Arsenal go into their Premier League match against Bournemouth without Mikel Merino, Jurriën Timber and Piero Hincapié, all ruled out by physical problems. Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka are fit enough to be available, but Mikel Arteta would not be surprised if he left both out with the return leg against Sporting de Lisboa coming next week.
The timing matters because Arsenal are trying to manage two fronts at once. They lead Manchester City by nine points in the Premier League and are still alive in the UEFA Champions League after winning the first leg of their quarter-final tie in Portugal by a narrow margin. That puts Arteta in the position of protecting players while trying to keep momentum in a title race that has already carried more pressure than most.
Bournemouth arrive with a little more form than their position suggests. On March 20, they drew 2-2 with Manchester United, a result that underlined how uneven their season has become after spending part of it higher up the table before slipping into mid-table form. Arsenal, by contrast, know every dropped point would cut across a run that has already included the loss of the EFL Cup final to Manchester City and elimination from the FA Cup by Southampton.
Read Also: Arda Güler watch: Arsenal short-handed for Sporting test in Portugal
That is the contradiction at the heart of Arsenal’s run-in. They are close enough to challenge in the league, but their history of late-season collapses still hangs over them, and they have not won the Premier League for more than 20 years. Bournemouth can make this awkward. Arteta can also afford to think beyond it, which is why his handling of Eze and Saka may tell as much about Arsenal’s priorities as the result itself.
