Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger could make changes following the crushing defeat at Southampton.
Substitutes Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Calum Chambers and Alex Iwobi all impressed Wenger during that game.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe will make a late decision on whether to include Harry Arter, who was brought off at half-time on Boxing Day in order to nurse him back from injury.
Lee Tomlin could return from a groin injury but Josh King remains sidelined.
Editor’s Note: Arsenal fluffed their lines on Saturday evening as they threw away their chance to go top of the Premier League and my word what a way to do it. A 4-0 thumping away at Southampton has dampened the mood at Arsenal somewhat and they will hope that mood isn’t made even worse by the visit of another South Coast side in the shape of Bournemouth.
You could and Arsene Wenger did argue that there were some contentious issues in the build up to two or three of Southampton’s goals but that doesn’t mask the fact that Southampton were by far the better that side that evening and fully deserved their win. The question today is does Wenger run the rule over his side and make some changes or does his stick with mainly the same side that lost on Saturday.
For all their hard work and effort against Manchester City it was undone in their defeat to Southampton but that said a win over Bournemouth could still see them go top of the table for at least 24 hours and with Leicester and Manchester City playing each other tomorrow a favourable result such as a draw could strengthen their position in a season which has already seen so many twists and turns.
They play host to a Bournemouth side who are unbeaten in 5 league matches and are slowly but surely pulling themselves away from the drop zone. With every game they play they are looking more and more like a Premier League outfit and especially one that is growing in confidence.
That confidence will no doubt have been boosted by taking the scalps of Chelsea and Manchester United and Eddie Howe’s men will be looking to add the name of Arsenal to the list this evening. Everyone thought that they were in big trouble when Callum Wilson was injured but credit must go to the understudies Josh King and Glenn Murray who have dug in and given some worthy performances in the past few weeks.
Unfortunately for Bournemouth I don’t think Arsenal are going to be in the mood to muck about and will be looking to take out their frustration on The Cherries. A home win for me and return to the top for The Gunners.
