Arsenal are facing a difficult trip to Bournemouth, with the Cherries spoiling for a fight and an upset victory. The Gunners haven’t won in the Premier League in almost a month, slipping out of the title race for the time being and just trying to hold onto fourth place.
Arsenal vs. Bournemouth 2016 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Bournemouth will be hoping to use Sunday’s home match to stun Arsenal, but the Gunners will in turn be doing everything in their power to hold off that challenge.
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They’re not in immediate risk of falling out of the top four -- Arsenal have a five-point lead on fifth place -- but they can’t afford to keep dropping points like they have been if they want to stay there. That makes this trip to Bournemouth especially tough, as Bournemouth have been a very competitive side this season despite injury setbacks and some plain bad luck. They’ve also won two of their last three league matches and four of six in all competitions, so momentum is on their side.
Should a fourth place team facing a fifteenth place team be a walk in the park to win, especially when those teams are Arsenal and Bournemouth? Ideally, yes, absolutely. But right now for Arsenal, this is far from an ideal situation, and they’re going to have to put in a much improved performance from their recent form in order to be assured victory in this game.
Key player -- Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
Thanks to injuries, it’s been awhile since we’ve seen Sanchez really dominate a match. That doesn’t just mean going out and scoring a goal and playing well. He’s done that since he came back. That means stepping onto the pitch, immediately grabbing the opposing defense by the collective scruff of their necks, and running them ragged all over the final third while kicking them in their collective behinds just because he can. Arsenal needs that version of Sanchez back in a bad way, and this would be a very good chance for him to get back to that kind of form.
Key matchup -- Glenn Murray (Bournemouth) vs. Per Mertesacker (Arsenal)
Murray has been doing yeoman’s work on top of the Bournemouth attack this season, trying to carry the offensive efforts of a team that’s suffered too many key injuries up front. While he’s not a massive goalscoring threat on his own, he’s an excellent asset at helping improve the rest of his team’s attack and making them more likely to score. Given Murray’s skillset, Mertesacker is the most likely man Arsenal will throw at him given his size and power, hoping to cancel out his contributions on the pitch and hamstring the Cherries’ attack. Will it work? We’ll see.
AFC Bournemouth injuries and suspensions
Out: Tyrone Mings, Callum Wilson, Max Gradel In doubt: Junior Stanislas
Arsenal injuries and suspensions
Out: Tomas Rosicky, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere
Match Date/Time: Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET, 1:30 p.m. local
Venue: The Goldsands Stadium, Bournemouth, England
TV: NBCSN (U.S. - English), NBC Universo (U.S. - Spanish), Sportsnet regional networks (Canada), Sky Sports 1/HD (U.K.)
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), Sportsnet World Now (Canada), Sky Go (U.K.)
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