Newly promoted Bournemouth have made a good start to their first campaign back in the Premier League since 2019/20. They opened up with a 2-0 win at home to Aston Villa, defending well throughout, especially in the second half to see the game through. However, they fell to defeat against the Champions in a 4-0 drubbing at the Etihad. This was much expected and we can’t read too much into this. Conversely, Arsenal have hugely impressed so far with two dominant performances winning away to Palace and at home to Leicester. Arteta has his team in the groove right now and they’ll be ready to take maximum points once more in this favourable fixture on the south coast.
Bournemouth v Arsenal Bet Builder Tips
Arsenal to Win
Arsenal have been in sublime form in front of goal already this season, scoring 6 goals in the process and have looked a force to be reckoned with from the word go! Arteta finally seems to have stamped his authority on the team, and will be hoping to mount a serious challenge at the top of the table this time round. The players have bought into this current style of play, reaping the rewards by gaining victories in both their opening fixtures.
The Cherries backline is of a ‘Championship’ standard in my eyes and the Gunners definitely have the firepower to overcome this on Saturday evening. The central back 3 is likely to line up as it has so far this season, with Lerma, Mepham and Kelly, all of whom are relatively inexperienced at this level. Arsenal can take advantage here with the quality they possess within the team. Gabriel Jesus has hit the ground running since joining from Manchester City. The Brazilian scored 2 and assisted 2 last weekend and will be ready to repeat the feat versus lesser opposition in Bournemouth. Others are ready to step up too, Gabriel Martinelli has been on the scoresheet in consecutive games and will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing a poor defence. Alongside England international Bukayo Saka, who we all know can produce magic on his day!
One key statistic to bear in mind is that the home side have generated the lowest XG in the league so far at 0.52. They’ve managed only 10 shots, 4 of which have been on target and seem to be a little short in the forward department. Kieffer Moore is set to lead the line as a sole striker and I cannot see how the Welshman can trouble this strongly bolstered Arsenal defence. A real lack of pace will play into the hands of the away side and with William Saliba partnering Gabriel for Arsenal at the back, I believe they’ll win this battle hands down.
After taking all this into account, I’m taking an away win as the selection to start this bet builder off!
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Prediction: Arsenal to Win
Over 1.5 Bournemouth Cards
There are a number of serial offenders when it comes to bookings in the Bournemouth XI, Jefferson Lerma, Phillip Billing and Chris Mepham to name a few. They collected a combined 28 cautions between them in the previous campaign and as a team held the 4th worst disciplinary record in the Championship. Considering they were one of the stand out teams in the league, this was a slight surprise to me. Regardless of this, they are now facing elite opposition and we can expect them flying into tackles as they try to stop the Arsenal tidal wave in 90 minutes play.
They’ve picked up a total of 3 yellow cards in each of their first two fixtures and in a game they’ll be defending for large periods, the same is bound to happen once more. Saka was the 9th most fouled player in the Premier League last season, with this occurring a total of 59 times. The Bournemouth full backs will have no option but to bring the winger down, as we expect to see him in numerous dangerous positions over the course of the game. The same can also be expected on the other flank with Martinelli posing similar threats. Jesus averaged 2.2 successful dribbles per game last year for Manchester City and having looked extremely sharp in an Arsenal shirt, we can imagine this to be an area that Bournemouth will struggle in as well.
This selection is an absolute no brainer and I fancy the Cherries to pick up at least two bookings over the 90 minutes.
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Prediction: Over 1.5 Bournemouth Cards
Gabriel Martinelli to Score Anytime
I’ve taken this selection to really juice up the price on the bet builder for this game. I was torn between both Brazilian attackers but with Martinelli posing a 100% strike rate so far this season, as well as the higher odds, this made my decision!
So, as mentioned, the tricky winger has netted in each game so far for the Gunners. We’ve seen yet another major leap forward in the standard of his play and with his clinical finishing in front goal, there’s every chance he can score once more. Arteta has kept full faith in the talented youngster as we now see him as first choice in the starting XI.
Goals are the next thing in line to be added to Martinelli’s already outstanding CV. We’ve seen him mature and develop into a player well beyond his years over the past two seasons. This campaign can be a real breakthrough in terms of goal scoring as he looks to build on the 6 goals notched last season. Double figures will be the minimum target this year, and this fixture provides an ideal opportunity to add to the tally of 2 achieved so far. There will be a number of chances for the winger to get in behind in this match as he’s set to line up against Adam Smith who may be deployed at RWB for the Cherries. The combination of lightning pace and clinical finishing as I previously mentioned are the two of the main reasons I fancy Martinelli to get on the scoresheet. He’s only managed 2 SoT’s in total against Crystal Palace and Leicester, but this shows just how incredible his pint point finishing can be in front of goal. Not just managing to trouble the opposition goalkeeper, but to put the ball in the back of the net instead.
The value persuaded here, so I’ve added Martinelli at the generous price of 7/4 anytime scorer.
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Prediction: Gabriel Martinelli to Score Anytime
Granit Xhaka to have 1+ Shots
Having delved into the shot statistics for Arsenal over recent times, I discovered Granit Xhaka to have a splendid record. The Swiss international has had 2 shots this season, both coming in the victory against Leicester, incidentally a surprise scorer in the 4-2 win.
At the back end of last season, Xhaka had at least 1+ shot in 13 of the final 15 matches in the Premier League season. There were also multiple shots taken in a fair number of these fixtures too. Therefore, this provides enough evidence for me to back this selection. He loves a shot from distance and this may be one way in which we see the bet over the line. His long range efforts are often ballooned into the stands behind the goal but in fact this is all we actually need! Even if the effort is blocked on the way to goal too, this will count as a shot taken.
So, with Arsenal expected to have around 15 or more shots, I’m anticipating at least a chance or two to fall Xhaka’s way in this game.
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Prediction: Granit Xhaka to have 1+ Shots
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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How to watch Bournemouth v Arsenal in the Premier League
📅 When is Bournemouth v Arsenal? / Saturday 20th August, 17:30
🏟 Where is Bournemouth v Arsenal? / Vitality Stadium (Bournemouth)
📺 What TV channel is Bournemouth v Arsenal? / Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League 🟨 …And who is the referee for Bournemouth v Arsenal? / Craig Pawson 🏴
