Arsenal vs Bournemouth

As a fiercely-contested Premier League title race enters the crunch period, Arsenal entertain high-flying Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal’s pursuit of their first Premier League title in two decades remains firmly on course after last weekend’s 3-2 win against Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby kept them at the top, one point clear of second-placed Manchester City. As the Citizens have a game in hand, the title grip is out of Arsenal’s hands, but they’ll look to hold up their end of the bargain and maintain a superb run of 13 wins in their last 15 league outings (D1, L1). Despite conceding twice beyond halftime against Spurs, Mikel Arteta’s defense is still among Europe’s best, with only three sides from Europe’s top-five leagues bettering the Gunners’ tally of 14 clean sheets this season. They’ll be keen to add to that record against a Bournemouth side they’ve defeated in three consecutive top-flight H2Hs, including a 4-0 romping in September’s reverse fixture.

However, this is a different Bournemouth team compared to the early season. Last week’s 3-0 walloping of Brighton saw the Cherries equal the club record for most wins in a single Premier League season (13) and take their seasonal tally to 48 points for the first time. Safe in mid-table, Andoni Iraola’s men bid to secure a top-half finish on the back of ten consecutive scoring outings in the Premier League. But their perennial struggles against Arsenal paint a bleak picture, with Bournemouth only winning once in their 13 Premier League meetings with the Gunners (D2, L10). That’s not to mention they’ve lost all six league H2Hs at the Emirates, four of which via multi-goal margins.