Bournemouth’s quest for a first Premier League win of the season continues on Saturday, but their task couldn’t be much tougher.
Could Andoni Iraola’s elusive maiden victory arrive against fellow coach Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, who are still unbeaten this term?
Arsenal will be heavily fancied after taking 14 points from their first six games of the campaign. However, they were pegged back twice in a pulsating 2-2 derby draw with north London rivals Tottenham last week, leaving them fifth in the table and four points behind leaders – and last season’s treble winners- Manchester City.
Head-to-Head:
Bournemouth have a poor record against Arsenal, only winning one of the teams’ 12 all-time Premier League meetings (a 2-1 home victory in 2018) and losing nine times.
The teams played out a 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium in Arteta’s first game in charge of Arsenal in December 2019, while Martin Ødegaard scored twice when the Gunners last visited in August 2022, with William Saliba also netting in a 3-0 win.
Then they played one of the most exciting games of last season at the Emirates in March. Philip Billing scored a goal after 9 seconds, before Marcos Senesi put Bournemouth 2-0 up. But Arsenal roared back for a 3-2 victory with Reiss Nelson netting a stunning 97th-minute winner after Thomas Partey and Ben White had wiped out the visitors’ lead.
Match Date and Kickoff Time:
The fixture starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 30, 2023.
