AFC Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has admitted that five of his players will be out of the game against Arsenal on Wednesday, for various reasons.

Eddie Howe

Bournemouth have a growing injury list, with Steve Cook suffering a setback in the build-up to their game at the weekend. Speaking in quotes reported by the club website, Howe admitted the defender would miss the match, along with three other injured stars.

“We have a few injuries, so many that I can’t remember,” he said. “Junior (Stanislas) will be out, Steve’s had a long-standing groin problem for a couple of months, having moments when it’s been better than in other moments and then in the build-up to the game on Saturday it got too much for him.

“Callum (Wilson) and David (Brooks) are improving and doing well. But we haven’t seen them join in training yet and that shows you they won’t be ready for this game.”

Unfortunately for Howe, Bournemouth then have a suspension to deal with, on top of the four injuries. Jefferson Lerma picked up a yellow card on Saturday, his tenth of the season, meaning he’ll now serve a two-game ban.

That’s five of the 14 players that faced Arsenal in the last Premier League clash in November. The Gunners can really have no excuses not to go out to win the game now, particularly with matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United coming up. Getting three points on Wednesday is crucial.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have been handed a triple injury boost in the last few days. Click ‘Next’ to find out more

Arsenal got a triple injury-boost ahead of their crunch week in the race for a top-four finish.

The Gunners made light work of Southampton in the first half at the Emirates on Sunday however the second reminded us of the concerns we have surrounding this team.

Injuries to Alex Iwobi and Stephan Lichtsteiner compounded Unai Emery’s selection problems with the pair being replaced after 75 and 56 minutes respectively.

Speaking to the press after the game, Emery gave updates on three players and, ahead of the game against Bournemouth, we now have a better idea what players will be available as Arsenal look to consolidate fourth place.

Let’s start with…

Alex Iwobi

Alex Iwobi was replaced after 75 minutes with what looked like an ankle problem.

“I hope it’s only a knock, not a more important injury. I hope he can play Wednesday,” Emery said to reporters after the final whistle.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles

Maitland-Niles was a surprise absentee for Arsenal’s game against BATE Borisov on Thursday until it was revealed he’d been licking the communal Arsenal germbox.

He also missed out on Sunday but Unai Emery is hopeful that the 21-year-old will have recovered sufficiently to be involved against Bournemouth on Wednesday night.

Stephan Lichtsteiner

The Swiss defender may have his critics at Arsenal – and rightly so – but without him we’d be playing Carl Jenkinson.

Yes, I know that an argument can be made that we should play Jenks anyway, but let’s not go there.

The veteran was replaced after just 56 minutes after he suffered back pain and Emery said post-match, “Lichtsteiner has back pain, but I hope he can be OK for Wednesday, I hope Maitland-Niles as well.”