Having ended 2025 in perfect fashion, we’ll look to kick-start 2026 by extending our lead at the top of the table when we head to Bournemouth on Saturday (5.30pm UK).
Having won just one of their first 14 Premier League games against us, the Cherries did the double over us last season, but head into this match on the back of a 10-game winless run which has seen them plummet down the table.
And while we lost at the Vitality Stadium on our last visit, three successive league wins in fixtures that we also failed to triumph in last term will give us plenty of confidence that we can right more wrongs and put more pressure on the chasing pack.
Bournemouth’s winter of woe
After late-season slumps in both of Andoni Iraola’s first two seasons saw Bournemouth miss out on a first-ever European qualification, a strong start this time around seemed to indicate that achievement would be on the cards as they entered November sitting second, only behind ourselves.
But since that point, the Cherries are winless in their last 10 games, their longest ever run without a victory within the same top-flight campaign. That has seen them fall to 15th, but they have proven hard to beat during a lean winter, especially at home. Recent draws against West Ham United, Chelsea and Burnley have been sandwiched between their only defeat at the Vitality Stadium against Everton a month ago.
While three-point hauls currently elude them, they have scored eight in their last four games to gain credible 4-4 and 2-2 draws at Manchester United and Chelsea respectively. However, transfer speculation continues to swirl around talisman Antoine Semenyo, while a heavy loss at Brentford last weekend saw them concede four in a game for the fourth time in 19 league matches.
What the manager say
Arteta: “We lost both games [last season], we know how good a team they are, how they can threaten you from every angle, so we know the difficulty of the game.
“I have huge respect for them. I know Andoni really well, and what he’s doing is incredible. I’m watching all the games that they played this season and against the top sides, and how difficult they made it, so how they haven’t got results against them is difficult to understand.” – every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference
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Every word of Arteta’s pre-Bournemouth presser
Iraola: “It is not going to be easy, they have been unbelievable this season. You see a lot of Arsenal games, and it’s like the opposition didn’t even arrive. They control the games, and they don’t allow us to do a lot of things. Their defenders are top level, and you have to be really clinical because nobody gets chances against Arsenal, so when you get them, you have to punish them.
“Sometimes we can have a chance against other teams, but against Arsenal, it looks always more difficult because they have a good structure, very good players defending from transitions, and it’s always more difficult. We’ve changed a lot so we cannot use a lot of things that we played against them last season. I think we have to analyse the games they’ve played lately, and they’ve been really good.”
Team news
A late call will be made on Declan Rice after he was forced to sit out our 4-1 success against Aston Villa on Tuesday due to a knock on the knee, but Mikel Arteta confirmed that he will definitely be unable to call upon the services of Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera.
Max Dowman also remains out with an ankle issue picked up last month.
Lewis Cook missed Tuesday’s draw against Chelsea with a neck problem and will be assessed in the build-up, but Ryan Christie is out with a knee problem that has plagued him for the past month.
Tyler Adams and Veljko Milosavljevic are sidelined for a couple of months with their own knee injuries, while Ben Gannon-Doak has been absent since the start of November with a serious hamstring injury. Full-back Julian Araujo has joined Celtic on loan.
TALKING TACTICS
Adrian Clarke: Bournemouth might not be in great form, but they are never easy to play against. Under Iraola they are always one of the most ferocious pressing outfits, who place a strong emphasis on being aggressive and intense in their duels. Statistically, they press more often than any other top-flight side, but the absence of tigerish ball-winner Adams may weaken them a little in this department.
Iraola’s teams are usually low on possession, but when they spring attacks, they do so at real speed. So, when we commit players forward and lose the ball, the Cherries are sure to explode forward in numbers on the break. Our upcoming opponents have scored a division-high seven times from fast breaks this season. Semenyo, right winger David Brooks and attacking midfielders Marcus Tavernier and Justin Kluivert are all talented individuals who can create chances.
They line up in a 4-2-3-1, with Adrien Truffert [above] advancing high as an attacking left-back. The summer signing has produced 86 open play crosses so far, the joint most of anyone in the Premier League. As we saw last time out at Chelsea, the Cherries also present a major threat from long throws. Semenyo hurls the ball into the box at pace, and they are excellent at getting on the end of near-post flick-ons.
Defending has been an issue for them in 2025/26. On home turf, they have only leaked six goals, but away from the south coast, Bournemouth have conceded 29 times already. Set pieces have been especially problematic, letting in 12 goals this term from dead-ball situations.
Facts and stats
We have lost just one of our last 16 league games, winning the last four in a row since a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa.
Bournemouth have failed to win any of their last four home games, but have lost just two of their last 13 (W6 D5).
We have only failed to score in one of our 16 Premier League games against Bournemouth, though it was in this exact fixture last season.
The Cherries have lost 12 of their 13 Premier League games against sides starting the day at the top of the table, with the exception of a 2-1 home win over Manchester City in November 2024.
We have lost our opening league game in just one of the last 10 calendar years (W7 D2), going down 2-1 at home to Man City on New Year’s Day 2022.
No Bournemouth player has scored more goals (9), made more assists (3), had more shots (45) or touches in the opposition box (86) nor played more passes into the box (96) than Antoine Semenyo in the Premier League this season.
Leandro Trossard has the most assists (4) and joint-most goals (5) of any Arsenal player in the Premier League this term.
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Match officials
It’s a third Gunners game of the campaign for Chris Kavanagh, who oversaw our 1-0 loss at Liverpool in August as well as the 2-0 win at Burnley in November. We have won half of the 26 matches of ours he has overseen across his refereeing career, including three of the last four.
He’s making a swift return to the Vitality Stadium, having officiated Bournemouth’s last home encounter when they drew 1-1 against Burnley on December 20. He averages 4.1 cards a match and has dished out five penalties this season – only Sam Barrott has issued more.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Assistants: Dan Cook, Ian Hussin
Fourth official: Lewis Smith
VAR: Paul Tierney
Assistant VAR: Marc Perry
Previous visits to the Vitality
Last season’s trip to the south coast was an unhappy one as the Cherries recorded a 2-0 success, capitalising on William Saliba’s 30th-minute dismissal with second-half strikes from Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert.
Before then we had enjoyed two memorable away days following Bournemouth’s return to the top-flight back in 2022/23 – a 4-0 demolition on the south coast back in September 2023 with goals from Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz’s first for the club and Ben White, while the season before saw Odegaard net twice to secure a 3-0 victory, memorable thanks to Saliba’s long-range stunner.
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From the vault: Memorable matches at Bournemouth
Live coverage
Tune into Arsenal.com and the official app just before kick-off to get live commentary of the game, with Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke talking you through all the on-field action.
You can also find out which broadcaster is showing the action live wherever you are in the world.
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How to watch Bournemouth v Arsenal live on TV
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