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Gone are the days when people would associate the Arsenal board with terms like ‘patience’ and ‘stability’. With increasing competition and the Gunners’ inability to cope up with the better teams, they were forced to part ways with manager Unai Emery.
After a poor display under interim manager Freddie Ljungberg, they hired ex-club captain Mikel Arteta as the manager. Though Arteta knows the club through and through, he is inexperienced as a manager. Hence, fans’ opinion is split on this appointment.
Arteta’s first real test will be on Thursday (December 26), when his side will take on AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Park. Bournemouth were not having a great season, but turned things around recently when they handed Chelsea a shock defeat at the Stamford Bridge.
Last Meeting between the sides
Things were not very smooth for Arsenal when they last met the Cherries in October of this year. David Luiz gave the hosts the lead very early on in the game, but the North London side failed to breach Bournemouth’s defence again.
New-look Arsenal likely to win
Given how Arsenal have performed in the recent games, people would not be too optimistic. However, fans would expect the players to put their bodies on the line for their new manager. Moreover, struggling with a long list of absentees, Bournemouth’s condition isn’t much better either.
Hence, Arsenal are the favourites to win on Thursday. A win for Mikel Arteta’s side is trading at 1.88 on Bigpesa, whereas a win for the Cherries is trading at 3.25. A draw is trading at 3.55.
With two shaky defences, neither goalkeeper is likely to keep a clean sheet
Arsenal never had a problem in the goal-scoring front, but their defence has been shambolic this season. Bournemouth’s defence also have had similar issues. Bernd Leno and Aaron Ramsdale – the two goalkeepers have saved their respective teams time and again this season.
No shortage of goals is expected on Thursday. Over 2.5 goals in the match is trading at 1.43, whereas under 2.5 goals is trading at 2.38. Both teams to score is trading at 1.41, whereas both teams not to score is trading at 2.43.
Checkout the odds at BigPesa.
