Seven Points Within Reach

A roundup of this weeks top stories

• The Gunners have the chance to extend their lead to seven points before City face managerless Chelsea
• Mikel Arteta confirmed Declan Rice remains a doubt for Bournemouth with knee swelling still present
• Rice was spotted after the Villa game telling Morgan Rogers his knee "is not in very good shape"
• Riccardo Calafiori and Mosquera are both confirmed out for the trip to the south coast
• Max Dowman continues to be sidelined with an ankle problem picked up last month
• Arteta says Arsenal are "open to every option" in January, preferring long term solutions but willing to consider short term deals
• The boss confirmed every player is important when asked about Ethan Nwaneri's reduced game time recently
• Leandro Trossard has been praised by Arteta for going "up a level every season" and finding his maturity
• Bournemouth head into Saturday's match on a 10-game winless run, their longest ever in a single top-flight campaign
• Arsenal will be looking to right the wrongs of last season when they lost both fixtures to Bournemouth

Latest News

Arsenal Rumours For Jean-Matteo

Polymarket FC @PolymarketFC 🚨 BREAKING! ✨ Arsenal are keeping a close eye on Jean-Mattéo Bahoya. 🇫🇷 Their interest for the summer is concrete, and Eintracht Frankfurt have been informed. 🫡 Markus Krösche is demanding up to €70m for the 20 y/o left winger. 💰 ℹ️ @Plettigoal 1:51 PM • Dec 3, 2025 65 Retweets 932 Likes Read 13 replies

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Doc @karthikadhaigal 🚨Arsenal have been looking at the European market for young players with potential and are understood to have scouted Elche midfielder Rodrigo Mendoza, AC Milan full-back Davide Bartesaghi and Eintracht Frankfurt forward Jean-Matteo Bahoya. @SkySportsNews 10:44 AM • Jan 1, 2026 220 Retweets 2663 Likes Read 31 replies

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Semenyo Will Face Arsenal. Man City Tactic?

Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano 🚨 Andoni Iraola: “Semenyo will play tomorrow against Arsenal. Nothing is signed”. Manchester City deal remains at the final stages, as reported. Matter of time. 🔵⏳ 12:55 PM • Jan 2, 2026 1630 Retweets 33815 Likes Read 482 replies

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We Will Be Active In Jan. Who Should We Get?

Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano 🚨 Mikel Arteta: “We will be actively looking to strengthen the squad in January”. “Depending on the availability of certain players, the window is there, I mean, we're Arsenal and we have to be looking at it”. “Our job is to be very prepared because something can happen”. 1:35 PM • Dec 29, 2025 2179 Retweets 30231 Likes Read 934 replies

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FA Need To Relax!

DailyAFC @DailyAFC 🚨 Gabriel Jesus could face an FA sanction after his celebration, for revealing ‘religious slogans’. It is unknown if the FA will take action, but when Cody Gakpo did the same last year the FA only wrote to the player and Liverpool to remind them of the rules. [@TomCantonMedia] 2:44 PM • Jan 1, 2026 343 Retweets 4859 Likes Read 240 replies

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Emery Is A Scumbag

Uncle Abu ™ @iamabubakhr Emery had all the time in the world to wait and shake Arteta’s hand at Villa Park but 15 seconds at the Emirates seemed like a lifetime to him. Sore loser. #ARSAVL https://twitter.com/iamabubakhr/status/2006126960427090078 Uncle Abu ™ @iamabubakhr FT ARSENAL 4-1 ASTON VILLA Unai Emery has gone straight down the tunnel and not offered a full time handshake to Mikel Arteta.🤝❌ Rattled. #ARSAVL 11:30 PM • Dec 30, 2025 49 Retweets 385 Likes Read 10 replies

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MY CB!

