Bournemouth vs. Arsenal: Preview and Stats in Round 8 of the Premier League

Arsenal heads off to Vitality Stadium after the international break to face off Bournemouth in the 8th round of the Premier League. The Gunners look to prolong their unbeaten streak for one more round as Bournemouth wants to get their first win in ten games against the Londoners.

Let’s look at the main talking points as we head into this match!

Bournemouth vs. Arsenal Standings and Form

Arsenal sits comfortably at the top of the Premier League table, with 17 points. They are just one point behind the current leaders, Liverpool, and tallying the same number of points as Manchester City. Their form is excellent and they are yet to be defeated this season.

Bournemouth’s form is mixed, as they currently sit in the 13th spot of the table. They gathered 8 points so far, the same as West Ham and Manchester United. So far, Bournemouth has underperformed their expected position, with OPTA simulations expecting them to be in the 5th spot by now.

Statistics and Head to Head

This is a duel that usually goes in favour of The Gunners. Arsenal got 6 consecutive wins against The Cherries and they have not lost in their last 10 encounters. Their last four games were also high scoring encounters. Arsenal scored at least 3 goals, securing two 3-0, one 4-0 and one 3-2 victory over Bournemouth.

Another trend for this match is Bournemouth’s clean sheet record against Arsenal. The home team has not kept a clean sheet in the last 16 games against Arsenal. The last time they won the three points against Arsenal was back in 2018, when The Cherries got a 2-1 victory, after they bounced back from a 1-0. This was their only victory in this duel.

For yellow cards, both teams average 2,7 yellow cards per game and Arsenal already has two red cards this season. One shown to Declan Rice and one to Leandro Trossard. The reason was the same for each case. Delaying the play. Both controversial and a bit too harsh, yet they happened.

Comparing the two teams, we see Arsenal dominate in almost every performance metric. They scored almost two times as many goals (15), shoot more often and have more shots on target. Bournemouth is better defensively, with more tackles, interceptions and clearances, but marginally.

The Bukayo Saka Question

Is Bukayo Saka fit for Arsenal’s first game after the international break? This question is hanging over the Gunners’ heads. During a challenging match against Greece, Saka left the field after experiencing discomfort in his right leg. This is unfortunate, as Arsenal already lost Martin Odegaard, who picked up an injury during an international game.

This is not the only problem. Gabriel Martinelli picked up a calf injury during a Brazil international team game, so at the moment, Arsenal is without three of their most important players. All due to injuries sustained while away from the club.

Saka has been in excellent form this season, contributing two goals and seven assists. He picked up the main creative duties, which arose after Odegaard’s injuries. Averaging 3,9 key passes per game and 2,3 accurate crosses, his absence will be severely impacting Arsenal’s performance in this encounter.

Tactical Preview

Arsenal’s style this season has not been elegant. But it has been effective, bringing them third in the league table. They relied on set pieces and crosses into the box, mainly supplied by Saka, to create their chances and score. They average 3,1 key passes coming from crosses per game, which places them second just behind Fulham.

Marin Odegaard’s absence is impacting Arsenal, who is sometimes struggling to build-up under pressure. Bournemouth is a high-intensity pressing team, who loves to create their chances by capitalizing on mistakes and recovering the ball high up the pitch. No team has more tackles in the attacking third than Bournemouth, which stands at the top with 29 tackles. Because of this, we might see Mikel Arteta opting for a long ball strategy, with Kai Havertz as the target man for David Raya’s goal kicks, to avoid the immense pressure brought on by the hosts.

Arsenal will, of course, try to capitalize from set pieces, being the top team at transforming them into goals, with 0,4 goals per game and 4,7 shots generated from those scenarios. Both teams are on par on aerial duels, Arsenal winning slightly more often than Bournemouth.

Conclusions

It will be an interesting game to watch. Arsenal will hope for Bukayo Saka to be back on track for this game and resume his duties as a main creative outlet. They will seek to bypass Bournemouth’s press and take advantage of their set pieces. Bournemouth hopes to catch up on their -5,5 xG difference and try to cash in three points, especially if Arsenal will be without Saka and Martinelli. Yet the Gunners proved their defensive resilience time and time again, and I don’t believe they will concede more than once to Bournemouth.