Arsenal team news vs Bournemouth: Unai Emery handed fitness boosts ahead of ‘high-level test’

Arsenal travel to in-form Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon

Unai Emery has said that he is not surprised by Bournemouth’s good form, acknowledging that Arsenal will have to be at their best to finally return to winning ways this weekend.

Arsenal travel to the Vitality Stadium on Sunday with in-form Bournemouth just one place below them in the Premier League table.

The Gunners are unbeaten since the second weekend of the season although have drawn their last three Premier League games, leaving them three points off the Champions League places.

And Emery has said that Bournemouth’s good form has not come as a surprise to him.

“Watching their matches, I am not surprised [by their good form],” he said at his pre-match press conference at London Colney on Friday.

“They are a very organised team who work well tactically in all of their games. In their stadium with their supporters they feel they can beat every team.

“So Sunday will be a very hard test, a very high-level test for how we can continue our process and our progress. This is very important. To show every supporter our mentality. We need to demand this of ourselves in all of our matches.”

Arsenal travel to Bournemouth this weekend (Arsenal FC via Getty)

Emery added that Arsenal currently have less injuries than initially feared after the international break, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette both in line to start on Sunday despite minor knocks.

“We trained this morning with all of the players and they are okay. Only Danny has his injury, which is a big injury. Also Nacho Monreal is not okay for Sunday,” Emery said.

“Laurent Koscielny is close to start training with the group and, little by little, getting some minutes. This is good news. Stephan Lichtsteiner is starting to train for us, but he maybe will not be okay for Sunday. We will look tomorrow.”

Arsenal are unbeaten since the second weekend of the season (Arsenal FC via Getty)

Adam Smith is meanwhile a definite absentee against Arsenal as Bournemouth bid to put back-to-back league defeats behind them after their impressive start to the season.

The full-back sustained a knee injury in the 2-1 defeat at Newcastle before the international break and is set for a prolonged spell on the sidelines.