Image copyright: Getty Images
2024/25 English Premier League
Matchday 8
Bournemouth v Arsenal
Vitality Stadium
Bournemouth, England
Saturday, 19 October 2024
Kick-off is at 18h30
Arsenal will be aiming to continue their unbeaten start to the
Premier League season when they travel to the south coast for a clash with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, October 19 in the late kick-off.
Only the Gunners and Manchester City have yet to lose this term, and both teams picked up wins on matchday 7 to stay within touching distance of league leaders Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta's side came from behind to beat Southampton 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium on October 5 - their fourth consecutive victory - to go level with City on 17 points in third place.
The Reds edged Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park to remain one point clear at the summit, while the Citizens claimed a hard-fought 3-2 success against Fulham at the Etihad Stadium.
Bournemouth went unbeaten in their opening three matches, but have struggled for results in the last month and a half, losing three of the four encounters during that period.
Andoni Iraola's side succumbed to a 1-0 defeat against Leicester at the Vitality Stadium on October 5 which left them 13th in the standings in a three-way tie with West Ham (12th) and Manchester United (14th) on eight points.
In team news, Tyler Adams (back ) is the only injury concern for the hosts, while the visitors are sweating on the fitness of several players. Martin Odegaard (ankle) and Kieran Tierney (thigh) are definitely ruled out, with Ben White, Kai Havertz (both knee), Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka (thigh), Thomas Partey, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Martinelli (both calf) all rated doubtful.
Iraola felt the Cherries did enough to come away with all three points against the promoted Foxes, but admitted they were made to pay for their missed chances.
"Overall I think we were better. We had more chances and missed clear chances. You have to take them at this level," the Spaniard told Sky Sports.
"We had a mistake with their goal, with the one-two. We pushed them a lot but if you don't score, today can happen.
"You have to score and be efficient. Overall we played quite well and threatened more than them. It is what it is."
Image Source: Alamy Stock Photo
Arteta hailed the character of his team after they emerged from a challenging 21-day period to go unbeaten in seven games and keep the pressure on their title rivals.
"It's been a really tough period since the last international break in terms of fixtures, the amount of injuries we had and teams we had to play," the Spaniard said.
"But the team shows an incredible capacity to adapt to various contexts. They are really willing, they really want this and I'm really happy where we are.
"This period required something else, something that we haven't done in the past. For the amount of injuries and with the schedule we had to play, and we played certain moments with 10 men as well.
"It doesn't matter, there's no excuses. We adapted to that, we faced it and we went for it, and I love that character from the team."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Bournemouth wins - 0
Arsenal wins - 4
Draws - 1
Premier League Matchday 8 fixtures:
Saturday, October 19
13h30: Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
16h00: Fulham v Aston Villa
16h00: Ipswich Town v Everton
16h00: Manchester United v Brentford
16h00: Newcastle United v Brighton & Hove Albion
16h00: Southampton v Leicester City
18h30: Bournemouth v Arsenal
Sunday, October 20
15h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester City
17h30: Liverpool v Chelsea
Monday, October 21
21h00: Nottingham Forest v Crystal Palace
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