PREM: Arsenal v Bournemouth preview
Arsenal v Bournemouth preview
Arsenal have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Sunday's Premier League visit of Bournemouth.
Arsene Wenger will pick from the same squad that drew 2-2 against Paris St Germain on Wednesday night, although the likes of Theo Walcott, Granit Xhaka and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be pushing to start.
None of the Gunners' injured players are fit enough to return with Santi Cazorla (Achilles), Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck (both knee), Hector Bellerin and Lucas Perez (both ankle) are all out.
Bournemouth will be without on-loan midfielder Jack Wilshere, who is not eligible to face his parent club. Goalkeeper Artur Boruc faces a late fitness test on his back problem, so Adam Federici could come in again, while midfielder Andrew Surman has been struggling with a hamstring injury.
Defender Adam Smith returns from a one-match suspension and midfielder Jordon Ibe is expected to be available following illness. Australia defender Brad Smith (foot) and midfielder Lewis Cook (ankle) both continue their rehabilitation.
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe says "It's important in a sense that this is a conscious decision we took as a football club to not disrupt the dressing room too much, to keep a British core.
"I think a lot of that is dictated by our finances, our scouting. The structures don't really fit that we can take too many chances in the foreign market, where we're uneducated on certain things that we need to be educated on before making that final call.
"So we've gone for a more British core to keep the players together for longer, to keep a young group and try and make them better through time and a lot of coaching."
"There's a lot to admire about Arsenal. They always stick to their philosophies and are very loyal to their style of play. "Arsenal have certainly had a big influence on the way I try to manage here. They are a few similarities in the way both sides play.
"Arsenal have quality and pace off the bench. It shows a lot about their attitude given that they have scored a lot of late goals. "We know we'll need a little bit of luck and for our players to be at their maximum, but we believe we can get a result."
Arsene Wenger talking about Jack Wilshere says "He gets regular football and now on the observations I get from our people who watch him, he's getting stronger every week.
"That's exactly what he needed - to have regular football, maybe not every three days but every week at the start. That has helped him a lot to develop and come back to the level he deserves to be at. "I let him go this season because we bought Granit Xhaka, we have Mohamed Elneny, Aaron Ramsey, and I thought if he doesn't play regularly and wasn't fit enough to be in the position to start games...so I let him go.
"After, we see how he goes at the end of the season. If Jack comes back to his right level he will play for us. "My feeling is I want him back. He always said he is an Arsenal man. If you only think about yourself then you go where you like to be. The word 'loyalty' isn't even the right word. He always said he was an Arsenal man."
Teams
Arsenal (from): Cech, Ospina, Debuchy, Jenkinson, Holding, Gabriel, Koscielny, Mustafi, Gibbs, Monreal, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Coquelin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Walcott, Reine-Adelaide, Iwobi, Sanchez, Akpom, Giroud.
Bournemouth (from): Boruc, A Smith, Cook, Francis, Daniels, Gosling, King, Pugh, Stanislas, Arter, Wilson, Federici, Ake, Afobe, Mings, Mousset, Fraser, Smith, Allsop.