.
It’s early days but the squad already feels quite stretched which is why the players are going to have to step up.
There’s a possibility they could be without six first-team players for the game against Bournemouth.
afcb.co.uk: How do you see the game panning out and what’s your score prediction?
SC: I think it’s going to be interesting because Arteta and Andoni Iraola know each other very well having both played the same Sunday league equivalent in Spain and share similarities in terms of their styles.
For Arsenal, they will probably hope Bournemouth will attack and try to take them on because that will open up the space for them. If they try that, Bournemouth will need to be wary.
PSV Eindhoven tried to take them on, left themselves open and were punished.
I think Arsenal will get the job done. I’ll go for a 2-0 win with Arsenal trying to get a few players off and rested before they get back into Champions League action on Tuesday.
You can follow Simon on Twitter – @sr_collings
Officials: Michael Salisbury (referee), Constantine Hatzidakis (assistant), James Mainwaring (assistant), Sam Allison (fourth official), David Coote (VAR).
