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Elsewhere in the Premier League: Wolves finally won their first game of the season, scoring three goals without reply against a disappointing West Ham at Molineux. In news that truly feels like ages ago for those of us who remember making his debut for Leeds United at the age of 16, James Milner celebrated his 40th birthday by helping Brighton to a 2-0 win over Burnley, while Aston Villa got back to winning ways with an early kick-off today that saw them beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 at Villa Park. Wolves are still 12 points clear at the bottom of the table, but today’s result means things are much less bleak for Rob Edwards’ side than they were at the start of the morning.
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These teams: Bournemouth’s squad is the same as the one that started against Chelsea in midweek, with Antoine Semenyo making his 100th and possibly last appearance for the club. Lewis Cook is also in his place after recovering from a neck injury.
Arsenal made three changes to their starting lineup from the match against Aston Villa. Declan Rice, who has returned from a knee injury, will replace Mikel Merino. Noni Maduke and Gabriel Martinelli will start in place of Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard. Kai Havertz was not in the squad on the day of the match, but Arsenal staff assured inquisitions that there was nothing wrong with him but that “his workload” was being managed.
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Bournemouth vs Arsenal line-up
Bournemouth: Petrovic, Jimenez, Hill, Senesi, Truffert, Scott, Tavernier, Brooks, Kluivert, Semenho, Evanilsson.
Subs: Forster, Cook, Soler, Smith, Diakito, Adri, Crupi, Unal, Rees-Dottin.
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Maduke, Martinelli, Gökéres.
Subs: Kepa, Whyte, Saka, Jesus, Eze, Norgaard, Trossard. Merino, Lewis Skelly.
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Team News: Declan Rice is fit enough to start in Arsenal’s midfield, but Bukayo Saka starts on the bench and Kai Havertz has been given a day off. Antoine Semenyo started for Bournemouth. The full lineup will be available soon…
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Updated on 11.22 ET
Arsenal: Mikel Arteta believes his team is ready to put an end to the undesirable statistic of failing to win the Premier League title in the last five times they started the new year top of the table. Ed Aarons reports…
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Arsenal’s January transfer plans: When asked about this yesterday, Arteta said: “We are open to all options.” “Obviously, if we can find a short-term, medium-term or long-term solution. It’s always much better because it gives us stability and we don’t have to start the process with new players all the time. But let’s see what happens. Let’s see what news there is in the next few weeks and we will try to make the right decisions.”
Arsenal are one of several clubs rumored to be interested in Real Madrid winger Rodrygo, but following news that Kylian Mbappe has suffered a knee injury, the La Liga giants may be reluctant to let him go in January as the severity of the knee injury is not yet clear.
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Antoine Semenyo: The Bournemouth winger is expected to join Manchester City sooner rather than later this month, but Iraola told his pre-match press conference that nothing has been decided yet. “No, nothing has been signed,” he told reporters. “Yes, there is conversation and I can clearly hear the surrounding noises, but nothing is signed.
“Antoine is our player. We want to keep him. He is playing very well and doing the right things. He is a top professional, a top man. He wants to help the team and his teammates and I have no doubts that he will do his best. I have no doubts about him. He is a top professional and I am sure he will be until the end.”
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Today’s match official
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Assistants: Dan Cook and Ian Hassin
Fourth official: Lewis Smith
VAR: Paul Tierney
Assistant VAR: Mark Perry
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early team news
Declan Rice, who missed Arsenal’s game against Villa due to knee swelling, could return for today’s match but will undergo a fitness test. “Let’s see how he comes and how it feels,” Mikel Arteta said yesterday. “The Aston Villa game was too early for him.” Defenders Cristian Mosquera and Riccardo Calafioli were ruled out, as was Max Domann, who turned the ripe old age of 16 on New Year’s Eve.
Despite seemingly bidding farewell to Bournemouth fans after their draw with Chelsea in midweek, Antoine Semenyo is likely to play tonight and is also expected to be available for Bournemouth’s game against Tottenham Hotspur next Wednesday. “Yes, Antoine will play in this match,” Ilaroa said yesterday. “I think the idea is that at least he can play these two games with a very quick turnaround.”
Ben Gannon-Doak, Ryan Christie, Tyler Adams and Veljko Milosavljevic have all been ruled out, while Lewis Cook will need to pass a late fitness test after missing the draw with Chelsea. “As for Lewis, we are still waiting,” Iraola said. “It’s his neck and the pain he’s feeling. He’ll try to train today and we’ll see. Hopefully he’ll be able to play tomorrow.”
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Updated on 11.13 ET
Premier League Bournemouth v Arsenal
Heading to the Vitality Stadium for today’s New Year’s game between Bournemouth and Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s side sit comfortably at the top of the table with a four-point lead and arrive on the south coast buoyed by their 4-1 win over Aston Villa in midweek. The hosts are unbeaten in 10 top-flight games (5 draws, 5 losses), but they are a bit of a bogey side for Arsenal, who completed an impressive league double against them last season.
Arsenal’s victory over Villa gave them their fourth straight Premier League win, but they have dropped points away at Villa, Chelsea and Sunderland, and have only won one of their last four away games. Bournemouth’s last win came two months ago against Nottingham Forest, which took them to second place in the Premier League. It then plummeted to 15th place. Kick-off is today at 5:30pm GMT, but in the meantime, stay tuned for team news and updates.
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