Bournemouth host Arsenal at the Vitality Stadium this Saturday in an action-packed weekend in the Premier League. The two sides sit opposite ends of the table, needing three points to close in on the lead and strengthen the gap between them and the relegation zone.
The Cherries currently sit 17th in the Premier League after six games. With three draws and five losses, Bournemouth are yet to win and have just three points to their name. This also leaves them two points above the relegation zone.
In their last five games in all competitions, Bournemouth have two wins, two draws and one loss. In the Second round of the League Cup, Bournemouth faced Swansea. Despite the penalty from Matt Grimes and a goal from Jamie Paterson, David Brooks, Hamed Traore and Ryan Christie all scored to give Bournemouth the 3 - 2 win. Back in the Premier League, Bournemouth travelled to Brentford. Mathias Jensen drew first blood for Brentford but Dominic Solanke equalised before halftime. Brooks then put The Cherries ahead but Bryan Mbeumo equalised in the 93rd minute as the game finished 2 - 2.
The game against Chelsea was a goalless affair, as Bournemouth only managed four shots on target. Solanke opened the scoring against Brighton, but after an own goal from Milos Kerkez and a brace from Kaoru Mitoma gave Brighton the 3 - 1 win.
Bournemouth hosted Stoke City in the Third round of the League Cup this Wednesday. Solanke and Joe Rothwell scored within three minutes of each other in the second half for a 2 - 0 win and a Fourth round tie against Liverpool.
Arsenal, on the other hand, sit fifth in the Premier League. The Gunners have four wins and two losses, leaving them with 14 points, four points behind top of the league Manchester City already.
In their last five games in all competitions, The Gunners have four wins and a draw. Marcus Rashford opened the scoring for Manchester United, but the lead lasted one minute as Martin Odegaard equalised for Arsenal. Alejandro Garnacho’s winner for United was ruled out and Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus compounded United’s misery by making it 3 - 1 to Arsenal. The trip to Everton saw The Gunners dominate with 74% of the possession and Leandro Trossard scored to give Arsenal the 1 - 0 win.
Back in the Champions League, Arsenal impressed. Bukayo Saka, Trossard, Jesus and Odegaard all scored in the 4 - 0 thrashing of PSV. In a fiery North London derby, it was a share of the points. Arsenal were on the scoresheet with an own goal from Cristian Romero and a penalty from Saka, with Son Heung-min grabbing a brace in the 2 - 2 draw.
Arsenal travelled across London for a Third round tie with Brentford in the League Cup on Wednesday. Reiss Nelson scored the only goal of the game in the eighth minute as The Gunners won 1 - 0 and booked their Fourth round tie with West Ham.
Bournemouth and Arsenal have met just 14 times in their histories with the first meeting coming in 1987. Arsenal have dominated the fixture with 11 wins in comparison to Bournemouth’s singular win, with the two other games ending in a draw.