Arsenal vs Bournemouth
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Kick off: 3:15pm
Arsenal host Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday as the Gunners look to return to winning ways after drawing three games on the bounce in all competitions.
The Gunners have dropped to fourth in the table and with the teams above them winning this weekend, it would be imperative for them to stay in the race.
Arsenal come into the game on the back of a hard fought draw against Paris Saint-Germain in the group stages of the Champions League, which has put their dreams of topping the group into a quandary.
The game ended 2-2 allowing PSG to go top on away goals and should the Gunners fail to better the French club’s result on the final match day, the north London club will qualify to the round of 16 as the second placed team yet again and are left susceptible to another tough draw in Europe.
Their last two league games were against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, both of which ended in a 1-1 draw, leading to the Gunners dropping four crucial points. Santi Cazorla is still a few weeks away from recovery while Lucas Perez is back in training, but will not be available this weekend.
The north London club do not have any injury worries from midweek and are likely to revert to Alexis Sanchez up front, with Olivier Giroud being brought in as the super-sub.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth are likely to be without Artur Boruc and Andrew Surman for their game against the Gunners with respective injuries, while Jack Wilshere is ineligible for the fixture.
This is the fourth time that Eddie Howe’s men will go head-to-head against the north London club, having lost all the last three, conceding seven goals, without scoring once in the process.
The Cherries have won their last game against Stoke City 1-0, having previously succumbed to a loss to Sunderland.
The victory was only their first away win in the league this season and have to play out of their skin if they have to take anything against the Gunners.
Arsenal Possible XI: Cech, Jenkinson, Mustafi, Koscielny, Gibbs, Xhaka, Ramsey, Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi, Sanchez.
Bournemouth Possible XI: Boruc, Smith, Francis, Cook, Daniels, Gosling, Ake, Stanislas, Arter, King, Wilson.