The FA Cup is important to Arsenal. It’s their jam! Like league titles to Manchester United, the Champions League to Liverpool and, recently, the EFL Cup to Manchester City. Therefore, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, a club man through and through will approach tomorrow night’s 4th round clash with one eye on trying to win, and another eye on squad rotation. It is a time of fixture congestion for almost everybody, but the north London side have sufficient rest on both sides of this clash.
That said, Arteta could hand a starting assignment to the following players: Rob Holding Mattéo Guendouzi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Emiliano Martínez. That all said, here’s the team we came up with, which is a decently strong side to take on Eddie Howe’s injury riddled club.
Arsenal FC Starting XI Prediction at AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 4th Round)
Lacazette
Martinez Ozil Pepe
Torreira Guendouzi
Saka Mustafi Holding Bellerin
Martinez
Arsenal FC at AFC Bournemouth (FA Cup 4th Round) FYIs
Kickoff: January 27, 8pm, Dean Court
Team news for both sides: go to this link
TV: BT Sport 1
Key stat/fact: In the 4th round of the FA Cup, Arsenal have progressed forward seven of the the last eight times.
Prediction: Arsenal FC 3, AFC Bournemouth 1
The Gunners have certainly had their issues this season, but they still have way less problems than the Cherries right now.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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