Manchester City weren’t huge fans of the way that Arsenal pursued Mikel Arteta, and that’s definitely understandable. However, he was at the top of the Kroenkes; wish list and in the big money world of big club football, this is just how it goes sometimes.
Burnt bridges will be a small price to pay if Arteta ends up being the man who finally saves the Gunners from their long downward spiral.
“I want the players to show commitment, accountability, aggression and passion to play this sport and to represent this football club,” said Arteta, 37, the youngest coach in club history since Terry Neill.
His first opportunity to implement his new system comes tomorrow with an away match at AFC Bournemouth.
“This is the basic I am going to demand from them. From there, we can start to build things and improve all the things, obviously, that have to be done as quickly as possible. But, if we don’t have this in the right manner, I think it will be difficult.”
Arsenal FC starting XI Prediction at AFC Bournemouth
Aubameyang
Ozil Ceballos Pepe
Torreira Xhaka
Saka Luiz Sokratis Maitland-Niles
Leno
Arsenal FC at AFC Bournemouth FYIs
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Kickoff: Dec. 26, 3pm Dean Court
Odds via Betfair exchange: Arsenal evens, Draw 29/10 AFC Bournemouth win 13/5
Google result probability: AFC Bournemouth victory 27% Draw 26% Arsenal victory 47%
Form Guide: AFC Bournemouth- LWLLL Arsenal- DLWLD
Prediction: Arsenal FC 3, AFC Bournemouth 2
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.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.


