With the international break now over, it’s time for club sides to evaluate the purchases they made in the transfer window and see which players constitute their best XI.
That’s not easy with every club.
Bournemouth did most of their shopping at Chelsea with Asmire Begovich and Nathan Ake being brought in from last season’s champions in exchange for over £30m. Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe was also brought in, on a free but on big wages. Others returned from loan spells elsewhere.
Arsenal didn’t make many signings either but Alexandre Lacazette was up there with one of the most expensive transfers of the summer, weighing in at £48m. Sead Kolasinac also joined the club, filling a major hole at left back. Unfortunately, Arsenal also saw a significant number of players leave. The squad was a little bloated but suddenly they look weak at centre back and losing Oxlade-Chamberlain hasn’t helped matters either. Things could have been worse if Shkodran Mustafi’s move to Inter Milan had gone through.
The season has barely got started so although neither side has brilliantly impressed, it’s too early to start panicking just yet. Both Arsenal and Bournemouth start the day in the bottom half of the table and Bournemouth are yet to pick up a point this season despite a good showing against Manchester City. Arsenal come off the back of a heavy loss against Liverpool where they were clearly undone by the oppositions pace and movement. Bournemouth try to play good football but I don’t think they’re at the same level.
If Arsenal can get their recent form out of their mind and just concentrate on the game ahead of them, they can win this one. I can’t see Bournemouth pulling off a shock win but a draw is very possible. This isn’t an easy game to tip in reality, people are very aware of Arsenal’s recent troubles and the lines are generally quite tight. The only “value” in the Match Odds market is in the draw (5.7 with Pinnacle) or going for a Bournemouth win, the draw is most likely for me.
I’m not going for either of those though, instead I’m moving into the Asian Handicap market and going for Bournemouth +1.5. The odds aren’t huge at 1.9 with Pinnacle but for me there is some value there and as I suspect this will be a tight game, there should just about be enough of a Bournemouth head start here for this one to win.
Calculators
