Arsenal hosted Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium at 12.30pm BST on Saturday, with Mikel Arteta making the changes he had flagged after the win away to Sporting in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.
The Arsenal lineup included David Raya, Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Martinelli. Lewis-Skelly made only his second Premier League start of the season at left-back, stepping in for Riccardo Calafiori, while Havertz and Martinelli came in for Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard in Arteta’s two other changes. Odegaard was not in the matchday squad, and the Arsenal manager had said before kickoff that there would be changes and that Eberechi Eze was available for selection. Mikel Merino remained sidelined, and there were doubts over the fitness of Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, Odegaard and Piero Hincapie.
Arteta described the recovery work around Lewis-Skelly as something he admired, saying the teenager’s will from day one to get back as quickly as possible had been great to watch. Bournemouth arrived in 13th place after five consecutive top-flight draws and a goalless run of form that included a draw against Manchester United at the Vitality Stadium in their most recent league match. Andoni Iraola made one change, with Eli Junior Kroupi replacing Amine Adli, and said Kroupi and Alex Jimenez were fully recovered and ready to go after niggles on international duty. He also said of one of his players that he was doing really well but Bournemouth could not do stupid things and had to give the time that everybody needs. Justin Kluivert and Lewis Cook were definitely out, with Kluivert recovering from knee surgery as he tries to keep alive his chances of playing for the Netherlands at the World Cup.
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Arsenal came into the match as league leaders and, with a win, would move 12 points clear of Manchester City for at least a day. It was also their first league game in almost a month, leaving Arteta with a reminder that rotation can protect freshness, but it can also strip away certainty against a side that has already made a habit of taking points.
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The Arsenal substitutes were Kepa Arrizabalaga, Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie, Gabriel Jesus, Eberechi Eze, Christian Norgaard, Leandro Trossard, Max Dowman and Salmon. Bournemouth’s bench featured Mandas, Adams, Brooks, Gannon-Doak, Smith, Diakite, Adli, Unal and Toth, a group that left Iraola with options if the draw-heavy visitors could turn another close league game into something more.
