Arsenal heads down to the south coast this weekend as they take on newly-promoted Bournemouth in a crucial English Premier League clash on Sunday, February 7. Arsenal has slipped from first place to fourth over the past weeks and haven’t won since January 2. The London club now finds themselves five points behind league leading Leicester City and the chance at winning their first title in 12 years seems to be fading away. Bournemouth enters the game seven points ahead of the relegation zone and if they can keep up the same pace should survive for at least another season in the top flight. The two teams met at the Emirates Stadium on December 28 with Arsenal winning 2-0.
Bournemouth vs Arsenal – bet365 SOCCER BETTING LINE:
- bet365 currently lists Arsenal as the favorites at 21/20 with Bournemouth 27/10 and a draw at 24/10
Bournemouth vs Arsenal – Head to Head:
- Arsenal beat Bournemouth 2-0 at home in December in league action. The only other time these two clubs have met came back in October of 1987 when Arsenal earned a 3-0 victory in a League Cup match at home.
Bournemouth enters the game after beating Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in London during the week. They enter the 25th round in 15th place in the 20-team league with seven wins, seven draws and 10 losses. They’ve scored 29 goals and allowed 39 against. They’ve won three matches at home with four draws and four defeats with 14 goals for and 16 against. Bournemouth has three clean sheets at home and has also been shut out three times. Overall, they’ve recorded five clean sheets and have failed to score on seven occasions. They have two wins, two losses and two draws in their past six home fixtures.
The Gunners are in fourth place with 45 points from 13 wins, six draws and five losses with 37 goals scored and 22 allowed. They drew their last match 0-0 at home against Southampton during the week. They have six victories on the road with three draws and three defeats while scoring 21 goals and conceding 15. Arsenal has five clean sheets away from home and has been shut out three times. Overall, they have 11 clean sheets and have failed to score a goal on seven occasions. They’ve struggled on the road lately with a win, three draws and two losses in their past six road trips.
Arsenal’s only road win in their past six trips was against last-place Aston Villa and their only win since the New Year was a 1-0 triumph at home over lowly Newcastle United. The Gunners desperately need points if they hope to have any chance at challenging for the title. They also need to turn things around pretty soon or they may even lose their grip on fourth place and a berth in next season’s European Champions League. Bournemouth will have former Arsenal player Benik Afobe in the lineup and he could be a key man. The south coast club has won three of their past four in all competitions and have seven out of nine league points in their past three fixtures.
Arsenal has lost just once in their past eight games in all competitions, but have earned just three out of 12 points in the last four league outings and are winless in three on the road. Junior Stanislas is expected to be back in the Bournemouth squad, but they’ll be without Tyrone Mings, Callum Wilson and Max Gradel. Arsenal will be without midfielders Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky while forward Danny Welbeck could finally make a return.
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By Ian Palmer
