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Despite Spurs win, Arsenal still have a wobble in them
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Cherries are the fifth best team in PL since November
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Iraola due statement result, Saturday might be it
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Arsenal v Man City race could soon be over
Arsenal are potentially three wins away from the Premier League title. It's Bournemouth and Everton at home, sandwiched in between a trip to Manchester United.
Win all three and Manchester City will be required to beat Wolves, Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham to win a fourth consecutive league title. No team or manager has ever won the English league title in four successive seasons. Pep Guardiola and his machine-like team are on the cusp of yet more record-breaking glory.
On the Betfair Exchange, City are 1.412/5 with Arsenal keeping them honest at 3.412/5.
Gary Neville thinks Arsenal will remain perfect across their last three games.
He said on the Gary Neville Podcast after watching Arsenal beat Tottenham 3-2: "I think they will achieve a 100 per cent record. The one doubt is the Old Trafford game."
I disagree with both statements.
I think there's a slip-up coming for the Gunners. And it's most likely to come this Saturday at 12.30 against Bournemouth, who have the tools to get a result at The Emirates.
It's why I've decided to lay Arsenal at 1.232/9 on the Betfair Exchange for that encounter and I wouldn't be putting people off the 7/24.50 on the Betfair Sportsbook on Bournemouth double chance depending on which way you like to conduct your punting.
Why Bournemouth can stop Arsenal's charge
This fixture is a perfect storm for me to combine two of my theories that have been to the forefront of my mind in recent months.
In that Arsenal are still not Manchester City-like when it comes to monster matches in terms of getting the job done and how underrated Bournemouth are by the markets when facing elite opposition.
Arsenal received lots of kudus for their performance at Tottenham. And yes it was an impressive result in a hostile fixture but the overall performance had an air of nervousness, something which has crept into their play in big games this season especially in the Champions League. I can't fully trust them.
They were very fortunate to be 3-0 up at half-time based on the underlying metrics where Spurs, to my eyes and the data, did create some big moments. It should have been a stroll in the second half sunshine, but David Raya's brain freeze and Declan Rice's rash challenge in conceding a penalty almost resulted in a catastrophic collapse.
Bournemouth are certainly a team capable of punishing a similar level of performance if Arsenal don't step it up on Saturday.
Since the Cherries were pumped 6-1 by Man City in November, Andoni Iraola has masterminded a run of form that has ranked Bournemouth as the fifth best team in the Premier League, taking 42 points from 25 games.
He has found the key to setting alight his exciting yet brilliantly organised football philosophy at the club.
This run of form is backed up by some sensational underlying defensive metrics, suggesting they are unfortunate not to have even more points in their satchels.
In those last 23 games, they are working at an expected goals-against ratio of 1.22 per 90 minutes - a process only bettered by Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool. And, when assessing the xG battles across their last 27 games in all competitions, they have won 21 of them.
Iraola's football is thriving.
One thing missing though is that he's yet to slay a giant - to bag a huge result that makes the world sit up and take notice. And what is luring people, like Neville, into thinking this will be a cakewalk for Arsenal is Bournemouth's wretched record against the top five this season. In nine fixtures, they have taken just one point, losing eight games to an aggregate score of 28-6. Woah.
It's a bizarre record as Iraola's football was famed for stifling the top teams in La Liga with Rayo Vallecano. They took 14 points against the top five in La Liga last season.
I'm still convinced a big result will drop Bournemouth's way this season and this is the last of chance of landing some profit on that theory. So, I'll be with them on Saturday, with the money down on laying Arsenal at those prohibitive prices and some pennies on the 14.527/2 for a Bournemouth win.