Arsenal have appointed Mikel Arteta as their new manager last weekend and his first game in charge will be against AFC Bournemouth away from home on Boxing Day in the Premier League.
Arteta was present in the stands during the Gunners’ 0-0 draw against Everton last weekend and the fans will be hoping that the North London club can come up with the better performance as compared to their outing at Goodison Park.
Freddie Ljungberg did not make any radical changes to his starting line-up as the interim boss and we believe the new manager would also stick with more or less the same formula in midweek.
While the fans would be very happy to see the new boss make some sweeping changes but unfortunately he does not have too many options at his disposal.
Arsenal news vs Bournemouth:
David Luiz was brought into the side during the summer transfer window but the Brazilian has failed to make any sort of positive impact so far this season.
While Arteta would have loved to keep Luiz on the bench but given that Calum Chambers remains suspended for this match, the manager will have to use the former Chelsea defender alongside Sokratis.
Rob Holding has almost recovered from his knee injury but will have to go through a late fitness test in order to determine his availability.
Both Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac are ruled out with injuries meaning it should be Bukayo Saka who will be deployed at left-back on Boxing Day.
Hector Bellerin is recovering from a tight hamstring and could very well miss the match against Bournemouth which means Maitland-Niles could start at right-back.
Matteo Guendouzi remained on the bench against Everton but the youngster could come into the first XI in midweek alongside Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira.
Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette both remained on the bench during the weekend but Mikel Arteta will surely call them back into the first XI at Dean Court on Thursday.
Aubameyang started upfront vs the Toffees but the Gabon international will likely move to the left wing as Lacazette comes into the side.
Arsenal’s predicted XI vs Bournemouth:
Starting XI: Bernd Leno; Sokratis, David Luiz, Maitland-Niles, Saka; Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka; Aubameyang, Lacazette, Nicolas Pepe.
