Can AFCB build on first away win?

The result at Stoke was not exactly expected. AFCB had only gathered two points from their away matches before that game, and taking on Arsenal will be no easy matter. Still Eddie Howe will be hoping that he gets a few more decisions for his team than he got t the Bet365 stadium.

The Cherries will only establish breathing space on
the bottom clubs if they can overcome some of the heavyweights like Arsenal.

The away form has been poor this season and there is no reason for that from what Eddie Howe says. He thinks it is strange and can't explain it. The side has created chances to win games, but it's the finishing that has been below par, and even at Stoke's stadium AFCB kept up their strong record of hitting the woodwork, when Wilshere tried his luck from range. I'd also argue that not many guilt-edge chances have fallen to Callum Wilson, even though he saw more of the ball at Stoke than in previous games.

The link play between Wilshere and King and Wilson has been improving and a few moves really opened Stoke up, like the penalty that never was for Callum Wilson when Arter played a through ball and Grant's save from King, when Wilshere had been looking for Wilson. But will better finishing be the only thing AFCB need to improve to get a result against Arsenal? I expect their whole overall game wold have to go up a notch or two. If getting a first win on the board away from home has been hard, back-to-back wins is going to need all the pieces to fall into place for AFCB.

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A draw or a win at the Emirates would be very satisfying indeed. All AFCB's players would have to be on top form though and it will take a huge effort to keep close to players like Sanchez and Ozil all match if they play, and protecting Boruc or Federici will be difficult against such a strike force. When AFCB have won though they have picked up a draw in the next match with the exception of the WBA win, which was followed by defeat against Man City. What I'm saying is that when AFCB pick up points they tend to have a batch of points and putting small runs together will keep them in the top half of the league. So while it seems odds against them building on their three points at Stoke, AFCB's players should feel that they are going into this London match in good shape. I'm not sure Arsenal fans are that enthusiastic about their side after their recent form either.