Arsenal seeking five-game winning run in Bournemouth trip.
Bournemouth vs. Arsenal kicks off at 17:30 [GMT] on Saturday, January 3 2026, at the Vitality Stadium.
Bournemouth and Arsenal renew their Premier League rivalry with a fixture that carries contrasting moods and compelling recent history. Historically, this has been a challenging matchup for the south coast club. Bournemouth won just one of their first 14 Premier League meetings with Arsenal, but last season marked a turning point as they completed a memorable league double over the Gunners. One of those victories came in this exact fixture, a 2-0 home win that also stands out as one of the rare occasions Arsenal has failed to score against them. Indeed, Arsenal have found the net in 15 of their 16 Premier League games versus Bournemouth, underlining how unusual last season’s result was. Bournemouth’s broader record against league leaders offers another layer of context. They have lost 12 of their 13 Premier League matches against teams starting the day top of the table, with the lone exception a notable 2-1 home victory over Manchester City in November 2024. That result showed their capacity to rise to big occasions, particularly in front of their own supporters. Bournemouth [DDDLD] are currently winless in their last ten Premier League games, drawing five and losing five, their longest such run in a single top-flight campaign. Even so, their home form has been steadier than that sequence suggests. After losing four consecutive home league matches early last year, they have been beaten just twice in their last 13 at home, with only one defeat at their own ground so far this season. They will be hoping to draw inspiration from that record when they host the Gunners. A 4—2—3—1 formation with Evanilson in attack is expected against Arsenal.
Arsenal, by contrast, arrive with consistency and confidence. They have lost only one of their last 16 league games, winning 12 and drawing three. Following the midweek 4-1 win over Aston Villa, the Gunners are currently on a four-match winning streak [LWWWW] since a narrow defeat at Aston Villa. Historically, the Gunners tend to start calendar years strongly, losing just one of their opening league fixtures across the last ten years, something they would be looking to do again. Individually, Bournemouth’s attacking threat has largely revolved around Antoine Semenyo. He leads the team in goals, assists, shots, touches in the opposition box, and passes into the box, highlighting his importance to everything Bournemouth does going forward. For Arsenal, Leandro Trossard has been a key creative and scoring influence, leading the squad in assists and sharing the top spot for goals, including a decisive contribution in their most recent outing. A 4—3—3 formation with Viktor Gyökeres, Bukayo Saka, and Trossard.