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Arsenal vs Bournemouth predicted XI: Arteta’s formula to silverware

By Kian Long

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 18: Ainsley Maitland-Niles of Arsenal and Oli McBurnie of Sheffield United during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium on January 18, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Visionhaus)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 18: Ainsley Maitland-Niles of Arsenal and Oli McBurnie of Sheffield United during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium on January 18, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Visionhaus) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 11: James McArthur of Crystal Palace and Cheikhou Kouyate of Crystal Palace grab Matteo Guendouzi of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal FC at Selhurst Park on January 11, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 11: James McArthur of Crystal Palace and Cheikhou Kouyate of Crystal Palace grab Matteo Guendouzi of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal FC at Selhurst Park on January 11, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) /

Centre midfield – Joe Willock

Joe Willock is a complete midfielder that doesn’t seem to get as much game time as he deserves. This is because Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira dominate the Premier League XI, leaving little to no room for Willock.

However, there isn’t much doubt in my mind that he will feature in this match. The FA Cup is his cup of tea, if you pardon the pun. He will play a pivotal role to Mikel Arteta, as he will occupy both the midfield and attacking zones in a box-to-box mould, looking to assist his attackers as much as possible.

Centre midfield – Lucas Torreira

Next in the XI is Lucas Torreira and this was a tough one. The Uruguayan international has put in one hell of a shift over the last month and he has been Arteta’s go-to midfielder so many would argue he deserves a break.

If Arteta opts to give Dani Ceballos his first start of the year then I wouldn’t be against this, but with rumours about a return to Real Madrid in circulation, it might be best for Arteta to stick with what he knows works in Torreira. The guy is a machine, anyway.

Centre midfield – Matteo Guendouzi

Granit Xhaka will be given a well-earned break after his heroic performance against Chelsea earlier last week. The Swiss international played at centre back so this allowed Guendouzi to come on in the second half and he put in a shift.

He will need to fill the void left by Xhaka and to do this, his passing and leadership skills need to be on point. Guendouzi is more than able to start in a match of, let’s face it, low magnitude as he has featured in many of Arsenal’s best performances since his arrival last season.

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