Alan Shearer has been speaking about Arsenal v Bournemouth this weekend and believes the result could be massively significant in the title race.
The Gunners returned to winning ways in midweek at Sporting Lisbon after two difficult results in a row.
Now, the focus is back on the Premier League and it’s Andoni Iraola’s inconsistent Bournemouth who stand in Arsenal’s way.
Indeed, according to Shearer, a win for Arsenal could very much seal things.
Prediction time! What do you think the score will be when Arsenal take on Bournemouth?
Alan Shearer predicts Arsenal v Bournemouth
Put simply, Arsenal just have to keep winning. There is little time to contemplate dropping any points and with a game against Man City coming as well, these games are even bigger.
Bournemouth, of course, can produce big performances when they want. But according to Shearer, it’s Arsenal who will get the job done and give themselves huge momentum.
“This is huge for Arsenal. If they can win again, then I think it would really, really set them up for a strong finish because I think they’d get a bit of morale and a bit of confidence back. They gave themselves a great opportunity in midweek with the hard work and the performance that they put in. So they’ve got to go again,” Shearer wrote for The Metro.
“It would be a massive blow though if they did drop points, I think because of the noise, it’s a great opportunity to quiet everything down again. They did that on Tuesday, they’ve got to do it again on Saturday and if they can, as I said, I just think the momentum is huge.
“They were really disappointing against Southampton and didn’t deserve to win against City. So, to get it back in midweek without playing that well. I think they can use that as a strong platform going forward if they get another result this weekend.
“”I think Arsenal will win.”
Arsenal facing a title-defining weekend in the Premier League
There is a look and a feel about this weekend’s action that really does make it seem like the title could be sealed this week.
On one hand, Arsenal have a game that – on paper – they should be winning.
On the reverse of that, we have Man City going to Chelsea in what is a very losable game for Pep Guardiola’s men. If both these things happen, then Arsenal lead the title race by 12 points with just six games to go and that really would be that.
Of course, Arsenal’s focus is solely on themselves. All they have to do is keep winning. If they win 5 of the next seven, they are champions regardless.
But it’s one game at a time. The win at Sporting was massive in midweek and as Shearer says, a win over the Cherries will only serve to keep the momentum going.
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