"All 3 points thanks", "Pray for Bournemouth" - Arsenal fans in confident mood as starting XI is announced 

Arsenal fans were in a confident mood after the starting lineup for their upcoming Premier League fixture against Bournemouth was announced on Saturday (May 4).

Manager Mikel Arteta has stuck with the same lineup that earned them a 3-2 win against Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby last week.

With stars like Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard all being fit and healthy for the game, Gunners fans are expecting a positive result to keep their title charge alive.

They took to social media to express their confidence after the lineup was released. One fan wrote:

"All 3 points thanks."

Another one added:

"Pray for Bournemouth."

Here is a selection of fan reactions (via X):

"Arteta no longer wants to gamble," one fan chimed in.

Another fan delivered their prediction - "Havertz hattrick loading."

"Love this team but quite sad that Reiss Nelson didn't make the squad, I would of liked to have given him 5-10 mins at the end if we're cruising considering the fixture," another fan opined.

"Bournemouth's owner Martin Odegaard will cook them today," another confidently exclaimed.

Another fan enthusiastically claimed, "Three points without a doubt!!!!!!"

"Stay calm and get the job done boys. I trust you, we are the Arsenal," another fan coolly claimed.

"We must make the game easier for us and score a goal or more in the first half," one fan noted.

"Partey ball!!! I'm seated," another fan added.

This is a must-win game for Arsenal to keep themselves close to Manchester City in the EPL title race. Bournemouth have proven to be a tricky opposition in the past, and Mikel Arteta's men must tread very carefully to keep their positive momentum going.

Jurrien Timber's absence in Arsenal squad vs Bournemouth explained

Arsenal centre-back Jurrien Timber made his return from a long-term anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury last week, making two appearances for their Under-21 side.

However, he was still not included in Mikel Arteta's squad to take on Bournemouth in their upcoming Premier League fixture.

The Spaniard explained the Dutch defender's absence in the squad in the pre-match press conference. He expressed a degree of hesitation while mentioning Timber's situation, presumably not wanting to risk any re-occurrence of injury, as he said:

"We won’t know (whether he's ready) until we throw him in there. It’s tricky because there are only three games to go and he has missed eight months of football... He’s played only 115 minutes of football with the Under-21s, it’s a question that can only be resolved by throwing him on the pitch and we will see what happens, we have to try to nail that decision."

Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko are the defensive options off the bench for Arsenal against Bournemouth, providing depth and versatility across the backline.