![\"\"](\"https:\/\/scorzo.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Liverpool-Predicted-Line-Up-Against-Fulham-696x388.png\" "\\"Liverpool")
<\/div>\nArsenal go into Saturday\u2019s lunchtime fixture against Bournemouth at the Emirates with the pressure of a title race that seems to ramp up every single week. On the verge of matching their best Premier League winning run of the 2025-26 season, Mikel Arteta\u2019s side have put together four straight top-flight wins, beating Tottenham, Chelsea, Brighton, and Everton to break the 70-point mark.<\/p>\n
They currently sit nine points clear of Manchester City at the top, though the Gunners have played an extra game. They come into this one fresh off a late 1-0 win at Sporting CP in the Champions League quarter-final first leg, where Kai Havertz scored in stoppage time, which was a massive boost after being knocked out of both domestic cups recently.<\/p>\n
Arsenal\u2019s predicted XI against Bournemouth<\/h2>\n
Looking at the predicted lineup, Arteta is expected to use a 4-2-3-1 setup focused on defensive shape and tactical discipline. David Raya starts in goal, behind a back four of Jurri\u00ebn Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel, and Riccardo Calafiori. Both Timber and Saka missed the trip to Lisbon, but the duo should be back in the XI here. Having them back out there completely changes Arsenal\u2019s width and defensive stability.<\/p>\n
In the midfield pivot, Mart\u00edn Zubimendi and Declan Rice will hold things down, giving Arteta the solid base he needs against a Bournemouth team that can hurt you on the break. Rice, especially, brings the energy and pressing that really drives the team\u2019s forward play.<\/p>\n
Further forward, Bukayo Saka takes his spot on the right as the main creative spark, while academy graduate Max Dowman, who just scored against Everton,\u00a0starts on the left. Dowman played in that 2-0 win over the Toffees and is really stepping up while several senior players are out. Noni Madueke takes the number ten role, bringing some directness and unpredictability to the middle of the pitch.<\/p>\n
Havertz backs Arteta \u2013 Arsenal star confident that Gunners can win trophies this season<\/p>\n
Kai Havertz starts up top as the lone striker. He\u2019s looked more and more comfortable in that role as the season has gone on, dropping deep to link play and making runs behind the defence. With Leandro Trossard, Martin \u00d8degaard, Piero Hincapi\u00e9, Eberechi Eze, and Mikel Merino all still out injured, Arteta is forced to rely heavily on this group. Even with those injuries, this starting eleven still has more than enough quality to keep the winning streak alive and move Arsenal one step closer to the Premier League title.<\/p>\n
Liverpool and Manchester United preparing for summer transfer battle to sign \u00a322m Dutch defender<\/p>\n
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): David Raya \u2013 Jurri\u00ebn Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori \u2013 Mart\u00edn Zubimendi, Declan Rice \u2013 Bukayo Saka, Max Dowman, Noni Madueke \u2013 Kai Havertz. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arsenal go into Saturday\u2019s lunchtime fixture against Bournemouth at the Emirates with the pressure of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}