Arsenal vs Bournemouth Prediction: Both aiming for positive start

Arsenal and Bournemouth will go head to head at Dignity Health Sports Park in Club Friendlies. Both teams are looking to kick off their pre-season tour with a victory. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?

The season in 2023-24, Arsenal came tantalisingly close to victory once more but did not falter dramatically as they did the previous year when they squandered an early lead. Under Mikel Arteta, they challenged Manchester City till the last moments of the Premier League. On the final day, as Arsenal secured a hard-fought 2-1 win against Everton, they needed West Ham to cause an upset against Manchester City at Etihad.

It is in the middle of a record-breaking season that Arsenal has celebrated 28 victories more than even the famed 2003-04 'Invincibles' and scored 91 goals, the highest in the club's Premier League history; all this still could not eclipse Manchester City.

Still, Arsenal did not end the season empty-handed, having clinched the Community Shield, although its prestige still is a matter of debate. In the UEFA Champions League, they fared quite well when they made the quarterfinals, and against Bayern Munich, they at least proved to be worthy without the heavy losses as in previous encounters.

Attention now turns to what will be expected of Arsenal, like Paris 2024 Olympics, following this recent success: claiming the Premier League crown in the 2024-25 season. Pre-season friendlies against Bournemouth, Manchester United, Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen, and Lyon will provide a stern test; this sets up what is going to be a rather full-on campaign.

Hein; White, Timber, Kiwior, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Partey, Smith Rowe; Vieira, Nketiah, Jesus.

Bournemouth fared little better against League One opposition recently, as they were held to a draw by Wrexham. James Hill misdirected a header in that game to score an own goal and give Wrexham a short-lived lead, before Marcos Senesi drew level early in the second half to end the scoring, with the Cherries hanging on amid constant pressure.

Andoni Iraola has many reasons to be optimistic, despite the fact that this stalemate made it four games without a victory, including friendlies, for Bournemouth. He was the same person who steered the team to an unprecedented finish in the Premier League last season. Now that they are closing out their preseason camp, Bournemouth will line up to play against Rayo Vallecano and Girona over the coming weeks. However, their immediate challenge lies ahead in breaking a disheartening five-match losing streak against Arsenal's A team that defeated them substantially in their last couple of Premier League encounters.

Travers; Smith, Mepham, Hill, Kerkez; Cook, Scott; Semenyo, Billing, Tavernier; Solanke.

Both managers, Arteta and Iraola, want to get as much playing time into their teams as possible ahead of the season. Though Arsenal will field a weakened team due to international commitments, they still have enough quality in that starting lineup to squeak out a win in this one.