AFTV @AFTVMedia William Saliba is going to be an Arsenal 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃. ✊ 1:16 PM • Dec 31, 2025 57 Retweets 924 Likes Read 12 replies

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A Win & I Feel We Have Put Our Past Behind Us

Connor Humm @TikiTakaConnor Arsenal have taken maximum points from their previous 3 Premier League games. ◎ Everton (A) | 1-1 ➡️ 0-1 ✅ ◉ Brighton (H) | 1-1 ➡️ 2-1 ✅ ◉ Aston Villa (H) 2-2 ➡️ 4-1 ✅ In the previous campaign they could only manage draws against each opponent. 📈 6:21 AM • Jan 2, 2026 256 Retweets 1936 Likes Read 16 replies

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COYG

Connor Humm @TikiTakaConnor Arsenal are now +12 better off in points compared to the equivalent fixtures from last season to this season. 📈 6:57 AM • Dec 31, 2025 270 Retweets 2660 Likes Read 16 replies

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Football on TNT Sports @footballontnt A list of teams unbeaten at home in the Premier League this season: - Sunderland - Arsenal End of list. 10:17 PM • Jan 1, 2026 1807 Retweets 19076 Likes Read 79 replies

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Last Year Saliba Got A Red Card

Connor Humm @TikiTakaConnor Arteta on Bournemouth and the importance of playing with 11 men: “We know how important it is to maintain your 11 players on the pitch as much as possible. We failed to do that last year. “We lost both games against them [Bournemouth] and we know the difficulty of that. We know 10:18 AM • Jan 2, 2026 92 Retweets 1268 Likes Read 9 replies

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🥳🥳🥳🥳

Patrick Timmons @PatrickTimmons1 Arsenal win. City drop points. Liverpool drop points. United drop points. Spurs drop points. Villa drop points. Chelsea drop points. 9:57 PM • Jan 1, 2026 3164 Retweets 27172 Likes Read 221 replies

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Bournemouth vs Arsenal

Where to watch & time

Date:

3rd January 2026

UK

17:30​

Sky Sports

US

12:30 PM ET

Scout Report

Current Form & Context

• Sitting 15th after a dramatic fall from 2nd place in November
• Winless in their last 10 Premier League games
• Scored eight goals in their last four matches, including 4-4 and 2-2 draws at Manchester United and Chelsea
• Conceded four goals in a match four times already this season
• Heavy defeat at Brentford last weekend exposed defensive vulnerabilities

Key Threats

• Antoine Semenyo: Their talisman with 9 goals, 3 assists, 45 shots, 86 touches in the opposition box and 96 passes into the box all team highs. Transfer speculation continues to swirl
• Adrien Truffert: Summer signing at left-back who advances high. Has produced 86 open play crosses, joint-most in the Premier League
• David Brooks: Dangerous right winger who thrives on counter attacks

Defensive Weaknesses

• Only conceded six goals at home but leaked 29 away from the south coast
• Set pieces have been especially problematic - 12 goals conceded from dead-ball situations

Arsenal Vs Aston Villa Analysis

3 Things We Learned From The Game

1. Controlling Games From Midfield; Arsenal's Bravery Pays Off - Without Onana (who went off injured), Arsenal's bravery in pressing high began to suffocate Villa in the second half
2. Finding Balance Between Ødegaard and Zubimendi - Since the Brentford win, we've seen an Ødegaard happier to remain central, feeding a more isolated right side but also creating more space for others to speed into
3. Trossard's Reinvention & Arsenal's Evolving Left Side - The left side was Arsenal's main avenue to goal against Villa. Trossard offers reference and stability as a creative outlet we've often missed on that flank

AFTV @AFTVMedia Before kick-off, Emi Martinez was seen warming up in the tunnel, despite there being people from the Arsenal side entering the pitch… After the match, Emi Martinez was seen frustrated and nonstop arguing with fans after conceding four goals to Arsenal. 𝐇𝐞 11:0 AM • Dec 31, 2025 212 Retweets 2454 Likes Read 75 replies

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Cordell Hayes Editor/Owner