Key events
Complete teams
Arsenal (4-3-3) Stripe; Blanco, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
Substitutes: Ramsdale, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Jesús, Nketiah, Martinelli.
Bournemouth (4-2-3-1) Travers; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Ouattara; Cook, Christie; Semenyo, Scott, Kluivert; Solanke.
Substitutes: Neto, McKenna, Aarons, Hill, Kinsey-Wellings, Faivre, Billing, Unal, Sadi.
Referee David Coote.
Teams in summary: Two changes for Bournemouth
Iraola makes two changes to the team that beat Brighton. Illia Zabarnyi and Ryan Christie replace Lloyd Kelly and Enes Unal.
Teams in summary: Arsenal unchanged
Mikel Arteta stays with the XI that won the first half of the north London derby, so Trossard starts and Martinelli is on the bench.
Preamble
Good morning everyone and welcome to the first one. first division game of the day It's not the end of the championship, obviously, but it's still quite appealing. Arsenal are leaders of the league, although no one is a favorite to win it. With 80 points under their belt, they already have two more than they needed to seal the title in 1997-98. They are the ones who have scored the most goals in the Premier League and the ones who have conceded the least. And yet they are still reeling, as they showed that week when they lost to both Villa and Bayern.
Bournemouth are tenth, which represents a spectacular transformation. On October 26 they were in 19th place; since the beginning of December they are fifth; since the beginning of March, third. His coach, Andoni Iraola, has been the Unai Emery of this season. Both, like Mikel Arteta, come from the Basque Country, today the most fertile soil in the world for growing football coaches.
In the first leg, Bournemouth lost 4-0 and became the first of many clubs to be defeated by this ruthless new Arsenal. But that was more than seven months ago. Bournemouth are a very different beast now. With their relentless pressing and quick counterattacks, they could have been designed to play away from home. Arsenal should still win the match, but it may not be easy for them. It could be a cookie.
Kick-off is at 12.30 pm local time and I will be back with the teams soon.
