By oldest 
Arsenal Starting XI vs Bournemouth
Woke up this morning itching to see who Arteta picked for the Bournemouth clash. Grabbed my phone while chewing toast, scrolled through six different sites before finding anything reliable. Twitter was full of fake lineups showing retired players – like some joker posting Wilshere in midfield. Get real.
Finally hit refresh on the Premier League page around 11:30 AM. Saw the official team sheet come through:
Starting lineup confirmed:
- Ramsdale (GK)
- White (RB)
- Saliba (CB)
- Gabriel (CB)
- Zinchenko (LB)
- Partey (DM)
- Odegaard (CM)
- Xhaka (CM)
- Saka (RW)
- Martinelli (LW)
- Nketiah (ST)
Spilled coffee on my shirt when I saw Nketiah starting instead of Jesus. Arteta’s always doing this – benches players right when they hit form. Remembered last season when he dropped Tierney for no reason. Made me properly nervous about this game.
Checked Bournemouth’s lineup next. Their new winger Tavernier wasn’t starting, which felt like a gift for Zinchenko. Saved that screenshot just as my phone died. Had to dig out my old tablet to follow the match updates.
The bench choices got me scratching my head too. Vieira over Smith Rowe? That lad needs minutes to develop. At least Tomiyasu was there for defense backup. Whole lineup felt like Arteta was saving key players for Champions League.
This whole scramble reminded me of last year’s Southampton game. Got caught in traffic trying to get home, missed kickoff, and had to beg strangers in a pub for lineup news while getting dirty looks. Ended up celebrating Odegaard’s winner with blokes I’d never met before. Proper Arsenal family moment.
Lineup anxiety’s real when you support this club. Always second-guessing, always overthinking. But today? Three points in the bag. Nketiah proved me wrong and Arteta’s bald head stays shiny. Onto the next one.
