BATTLE OF BOURNEMOUTH
2026 opening game. Are you… nervous? I am. Every game. This is both a beautiful season and a terrifying one. I spend a lot of time in a defensive mindset waiting for bad things to happen. Can’t let loose. Won’t trust the moment. Doesn’t matter what the data says, I’m a damn wreck, THE FOOTBALLING GODS ARE TRYING TO TAKE FROM US AGAIN!
But… maybe they’re not. Maybe this season is ours. Maybe the panic is something we’ll all look back on and laugh about. Then shortly after, we can delete our digital shame tracks and pretend we had top-tier mentality about the league all season.
Heading down to the coast for Bournemouth rightfully comes with baggage. Last season, William Saliba was sent off on 29 minutes for a last-man challenge after a Liverpool fan in VAR made the ref go to the booth. It was a filthy intervention that went against the spirit of the game, and it was one that really felt like the PGMOL had pre-agreed that season to take down Arsenal’s title challenge. We lost that game 2-0. Arsenal didn’t do much better in the home leg, going 1-0 up via Declan Rice, then succumbing to a Semenyo long throw, followed by another set piece that saw Odegaard lose Evanilson at the back post to really kill our title dreams.
This will be our first game of the season against Bournemouth. A chance to rectify the double abomination. An opportunity to take advantage of a team genuinely in diabolical form at the moment. Their last win was 7 games ago against Sunderland. Since then, it’s been draws and losses and a sharp descent in the Premier League. They were flying high at the start of the season; now they’re 15th and looking in big trouble.
Not really shocking though, is it? They lost Huijsen, Zabarnyi, Kepa, Kerkez, and Ouattara in the summer… and this January, right after Arsenal tomorrow, they’ll lose Semenyo to Manchester City, who are already rectifying the Omar Marmoush mistake of last January. Iraola is a top, top coach, but there aren’t many who can absorb that many big exits in the Premier League without major problems. Glasner is one of the few who seems to have the magic touch on that front.
Still, that doesn’t mean the afternoon is going to be easy. We can’t count on Semenyo protecting his hamstrings. He’s clearly playing because Pep wants him to damage us again. We also need to remember that the last time we were predicting embarrassing scorelines, it was Wolves, and we needed two own goals to exit with some pride.
Bournemouth are aggressive, fast in transition, and they have a lot of disruptive power in that shoebox stadium of theirs. If we head there with a New Year’s Day hangover and we get a stiff sea breeze that doesn’t sit well with the players… we could be in big trouble.
The good news is the Declan stuff, that I told you was minor, is actually minor. He should be fit and ready to play. Fingers crossed there. That makes me happy. Kai Havertz will also be a few extra days training’s worth of healthy. Gabriel Jesus might have done enough to get a start against a team down on their luck. Outside Cala and Mosquera, we’re basically a fully fit team.
Arteta’s pre-match outing was a little bit angsty. He was pressed on the absence of Ethan, Eze, and Noni. His response was basically, ‘this is part of the journey when you’re at a proper club,’ and it’s hard to deny him his right to say that sort of thing.
All that really matters to me as a fan is that the players are showing up, giving it their all, and they are ready to dish out some harsh lessons when called upon. I don’t really care too much about the Ethan troubles. He’s a baby, this is what happens to young players, and we’ve seen it with all our best kids. I have no doubt he will be absolutely fine. Eze, Arteta contextualised that he’s actually never had this many minutes under his belt at this stage of the season, and he also alluded to some performances he didn’t like. Then there’s Noni… signed to back up Saka… and he’s backing him up. All three, for me, are hit players, and all three will be consequential to our Premier League season.
I’m like, totally tranquillo about it, you get me?
So what do we want? No drama. What do we mean by drama? Injuries. Dumb stuff. Dropped points.
That’s my team talk, thank you for listening, please buy my leadership course at the bottom of this post.
Just kidding about the course. But I’m totally serious about what needs to happen.
If you’re heading down, have a great day. If you’re watching on TV, sit on the couch, not behind it. Your kids are watching; make them proud.
Ok, check out the Before the Whistle. It was all the boys. There’s a good New Year’s offer if you want some of that action AND you get to watch the whole LIVE On The Whistle after. What could be better? (I’ve also put the On The Whistle link just below that video so you know where to go after the game).