Bournemouth is not a very difficult opponent, as evidenced by their current 13th position on the rankings. However, playing away still poses many risks for Arsenal if they lose focus. Attacking the opponent early and saving energy is what Mikel Arteta and his students should do.
Arsenal have been feeling the heat in recent weeks with injuries to Martin Odegaard, Ben White and Jurrien Timber. Bukayo Saka has also been added to the injury list, leaving Arteta worried. They are back in the game with an easy game but looking further ahead, the Gunners have a lot of challenges.
Pressure to regain top spot
This weekend, when Man City have to play away at Wolves and Liverpool host Chelsea at home, the match against Bournemouth is considered a huge advantage for Arsenal. Currently, the "Gunners" are temporarily ranked 3rd, equal in points with Man City (17) and exactly 1 point behind Liverpool. If there is any misstep by the two direct competitors, the Emirates team will seize the opportunity.
Although the opponent is quite easy, playing away is a big challenge. Arteta and his students need to focus at full capacity if they do not want to stumble before Man City and Liverpool suffer the same scenario.
Required changes
This is the time for Arsenal's reserve players to prove their ability. Since the beginning of the season, Arteta has tried to build a deep squad, ensuring that each position has 2 players. It's not perfect, but since the beginning of the season, the "Gunners" have somewhat proven that.
It’s time for Gabriel Jesus to prove himself and for Raheem Sterling to show the Gunners fans he deserves to be in the team. Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka may not start on Saturday. Arteta has a very good pair of former Manchester City players at his disposal, just need to rekindle the fire in them and everything will be fine.
Only 1 vacation left in 2024
After the FIFA Days in October, there will be only one more break in November for international football. Arsenal will play seven matches in all competitions before the FIFA Days in November (starting on 10 November). After that break, there will be no further break until March 2025. Arsenal will have four months as away teams to maintain their rhythm in the competitions, especially the Premier League and Champions League.
This period will be a very good warm-up period and Arteta needs to complete it well, before the incidents of overload and injury occur. Every team will have to lose strength but when they are not sure about their position in each race, Arsenal cannot let themselves fall into the position of having to catch up. The results from now until Christmas will completely decide the situation.
It's quite unfortunate that Arteta's squad is not perfect due to injuries, but if the goal is to compete for the championship, challenges like the current one are something every team must naturally face.
