Bournemouth v Arsenal: Gunners Looking to Pick Off the Cherries

As soon as the FA Cup draws are announced, neutrals are looking for those ties that are most likely to produce an upset. The magic of the Cup may be fading in the modern day but we all love it when the minnows knock out a big fish – unless it’s your team on the wrong end of the hook.

The search for surprise results extends to the betting community too and while it wouldn’t be a major shock to see Bournemouth dispose of Arsenal, this could offer some value to punters if the South Coast club were to come through.
Event Date: January 27, 2020

Match Odds

This is the solitary Monday night game in the fourth round and it’s set to kick off on January 27th at 8pm. Bournemouth are the hosts and, if we go back to the end of 2019, Eddie Howe’s men held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw ahead of a bad run of results. Despite all that, Bournemouth are very much the outside bet in this match and you can pick them up at odds of 16/5 with William Hill and 888Sport.

Arsenal are hot favourites to win on the day and Mikel Arteta’s men are quoted at best industry odds of 11/12 with VBet while the draw completes the picture at a top price of 14/5 with SportingBet. One question that we should always take into account when assessing FA Cup ties is the likely strength of the starting XIs. Arsenal played a weaker side in their 3rd round victory over Leeds United and we could see a similar line up on Monday night.

Bournemouth may also consider leaving out one or two key men. The Cherries have a relegation fight on their hands and that has to be the club’s priority. However, all of these factors may well balance each other out and we suspect that a draw could be on the cards at the Vitality Stadium.

Individual Goal Scorers

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is suspended for this match so Arsenal will be relying, to an extent, on Alexandre Lacazette for the goals that can win this tie. Lacazette is favourite to open the scoring and you can pick him up at best industry odds of 4/1 with Unibet and 888Sport.

The Gunners recalled Eddie Nketiah from his loan spell at Leeds United earlier this month and the youngster is second favourite in this market at a top price of 6/1 with Unibet and 888Sport once again. Arsenal players dominate the first goalscorer betting and you can claim Gabriel Martinelli at the same best of 6/1 with Betway while it’s back to 888Sport and Unibet for the top price of 7/1 on Nicholas Pepe.

As for Bournemouth, their main supplier of goals in recent seasons has been Callum Wilson. The striker’s loss of form has coincided with Bournemouth’s drop into the relegation zone but you can still claim Wilson at 7/1 with Unibet and 888Sport for the first goal.

Other players that you may want to consider in the first goalscorer betting may include Ryan Fraser at best odds of 14/1 with VBet and perhaps David Luiz can surprise us with one of his long range efforts to convert at a top price of 25/1 with 888Sport.

Other Side Bets

Bournemouth put a bad spell in the Premier League behind them when they overcame Brighton by three goals to one in midweek. Finding the back of the net has been a problem for Eddie Howe’s men but that recent result suggests that both teams to score is looking safe at best odds of 7/10 with William Hill.

The sides drew 1-1 when they last met in the league in December and form suggests we could see a similar outcome on Monday evening. We would therefore suggest looking at Under 2.5 goals which is priced at 11/10 with Coral while a Correct Score bet on that 1-1 result can be picked up at a best of 27/4 with SportingBet.

This isn’t exactly a glamour tie and the TV companies have probably booked it in with one eye on a possible upset. We’re not sure that they will get their wish but with patchy form in both camps, a share of the spoils could well be the most likely outcome. It’s also worth remembering that Arsenal have drawn their last three matches and while that trend has to be broken at some point, a lacklustre Gunners against an improving Bournemouth side could provide the set of factors required for the teams to cancel each other out.

Remember, all of the following tips are for the result in 90 minutes and exclude any replay that might ensue.

Best Bets:

• Nicolas Pepe to score the first goal at 7/1 with Unibet
• Both Teams to Score at 7/10 with William Hill
• The Draw at 14/5 with SportingBet