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Preview: Arsenal v Bournemouth, team news, trio recalled + predicted score

By on September 8, 2017

alexis sanchez arsenal

Arsenal simply have to get back to winning ways when we welcome Bournemouth to the Emirates on Saturday afternoon.

It’s been a tough few weeks for Arsenal as we slumped to a disappointing defeat at Stoke before being thrashed 4-0 at Anfield before the international break.

Throw in a shambolic summer transfer window and it’s easy to see why the pressure is already pilling on the shoulders of Arsene Wenger despite the campaign only being a few weeks old.

Deadline day was a complete mess as we failed to sign Thomas Lemar which meant Alexis Sanchez’s proposed move to Man City fell through so he’s now expected to see-out the last year of his contract and walk away for nothing.

It’s not the ideal situation by any means but let’s hope Alexis gives 100% for Arsenal during the rest of his time at the club as it would be sad to see such a talented player down tools.

Team News

Thankfully we have no fresh injury worries as Laurent Koscielny is fit despite picking up an ankle knock while playing for France during the break.

Sanchez is also expected to start despite suffering a minor problem while away with Chile meaning Santi Cazorla is our only significant injury concern as he continues to recover from an Achilles injury.

As for Bournemouth, Simon Francis should be in contention after recovering from a hamstring injury but Junior Stanislas and Callum Wilson remain out.

Preferred line-up

With Oxlade-Chamberlain sold to Liverpool, hopefully we’ll finally see Sead Kolasinac and Hector Bellerin occupying the wing-back roles. I’ve seen reports suggesting Wenger may revert to a back four but I think the 3-4-2-1 formation is worth persisting with as long as he plays players in their correct positions!

Alexandre Lacazette should also get a recall up front after being inexplicably left out against Liverpool while I hope we see Shkodran Mustafi back in the side after he failed to secure a move to Inter Milan last week.

This would be my team:

Prediction

Bournemouth like to play football so this should be a decent game for us to get back in our stride but we shouldn’t take anything for granted as they can be a dangerous outfit. However, anything less than a win doesn’t bare thinking about so I’m going with a 3-1 victory. Arsenal 3-1 Bournemouth

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