Arsenal have made Saturday’s Premier League home clash with Bournemouth “far more important” than they should have done, and the Gunners must go “all out” to try to claim all three points, Charles Watts has claimed.
Mikel Arteta‘s men were officially eliminated from title contention last weekend and have not even wrapped up a top-five finish, leaving them at risk of missing out on Champions League football for next season.
The Gunners’ 2-2 stalemate with Crystal Palace last week was the ninth instance where they have drawn a Premier League game in which they have been leading this season – more than any other team – and the visit of the Cherries is arguably an unwelcome distraction ahead of the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with Paris Saint-Germain.
Asked if Arsenal need to take Saturday’s game 100% seriously, Watts told Sports Mole: “They absolutely do. They’ve put themselves in a position where this game still means quite a bit.
“They should’ve had it wrapped up, but they’ve dropped too many points. It’s absolutely a game they have to win. If they drop more points, they could find themselves in a real sticky situation with a trip to Anfield and Newcastle to come as well.
“They’ve got to win this game. It’s far more important than it should have been. It’s not ideal because you’d much rather them just have a free hit with the two PSG games on either side, but they absolutely have to take it seriously and go all out and try and get the win.”
How Arsenal can secure Champions League football against Bournemouth
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Arsenal could secure a top-five Premier League finish with a win on Saturday evening if other results go their way, as fifth-placed Chelsea and sixth-placed Nottingham Forest are both seven points behind the Gunners with four games remaining.
Should Arsenal beat Bournemouth, Chelsea lose to Liverpool and Forest fall to defeat against Crystal Palace on Monday night, Arteta’s men will be guaranteed Champions League football for next season, allowing them to focus purely on Champions League matters.
Next week’s trip to the Parc des Princes is undoubtedly a bigger priority than Saturday’s game after the 1-0 loss to PSG in Tuesday’s first leg, but Watts still expects Arteta to compile a near full-strength starting XI for the weekend.
“He’ll go experience,” he added. “He won’t make too many changes. Saturday-Wednesday makes it slightly easier for him. You’ve got a decent little gap, there’s no travel involved. I don’t think they’d be too worried about that.
“I think he’ll go pretty much full strength. There might be a couple of changes, maybe you’ll see one of Saka or Martinelli given the night off. Merino could go up front and then you could play Trossard on one of the flanks and rest one of the wingers. Ethan Nwaneri could come into the mix as well.
“I think he’ll probably change the full backs; Ben White playing and Zinchenko or left side. But other than that, I think it’ll be full strength.”
Arsenal vs. Bournemouth could have been a battle between two striker-less sides, as Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz remain out for the Gunners, while Enes Unal and Evanilson both could have missed the trip too.
Watts slams Evanilson red card decision in Bournemouth-Man United
Evanilson was sent off in the Cherries’ 1-1 draw with Manchester United for a high tackle on Noussair Mazraoui, although referee Peter Bankes initially brandished a yellow card before changing his decision after an on-field review.
However, replays seemed to clearly show Evanilson slipping as he went in for the challenge, leading Bournemouth to launch a successful appeal to overturn his red card and three-game ban, meaning he will be available to face Arsenal this weekend.
Asked for his take on the incident, Watts said: “I just thought they [the VAR] got involved where they didn’t need to. I thought the referee got it right on the field; it was a yellow card, he slipped, he didn’t go in there to hurt the guy. It took one replay to see that he lost his footing and that momentum took him into the player.
“I don’t think it was intentionally dangerous or reckless or endangering the opponent, all the red flags that need to be ticked for it to be a red card. It didn’t look nice when you look at the freeze frame, but you’ve got to put context behind it.
“I thought the referee got it right on the pitch. There’s just an inconsistency there with VAR. Why are they choosing to get involved in that when they haven’t chosen to get involved in so many other instances this season?”
Arsenal and Bournemouth are reuniting after a 2-0 win for the Cherries against Arteta’s 10 men in October, but the Gunners boast a 100% success rate against the Cherries at home, winning each of their eight previous contests across all tournaments in North London.
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