Bournemouth go into Saturday's encounter with league leaders Arsenal, in the relegation zone. With the likelihood of a win extremely low, Gary O'Neil reflected on his side's current predicament.

Their game against the Gunners sees them face off with a team they were resoundingly beaten by earlier in the campaign. Can O'Neil and his troops pull off an unlikely revenge ? 

  • Injury News

The injury list has been slowly growing in recent weeks with Marcus Tavernier back on it after a recurrence of his hamstring issue. O'Neil also spoke a number of other players, including David Brooks.

"Lloydy (Kelly) is close and was back on the grass today. Lewis (Cook) is back involved and he will join the squad, which is a big positive for everybody.

"Ilia (Zabarnyi) is back out running and is doing good work but won't be involved this weekend. The rest is fairly similar.

"Marcus won't be available again this weekend. We've got two more games before the international break and hopefully he'll play a part in those, but it's not confirmed.

"It's a slight hamstring issue and it'd not too serious, so we're hopeful to have him back as soon as possible.

"Brooks is close. There's still bits to do and we maybe need to get him some time on the pitch in bigger areas but he's trained well in and around the lads."

  • On Bournemouth's survival hopes

The Cherries' manager took an interesting view on the club's situation, highlighting his eagerness to avoid watching other teams.

"I don't know the exact detail of the league table. I couldn't tell you who is above us."

  • On facing the top two

In back to back weeks, Bournemouth will come up against Man City and Arsenal, the toughest two challenges in the league. 

Last weekend they succumbed to a 4-1 defeat by Pep Guardiola's City outfit. O'Neil reflected on the team's performance.

"It was a really good effort. We made some mistakes, which you can't do against a top opposition. But being aggressive against one of the best teams in the world, we gave ourselves a chance in the game.

"The goals change how everyone sees the game. Up there we hardly laid a glove on them, here we had 13 shots, the most they have conceded this season."

As for their upcoming game with Arsenal, O'Neil complimented their opponents this weekend but also set out a plan for potentially overcoming the table toppers.

"They're a fantastic side, top of the league. Going to their place, it's the toughest test you can face at the moment.

"The connection with the fans, the atmosphere at Emirates Stadium at the moment, the intensity. It will be a good test for the boys.

"Make sure we don't give anything silly away then stick to the gameplay and try and hurt them when we get our opportunities, be clinical. Our level needs to be as high as it can be."