Bournemouth vs Arsenal LIVE: Premier League result and final score as 10-man Gunners suffer defeat

The race for the most assists across a single Premier League season is weird and unpredictable, often influenced by factors outside the control of its competitors. It is also a record that has stood for more than 20 years, or since Thierry Henry notched his 20th assist of the 2002-03 season. Since then, only Kevin De Bruyne has matched Henry’s figure over 38 games, in 2019-20, but it has been threatened on an almost annual basis over the past two decades.

This year, the immediate frontrunner, flying out of the starting blocks, is Bukayo Saka, who has seven assists through the first seven matches of the Premier League season.

Saka, though, is not the first player whose assist numbers have skyrocketed through the first couple of months of the season. In fact, it has become normal for one of the Premier League’s leading attackers to start the campaign by striking a rich vein of creative form.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has delivered a positive update on Martin Odegaard’s return from an ankle injury and said the captain could be available next week if the final steps of his rehabilitation go to plan.

Odegaard has been sidelined since last month after suffering an ankle injury while in action for Norway, missing Arsenal’s last seven matches in all competitions.

The 25-year-old will remain out ahead of this weekend’s trip to Bournemouth in the Premier League but Arteta said he could be back after that, with Arsenal hosting Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday and Liverpool in the Premier League next Sunday.

Mikel Arteta gave an update on several members of his Arsenal team in Friday’s press conference, in what was a long list of injury doubts.

Bukayo Saka: “It’s not a serious injury. He’s evolving well. He was probably good enough to play with the national team second game. We have some big tests today so we are hopeful.”

Kai Havertz: “He had a few issues but we’ve been dealing with that. We have great communication with Germany. If he trains well today he has a good chance to be fit and available.”

Gabriel Martinelli: “Gabi landed yesterday afternoon. Yesterday he went outside to a bit to see how he’s feeling. We have to decide if we want to take a risk because I know he’ll say he is.”

Martin Odegaard: “He is not going to be fit for this game. Next week will be a different story. He needs to clear some markers. Next week will be crucial to understand how close he is.”

Bukayo Saka should be fine despite withdrawing from the England squad after a knock against Greece as Mikel Arteta played down fears he had sustained an injury.

Martin Odegaard remains on the sidelines with an ankle issue while Gabriel Martinelli will be assessed after picking up a calf problem while on international duty with Brazil.

Ben White has not featured since last month, but after missing their international call-ups both Kai Havertz and Thomas Partey are expected to be fit enough to play a full role.

Bournemouth, meanwhile, will hope to recover Tyler Adams in the coming days, with the USA international dealing with a back injury. While Milos Kerkez is a doubt after withdrawing from the Hungary squad last week.

When is it?

Bournemouth vs Arsenal kicks off at 5.30pm BST on Saturday, October 19 2024 at the Vitality Stadium.

How can I watch it?

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League with coverage starting at 5pm BST.

Subscribers can also watch the match via the Sky Go app.

If you want to stream major sporting events while you are travelling or watching from abroad you’ll need a VPN. Get the best VPN deals in the UK. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

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Hello and welcome to live coverage of Bournemouth vs Arsenal in the Premier League, as both sides return to action following the international break. We’ll have all the latest team news and build up before 5:30pm.