Arsenal head into their Premier League encounter with Bournemouth on Wednesday night looking to maintain their hold of fourth place in the standings.
The Cherries make the trip to the Emirates Stadium aiming to end their three-match winless streak in the top flight.
Arsenal
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Arsenal are perceived to be the outsiders in the race to secure fourth spot in the table by the end of the campaign, but Unai Emery's side currently hold that position after a run of four wins from five league outings.
Their only defeat during that period came away at Manchester City and with the club also making progress in the Europa League, it is perhaps harsh to expect the Gunners to only claim a place in that same competition next season.
Arsenal have not necessarily always faced top opposition during their recent schedule, but this is a team who have had to deal with several injuries in defence and Emery has done terrifically to keep his team in the hunt to feature in the Champions League during the next campaign.
The North London outfit now only find themselves seven points adrift of fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur - a team who have been receiving widespread plaudits - but prevailing on Wednesday and in the derby on Saturday will close the gap even further.
There is little doubt that Arsenal are going to have to improve away from home in order to challenge Spurs, but 35 points have come from their last 13 home outings and it is a run which matches each of Liverpool and Manchester City.
Arsenal face a set of potentially season-defining fixtures at the start of next month with Manchester United and a European double-header with Rennes also coming by March 14, and it increases the importance of recording maximum points against Bournemouth.
Emery has faith in frontmen Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, but the Spaniard is now making an obvious effort to reintegrate Mesut Ozil back into the fold.
Starts for the German in the Premier League have recently been few and far between, but Wednesday's game could be a platform for the club's biggest earner to remind Emery that he has still has plenty to offer.
Recent form: LWWLWW
Recent form (all competitions): WLWLWW
Bournemouth
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Bournemouth have not found themselves close to becoming embroiled in a relegation battle throughout the season, but Eddie Howe will be disappointed with how his team have fared.
The Cherries enjoyed a strong start to the campaign, but 11 defeats have come from their last 17 matches in the Premier League without any question marks being raised over Howe's future at the Vitality Stadium.
That is not to say that there necessarily should be, with Howe having worked wonders since promotion to the top flight, but Bournemouth have not made the progress which was perhaps anticipated after finishing in ninth place in 2017.
There have been times where Bournemouth have been unplayable - Chelsea have first-hand experience of that - but that success was followed by a 2-0 defeat at Cardiff City and it further highlighted the lack of consistency from a talented squad.
Bournemouth took a step in the right direction with a hard-earned point against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend, although they created the better of the chances and had the rub of the green with a number of decisions from the referee.
Howe will be aware that his side need to develop a killer instinct on a more regular basis to reach the heights which he will believe are realistic, and back-to-back clashes with Arsenal and Manchester City are ideal games to demand more from his team.
David Brooks and Callum Wilson are big misses for the south coast outfit, but there are enough talented attacking players in this team to end their 270-minute wait for a goal from open play.
Keeping clean sheets in this week's games is a tall order but if Bournemouth are sharper in the final third, there is no reason why they cannot gain an unlikely point from one of their next two opponents.
Recent form: LWWLLD
Team News
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Both managers are likely to consider a number of changes to their sides given the next round of fixtures at the weekend.
Emery will have one eye on the North London derby, and that could see the likes of Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Aaron Ramsey drop down to the bench after their recent time on the sidelines and Granit Xhaka may be given a rest.
Ozil should come back into the team and Denis Suarez is in line for his first start since a loan move from Barcelona, while Aubameyang should return in attack.
Bournemouth boss Howe is without Jefferson Lerma due to suspension so Andrew Surman should be restored to the starting lineup, while Diego Rico or Charlie Daniels may get the nod at left-back.
Howe may not feel that Dominic Solanke can play three times within a week after barely featuring all season, and that could allow Lys Mousset some game-time from the opening whistle.
Brooks and Wilson remain unavailable, while Steve Cook is currently dealing with a groin problem and may not be risked.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Leno; Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Torreira, Guendouzi; Suarez, Ozil, Iwobi; Aubameyang
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Boruc; Clyne, Mepham, Ake, Rico; Ibe, Gosling, Surman, Fraser; King; Mousset
Head To Head
Wednesday's showdown will represent just the ninth competitive meeting between the two clubs, with Arsenal registering six wins in comparison to just the one triumph for Bournemouth.
Arsenal have prevailed in each of the three Premier League meetings for the loss of just one goal, with Bournemouth's sole success coming on the south coast at the start of 2018.
The Gunners have not failed to score in any of their previous clashes with the Cherries.
We say: Arsenal 3-1 Bournemouth
Bournemouth will relish the chance to attack an Arsenal backline which has not always looked strong this season, but the Gunners have impressed in front of their own supporters during the current campaign and we expect a comfortable home win.
Darren Plant
