Alexis Sanchez Arsenal

Arsenal Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Bournemouth

Arsenal travel to face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, hoping to record their first victory of 2018. 

The Gunners were knocked out of the FA Cup third round to Nottingham Forest last week and now face the prospect of Alexis Sanchez leaving the club this month, with Manchester City and Manchester United circling.

Wenger's side won comfortably in the reverse fixture at Emirates Stadium in September and the Frenchman will be fully aware of the task at hand following last season's 3-3 draw on the south coast.

"There’s a massive importance for these kinds of games, of course. We have been distracted a little bit by the cups, but now we have to come back to the Premier League. It’s a very, very big game," Wenger said.

Wenger will serve the final match of his three-match touchline ban on Sunday.


ARSENAL INJURIES


Jack Wilshere's ankle injury sustained during the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Chelsea isn't as bad as first feared, but Mesut Ozil faces a late fitness test on a troublesome knee injury.

Laurent Koscielny, Sead Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal are all ruled out but should be fit by next week, while Olivier Giroud is two weeks from a return to fitness.

"From Wednesday night, we had of course Jack, who was injured," said Wenger.

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"We had very good news yesterday morning. I saw him walking normally and his scan was good. He’s not out of the game on Sunday yet, so that is positive news. We’ll have Ramsey back in the squad. We have an uncertainty over Ozil, who will have a test earliest tomorrow. That at the moment is a bit 50-50. All the other players will still be out for Bournemouth."

Spanish midfield maestro Santi Cazorla remains a long-term absentee with an Achilles injury.

Mesut Ozil Arsenal

ARSENAL SUSPENSIONS


Arsenal have no players suspended for this game.


ARSENAL POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP


Wenger is missing several first-team players for Sunday's game and will almost certainly continue with Ainsley Maitland-Niles at left-back.

Jack Wilshere faces a late fitness test over an ankle injury sustained at Stamford Bridge, and if he's passed fit then his central midfield partnership with Granit Xhaka will continue.

Wantaway forward Alexis Sanchez was named on the substitutes bench against Chelsea but Wenger may decide to bring him back for this one, while either Alex Iwobi or Danny Welbeck will support Alexandre Lacazette in attack.

Arsenal XI

BOURNEMOUTH TEAM NEWS


Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe is without Jermain Defoe for the game against Arsenal after the forward fractured his right ankle in the Carabao Cup quarter-final at Chelsea last month.

Joshua King is out with a hamstring injury while winger Ryan Fraser also looks set to miss the game with the same issue.

The Cherries are unbeaten in their last three top-flight games and will surely take confidence from last season's enthralling 3-3 draw between the two sides.

Callum Wilson is the club's top scorer with six goals to his name so far this season.

Eddie Howe Bournemouth

BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS


  • Bournemouth haven’t won any of their six games in all competitions against Arsenal (D1 L5), conceding at least twice in every match.

  • Arsenal fought from 3-0 down to earn a point in this exact fixture last season, the only time they’ve ever come back from such a deficit in the Premier League.

  • The Cherries have conceded in each of their last nine Premier League games – only Stoke (12) are on a longer current run coming into this matchday.

  • Bournemouth won their last home league match, against Everton. They’ve not won back-to-back Premier League games at the Vitality Stadium since March 2017.

  • Arsenal have conceded four penalty goals in their last three games in all competitions – the two conceded in the Premier League have cost them a total of four points, while they also conceded two against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup to help see them eliminated from the competition.

  • The last time Arsenal drew three consecutive Premier League games was in September 2014; while they’ve not drawn three in a row when scoring the first goal since December 2008.

  • Alexandre Lacazette hasn’t scored in any of his last seven Premier League games; it’s his longest run without a goal in league competition since a run of 10 between February and May 2013.


TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME


The match is being televised on Sky Sports in the UK, while in the United States, Bournemouth vs. Arsenal can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .

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