Overview
Arsenal, one of Aston Villa's 11 "victims" in this team's impressive winning streak, encountered no small difficulties against Unai Emery's army in the middle of the week when Declan Rice was absent. However, the opening goal from a familiar corner kick by Gabriel Magalhaes defeated Villa.
After that, Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus successively put their names on the electronic board, helping Arsenal create the strongest declaration in the Premier League title race. This result also consolidates the "Gunners"' leading position when entering the new year.
Although the story of Unai Emery refusing to shake hands with the media after the match, it did not overshadow the most important thing for Mikel Arteta. Arsenal took full advantage of the opportunity, scored many goals and closed 2025 with the highest score among Premier League clubs (83).
The victory against Villa also marked Arsenal's sixth consecutive victory in all competitions and their fourth consecutive victory in the Premier League.
However, winning only 1 of the last 4 away matches in the tournament is still a question mark before the southern leg. However, Arsenal's strength lies in their most recent away match against Everton, where they won all 3 points. In addition, Arteta's team has scored in 12/13 away matches in all competitions this season, only letting Liverpool keep a clean sheet in August.
On the opposite side, Bournemouth - a team that also only scored once away from home in the 2025-2026 season - continues to show the right spirit of dedication when playing away at Stamford Bridge, although they could not win as desired.
Andoni Iraola's team took the lead, then lost the advantage, was led backwards and then equalized 2-2 in a dramatic chase against Chelsea. Notably, all 4 goals appeared before the 30th minute. However, Bournemouth's winning streak has now stretched to two digits.
Since the victory against Nottingham Forest at the end of October - the time when the Champions League dream was still mentioned - Bournemouth has only had 5 draws and 5 losses in the Premier League. They have plummeted significantly in the rankings, although still 9 points ahead of the relegation group.
The poor performance streak clearly does not help Iraola's prospects, while the home team has also only scored 1 goal in the last 3 home matches. This is a worrying number in the context that Antoine Semenyo is predicted to leave.
In the 2024-2025 season, Iraola helped Bournemouth create a historic double victory against Arsenal in the Premier League, including a 2-0 home win. However, the "Gunners" have scored in all eight recent away games at Vitality, a statistic shows that they rarely "shut down" when traveling here.
Personnel situation
Cristhian Mosquera (ankle injury) and Riccardo Calafiori (undetermined injury) of Arsenal still need to be carefully assessed before the match. Meanwhile, young talent Max Dowman continues to be absent due to an ankle injury.
On Bournemouth's side, the question of whether Semenyo will say goodbye to The Cherries fans after the match against Chelsea has been dispelled by Andoni Iraola. The Spanish captain affirmed that this winger will be ready to play against Arsenal this weekend.
Expected lineup:
Petrovic, Smith, Diakite, Senesi, Truffert, Scott, Tavernier, Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo, Evanilson.
Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka, Jesus, Trossard.
The match between Bournemouth and Arsenal takes place at 0:30 AM on January 4 (Vietnam time).
