Arsenal begin their pre-season tour of the USA against Premier League rivals Bournemouth in California on Wednesday night.
The Gunners have once again headed across the Atlantic for another summer Stateside trip that will also include high-profile clashes with Manchester United and Liverpool in Los Angeles and Philadelphia respectively, before their top-flight opener against Wolves is also preceded by home meetings with Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon in the Emirates Cup.
Arsenal kicked off preparations for what they hope will be another title tilt next term at London Colney last weekend, when Gabriel Jesus and Emile Smith Rowe both netted in a 2-0 behind-closed-doors friendly win over Leyton Orient .
Bournemouth began their pre-season campaign in Santa Barbara at the weekend, with Marcos Senesi’s goal rescuing a 1-1 draw with third-tier Wrexham.
The Cherries will hope to build upon an impressive first season under the management of Andoni Iraola in which they finished 12th following the shock sacking of Gary O’Neil.
This is Bournemouth’s last game in the US before they return home for meetings with LaLiga duo Rayo Vallecano and Girona in advance of their Premier League opener away at Nottingham Forest on August 17.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Arsenal vs Bournemouth takes place on Wednesday July 24, 2024 at the 27,000-capacity Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California - home of the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer (MLS).
Kick-off is slated for 7:30pm local time, which is 3:30am BST in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Where to watch Arsenal vs Bournemouth
TV channel and live stream: In the UK, the game will be broadcast live on Arsenal.com and the official Arsenal app, with a match pass costing £4.99. Coverage begins at 2:30am BST.
You can also watch the action live via Bournemouth’s afcbTV service, with a match pass costing £5.
Arsenal vs Bournemouth team news
Arsenal have flown to the USA with a 26-man squad that does not include any of Aaron Ramsdale, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba or David Raya, who will all return for pre-season following the trip after their exertions at Euro 2024.
Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz are all joining up with Mikel Arteta’s group on July 25, meaning they will miss this game.
Arsenal left Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kiernan Tierney in London due to injury, though their squad includes new goalkeepers Tommy Setford and Lucas Nygaard plus a number of other youngsters such as Alexei Rojas, Josh Nichols, Ayden Heaven, Omar Rekik, Michal Rosiak, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, Salah–Eddine Oulad M’Hand, Jimi Gower and Charles Sagoe Jr.
As for Bournemouth, the likes of Milos Kerkez, Illia Zabarnyi, Ryan Christie and Tyler Adams are all involved after their respective campaigns at Euro 2024 and the Copa America, though there’s no Luis Sinisterra and Enes Unal is nursing a foot issue.
Arsenal vs Bournemouth prediction
Arsenal will be raring to go on their US tour as they look to rebound from last season’s heartbreaking title near-miss.
While they are not at full-strength in California and Bournemouth are now a real force to be reckoned with under Iraola, they will relish the chance to make a winning start ahead of huge matches against Liverpool and Manchester United.
The Gunners have well and truly had the Cherries’ number in recent times and though pre-season games are notoriously unpredictable, we’re expecting a familiar scoreline to emerge here.
Arsenal to win, 3-1.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Bournemouth have only ever beaten Arsenal once in competitive action in 16 attempts, at home at the Vitality Stadium in the Premier League back in January 2018 thanks to goals from Callum Wilson and Jordon Ibe against a team managed by Arsene Wenger.
There were home draws on the south coast in both 2017 and 2019, otherwise Arsenal have absolutely dominated this fixture with five straight wins including a 4-0 drubbing on the south coast last season and a 3-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal wins: 13
Bournemouth wins: 1
Draws: 2
Arsenal vs Bournemouth match odds
Arsenal to win: 4/5
Bournemouth to win: 14/5
Draw: 3/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
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