Unlike in their most recent Premier League showdown with Brighton & Hove Albion, Bournemouth did not collapse after taking the lead against a confidence-depleted Stoke in the EFL Cup, although Andoni Iraola did have to turn to his bench for a dash of inspiration.
Having been introduced at half time, Dominic Solanke made his presence felt straight away with a crisp strike into the bottom corner, only three minutes before Joe Rothwell’s free kick from the left evaded everyone and nestled into the back of the net.
By clinching their first win since overcoming Swansea City in the second round of the EFL Cup, the Cherries have been rewarded with a fourth-round tie against Liverpool, by which point the Vitality Stadium faithful will hope to have seen their side get off the mark in the top flight.
Still without a maximum haul after six games of the new term, Bournemouth are hovering just above the danger zone in 17th place, with fellow winless sides Luton Town, Sheffield United and Burnley the only teams to have performed worse than them at this embryonic stage.
Showdowns with Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley in October will provide Iraola’s side with three prime opportunities to belatedly come up trumps, but their winless run in the top flight now stands at 10 games since a 4-1 thrashing of Leeds United in April, since when they have scored just twice in 450 minutes of Premier League home football.
Bournemouth’s recent lack of ruthlessness at home will severely hinder their chances of upsetting an Arsenal side with an affinity for clean sheets away from their Emirates headquarters, although Mikel Arteta’s men certainly rode their luck a couple of times during their slender triumph over
Brentford.Reiss Nelson capitalised on a Zanka mistake with just eight minutes gone to break the deadlock for the Gunners, who were indebted to some crucial stops from returning goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and a stunning Jakub Kiwior block from Keane Lewis-Potter’s goal-bound strike in the second half.
second successive EFL Cup London derby away from home now awaits the Gunners, who have been drawn to face West Ham United in the fourth round and head south having kept three clean sheets in three away games this season, also shutting out Crystal Palace and Everton on hostile territory.
However, continued rearguard frailties cost Arsenal dear in last weekend’s North London derby, where Tottenham Hotspur came from behind twice to snatch a point thanks to a Son Heung-min brace, bumping Arteta’s men down to fifth in the table, although their unbeaten record remains intact.
A tally of 11 goals is the joint-worst attacking record inside the top eight alongside West Ham, but the Gunners put three past Bournemouth without reply at the Vitality Stadium last term before an astonishing 3-2 Emirates victory, where Nelson – the hero of the hour on Wednesday – sparked unbridled pandemonium with a 97th-minute winner.
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Solanke’s bright cameo ended in dismay for the Bournemouth striker on Wednesday, as he was taken off in the 85th minute with an ankle injury, and Iraola has conceded that he does not know whether his leading marksman to shake off the issue in time for the
weekend.Solanke has been welcomed into the infirmary by Emiliano Marcondes (foot), Alex Scott (knee), Ryan Fredericks (calf), Lloyd Kelly (calf) and Chris Mepham (unspecified) – the latter two of whom have incredibly slim chances of comebacks here – but on a positive note, Tyler Adams came off the bench for his delayed debut against Stoke after shaking off a
hamstring injury.Unless Solanke makes a quicker-than-expected recovery, Kieffer Moore and Antoine Semenyo will battle for the right to spearhead the hosts’ attack, while Neto, Max Aarons, Philip Billing and Marcus Tavernier are all in line for returns to the first XI.
