Image copyright: Getty Images
2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 7
Bournemouth v Arsenal
Vitality Stadium
Bournemouth, England
Saturday, 30 September 2023
Kick-off is at 16h00
Arsenal will target a return to winning ways in the
Premier League when they travel to the south coast to take on Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, September 30.
The Gunners played out to a thrilling 2-2 draw with arch-rivals Tottenham in the 194th North London derby on September 24, which maintained their unbeaten start to the season.
However, the stalemate halted a run of two successive wins against Manchester United (3-1) and Everton (1-0) as Mikel Arteta's side dropped four points behind league leaders Manchester City in fifth place.
Brighton leapfrogged both North London teams into third position courtesy of a 3-1 triumph over the Cherries on September 24 to keep pace with Liverpool (2nd), who beat West Ham by the same scoreline 24 hours later.
Image copyright: Getty Images
Bournemouth are still seeking their first victory of the campaign after the reverse to the Seagulls left them just two points above the relegation zone in 17th spot.
Andoni Iraola's side had drawn their previous two games against Brentford (2-2) and Chelsea (0-0), but their chances of registering a second-ever win over Arsenal doesn't look great - they lost both home and away last term and are winless in their last six league meetings.
One positive for the Cherries is that they've scored in four of their six matches, with Dominic Solanke on target against West Ham, the Bees and Albion. The 26-year-old striker was directly involved in 13 of the club's 37 goals in 2022-23 and he's made an impressive start to the new campaign with three goals already and an assist.
Image copyright: Getty Images
Bukayo Saka has played a starring role for Arsenal in the early stages of 2023-24, scoring from the penalty spot against Spurs to take his tally to three goals along with two assists in six starts. The 22-year-old winger enjoyed his product season in a Gunners shirt last term, registering 14 goals while setting up his team-mates 11 times as they came so close to ending a 19-year wait for the domestic title.
Iraola took plenty of positives from the performance of his players in the first half at the Amex, but admitted the difference was that Brighton took their chances in the second stanza.
"I think we did a lot of very good things in the first half. It's not easy to come here, to press the way we did, to recover the balls because we made them play in their half almost all of the first half," the Spaniard told AFCB TV.
"But in the end second half they were better, they were more clinical than us and they took their chances because even in the second half... we had a couple of chances, the one that they took from the line and we couldn't tie the game."
Arteta expressed disappointment at the outcome of the North London derby, which he felt the Gunners should have won had they shown composure in the final third.
"We are very disappointed not to win the three points that's for sure, especially when you go twice in front in the game and you have the opportunity win it, and especially the moment we conceded the goals," the Spaniard said.
"We had control of the game, that we could've scored at 2-0 with a situation with Gabby [Gabriel Jesus], then you concede a goal and you have to bounce back and we did. We scored the goal and it's a shame within a minute you concede the other one.
"I think that affected the team emotionally quite a lot. We lacked some composure on the ball to get more passes to get in the final third and it became a little bit of a transitional game."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Bournemouth - 0
Arsenal - 4
Draws - 1
Premier League Matchday 7 fixtures:
Saturday, September 30
13h30: Aston Villa v Brighton & Hove Albion
16h00: Bournemouth v Arsenal
16h00: Everton v Luton Town
16h00: Manchester United v Crystal Palace
16h00: Newcastle United v Burnley
16h00: West Ham United v Sheffield United
16h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester City
18h30: Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool
Sunday, October 1
15h00: Nottingham Forest v Brentford
Monday, October 2
21h00: Fulham v Chelsea
Kick start a non-stop world of sports
Deposit for the first time and enjoy our Sports Welcome Offer, where we’ll give you a 100% deposit match, up to MK 50,000 as a Sports Bonus.
For all the latest sports news, betting tips and promotions download the
Betway App and start playing on the go!