Bournemouth vs Arsenal

Vitality Stadium forms the backdrop for a lopsided Premier League encounter between Bournemouth and Arsenal.

It’s been a dreadful start to life in the Premier League for new Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola as his men enter this round as one of only four winless sides in the division (D3, L3). Despite taking an early lead at Brighton last weekend, the ‘Cherries’ found themselves on the receiving end of a 3-1 scoreline, extending their overall winless Premier League streak to a top-flight ongoing-high ten matches (D3, L7). Staring down the barrel of a seven-game winless start to a new league campaign for the first time since 1994/95, Bournemouth will hope the seventh round could provide a breakthrough, as was the case in 1962/63 and 2008/09. However, Arsenal’s visit cannot inspire much confidence in the home camp, with the Boscombe outfit going winless in 13 of their 14 H2Hs (D2, L11).

In the meantime, visiting Arsenal eked out a narrow 1-0 away win over cross-town rivals Brentford in midweek League Cup action, consolidating their spirits after a dramatic 2-2 North London derby draw against Tottenham last weekend. Despite relinquishing two separate leads in that game, Mikel Arteta’s men have preserved their near-perfect Premier League start (W4, D2). But that result saw the ‘Gunners’ fall outside the top four, highlighting the importance of winning this fixture. On a more positive note, they’ve won both away league matches this season against Crystal Palace and Everton via an identical 1-0 scoreline. Arsenal can win their first three away games in the new Premier League campaign for only the third time, so motivation shouldn’t be in short supply.