Monday 28 December 2015

The Boxing Day hangover may still remain for Arsenal

The AFCB players have to find some energy from somewhere for the match against Arsenal. It may only be 48 hours between games but Arsenal played a few hours later than the Cherries, so they have less time to recuperate. This is where the extra cash that AFCB have spent on ice baths and treatment rooms really come into play and while I am not sure if the team will travel up by coach or fly, I expect they will be fresh and ready to go with high-intensity when they see the Gunner's logo on the side of the Emirates stadium.  
Artur Boruc will be keen to add a clean sheet against Arsenal to his record.
The Christmas period is always a busy period and Dan Hodges will have the players  well set up to recover their energy quickly. I am not sure if the Southampton battering of Arsenal did the Cherries much good, but the defeat will be fresh in the heads of the Arsenal players which could be a good thing if the Cherries can have a good start and put them under pressure from the off. The game is a late kick-off at 5.30pm and that will also not sit comfortably with Arsenal after the late game against Southampton, even if it is in their home stadium. The Boxing Day hangover may still remain for Arsenal.

We know that Arsenal have a big squad, but they have also got injury worries - most notably Sanchez and Cazorla. But they have great talent at their disposal and players like Oxlaide-Chamberlain and Walcott will be a big test for Daniels and Smith, while Giroud has been scoring a lot of goals. Arter and Gosling will also have to take on Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil - doesn't it make you excited? I hope Eddie does not over think the threat from Arsenal though. The Cherries have to give Arsene Wenger's team something to think about and Josh King and Junior Stanislas can do it against the best teams as we have seen this month already.

Every Bournemouth player is going to need to be on their game but they have to be as excited about this game as the fans. If they perform and get a result at Arsenal it will surely have been the best footballing month in the Cherries' history.   


Later today, I answer some questions on the Cherries on the Gunners Town website - look out for my interview at Gunners Town.

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