Media View: What to expect from Arsenal

But what can be expected from Arsene Wenger’s men following their tough start to the season.

We caught up with Goal’s Arsenal correspondent, Chris Wheatley, to get the lowdown on the Gunners and see how they look going into the weekend’s game.

You can follow Chris on Twitter at @ChrisWheatley_

afcb.co.uk: Arsenal have had a fairly mixed start to the season, what’s the mood been like around the place as a result?

CW: The start to the season has been pretty poor so far. Arsenal fans are really upset with the way that the season has gone and I think it’s been made worse by the lack of activity in the transfer market, especially during those final few days.

Alexis Sanchez was also told that he could go if they secured a world-class replacement for him so, at the moment, they have an unhappy Alexis Sanchez on their hands and that’s never ideal.

But hopefully, if he is involved in the game on Saturday, he’ll be back in form and showing that of last season throughout the match.

afcb.co.uk: If Sanchez doesn’t feature on Saturday, what other players can cause problems for the Cherries?

CW: Mesut Ozil has just had a couple of good games for Germany over the international break, playing well against the Czech Republic and Norway. He’s got a couple of assists and scored so he’ll be in a good mood coming back into the club.

I think Alexandre Lacazette will start as well. He didn’t start against Liverpool but I’m sure he’ll get a chance this weekend. He’s a real goal-poacher and someone that Bournemouth should look out for because when he gets a chance, he’ll put it away.

Defensively, there are a few worries for Arsenal in terms of how they approach the game. They’ve been quite vulnerable when they’ve gone for three at the back so Arsene Wenger could revert to a back four but we don’t really know until his press conference.

afcb.co.uk: One player that left the Emirates in the final week of the transfer window was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, will he be missed much going forward?

CW: He didn’t really have a set position at Arsenal so I don’t think it’ll affect things too much.

He played at right wing-back and even left wing-back towards the end of last season when he’d said several months before that that he wants to be like Steven Gerrard and play in central midfield.

Liverpool are apparently going to give him that opportunity but I don’t think he would have played there for Arsenal, which is clearly the reason that he left.

Fair play to him for going for footballing reasons and not financial reasons, but Arsenal have got a good right-back in Hector Bellerin and a good left-back in their new signing Sead Kolasinac.

afcb.co.uk: Finally, what can the Cherries expect from the Gunners on the weekend and will Wenger be looking to play an attacking team?

CW: I think it’ll be a full strength side so you’re probably likely to see Ozil and Lacazette and maybe Sanchez too.

Although, with Sanchez, he’s just been on international duty with Chile and had a couple of defeats. A few people have said that he looks out of shape and mentally he might not be ready for the game but, if he does start, it’ll be a pretty decent front three so Bournemouth’s defence will certainly have their work cut out.

Chris writes for goal.com and you can visit their site here.