Bournemouth are set to face Arsenal in their first-ever Emirates FA Cup encounter at the Vitality Stadium on Monday night. The two sides will lock horns in the fourth round of the competition and will likely be in good shape as they both have enough rest days between their respective league games and the fixture.
Eddie Howe's men registered a thumping 4-0 victory over Luton Town in the third round of the competition while Mikel Arteta's side defeated Leeds United by a margin of 1-0 in the same round earlier this month.
The Gunners have been winless in their last three Premier League encounters having drawn against Crystal Palace, Sheffield United and Chelsea following their win at Leeds. Meanwhile, the Cherries have won only one of there last three league encounters since their FA Cup home win, having won against Brighton and lost against Watford and Norwich City.
The encounter will represent a big test for Bournemouth's character and a win at home against Arsenal should be a huge boost ahead of their league match against Aston Villa next week. Meanwhile, Arsenal have shown significant signs of improvement since Arteta's appointment and will look to secure all three points on Monday to back the progress.
Bournemouth vs Arsenal Head-to-Head
Arsenal and Bournemouth have no history in the FA Cup and have only faced one another 11 times in all competitions. The Gunners won eight of those encounters, drawing two and losing one, and have the obvious advantage heading into Monday's game. Their most recent meeting ended in a 1-1 draw in the Premier League in December last year.
Bournemouth form guide: W-L-L-W-L-L
Arsenal form guide: D-D-D-W-W-L
Bournemouth vs Arsenal Team News
Eddie Howe will remain without the services of Charlie Daniels who has been ruled out for the rest of the season after he picked up a knee injury during Bournemouth's defeat to Manchester City in August last year. The English manager was dealt with another injury blow when David Brooks was ruled out of action for three months following an ankle operation earlier this month.
Injuries: David Brooks, Charlie Daniels
Doubtful: Lloyd Kelly
Mikel Arteta will be without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who is serving a three-match suspension for a red card he received against Crystal Palace earlier this month. David Luiz will also miss Monday's encounter after being sent off against Chelsea on Tuesday night. The likes of Sead Kolasinac, Reiss Nelson, Kieran Tierney, and Calum Chambers have all been ruled out of action due to injury and will be absent from the game.
Injuries: Calum Chambers, Kieran Tierney, Sead Kolasinac, Reiss Nelson
Doubtful: Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Suspensions: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and David Luiz
Bournemouth vs Arsenal Predicted XI
Bournemouth Predicted XI: Aaron Ramsdale, Adam Smith, Simon Francis, Nathan Ake, Diego Rico, H. Wilson, Jefferson Lerma, Philip Billing, Ryan Fraser, Dominic Solanke, C. Wilson.
Arsenal Predicted XI: Bernd Leno, Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis, Bukayo Saka, Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Nicolas Pepe, Mesut Ozil, Gabriel Martinelli, Alexandre Lacazette.
Bournemouth vs Arsenal Prediction
Arsenal have a historical advantage in this stage of the FA Cup, having progressed from seven of their last eight fourth round ties with their only failure coming last season during their 3-1 at home to Manchester United. Meanwhile, Bournemouth have only qualified to the fifth stage on four occasions, with the most recent being during the 2015-16 campaign.
The Gunners will be without Aubameyang, who has scored in three of his last four appearances against the Cherries but have enough quality to see the hosts off on Monday.
Verdict: Bournemouth 1-2 Arsenal
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