Bournemouth vs Arsenal 26/12/19

26 December 2019

The two struggling sides will face off at the Vitality Stadium in the Premier League’s (PL) festive season, as Bournemouth take on out-of-sorts Arsenal.

The hosts are enduring a frustrating period, having picked up just one win in their last seven top-flight fixtures, losing the remaining six. Five of those results (win/loss) in that period have come via a single-goal margin, with four of those matches featuring three or more goals. Bournemouth’s dip in form has also seen them go from four consecutive PL home games without a loss (W2, D2) to three successive defeats, two of which have seen them draw a blank. One of the main reasons for Bournemouth’s recent struggling is their inability to score goals. The Cherries have failed to find the back of the net in three of their last five PL home fixtures, scoring precisely one goal per match in the remaining two.

Mikel Arteta will make his PL debut as Arsenal manager against a side they’ve beaten in all three of their previous PL H2Hs. Arsenal’s intimidating top-flight H2H record against Bournemouth (W7, D1, L1) could serve as a major boost in their efforts to register only their second PL win in the last couple of months. Indeed, except for a 3-1 away triumph over West Ham, the Gunners have failed to pick up three points in nine of their previous ten PL outings (D5, L4). Four of those matches during that ten-game sequence have seen Arsenal draw a blank, while six witnessed them concede two or more goals. The one consolation for the traveling side is that they’ve gone from back-to-back PL away defeats to three straight league trips without a loss (W1, D2).