Mikel Arteta must unleash "electric" Arsenal player in Bournemouth Premier League clash after 2022 torment

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been urged to unleash an 'electric' Gunners player who tormented Bournemouth in 2022 in Saturday's Premier League showdown at the Vitality Stadium.

The North London giants head south for their first game of 2026 buoyed by a near-perfect gameweek 19, in which their 4-1 win over Aston Villa preceded Manchester City dropping points in a 0-0 stalemate with Sunderland on New Year's Day.

Martin Zubimendi, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Magalhaes all found the back of the net in the thrashing of the Villans, but Viktor Gyokeres was found wanting once again and was hooked on the 77-minute mark after two first-half misses.

However, Jesus struck his first goal since January 1, 2025 barely a minute after his introduction, and Arsenal expert Charles Watts has now called on Arteta to start the Brazilian, whom he remembers giving Bournemouth an incredibly rough ride in 2022.

“The first time I ever saw Jesus in an Arsenal shirt was at Bournemouth, the day that William Saliba scored that curling left-footed shot in the pink kit into the top corner," Watts told Sports Mole. "He was just electric. I'd missed the first game of the season and heard all about how good he'd been in the Emirates Cup - I turned up there and couldn't believe how good he was.

Bournemouth vs. Arsenal: Mikel Arteta urged to drop Viktor Gyokeres for Gabriel Jesus

“I don't think you can carry on hoping someone's going to click and start scoring. If he [Gyokeres] is not doing it, then you've got to give someone else a go, and I don't think what Gyokeres is bringing at the moment is enough to keep him in the team. Jesus has looked sharp enough to start in the Premier League.”

Jesus and Arsenal are expected to be lining up against Bournemouth's star man Antoine Semenyo, whom Andoni Iraola has affirmed will be available for this match despite his impending move to Manchester City.

The Sky Blues are thought to have reached a major breakthrough in their efforts to sign the Ghana international in a £65m deal, and Saturday's appearance is expected to be his lack in a red and black strip.

Semenyo could deliver Bournemouth one final parting gift - and also give Man City an early arrival present - by helping to deny Arsenal victory this weekend, when he aims to build on an impressive total of eight goals and three assists in the 2025-26 Premier League so far.

However, Watts has played down the impact of Semenyo's move to Man City in the context of the title race, having spoken to a fellow journalist who highlighted two bigger problem areas for Pep Guardiola's side.

Why Arsenal should not fear Antoine Semenyo title race impact

“It's an interesting one," Watts added. "He's a top player and he makes City stronger, there's no doubt. But I was speaking to a colleague of mine, James Benge, and he made a good point that if City were signing a top quality central midfielder, or maybe a top quality right-back in January, that may be more of a concern for Arsenal in terms of the title charge.

“City are pretty strong on the left-hand side anyway, or the right, wherever they're going to end up playing Semenyo. Maybe it's not the area of the team that you think that immediately improves them and makes them miles stronger for the second half of the season.

“I'm not massively worried about it. I don't look at it as a game changer in the title race. Probably going to be left to eat my words when he scores 15 goals between now and the end of the season now and single-handedly wins in the title!”

Semenyo's Bournemouth enter gameweek 20 on a miserable 10-match winless run in the Premier League, but the Cherries memorably did the double over Arsenal last term, prevailing 2-0 at the Vitality Stadium and 2-1 at the Emirates.

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