Pepe and Saka BOTH start for Arsenal as Tierney on bench for Bournemouth clash
UNAI EMERY has opted to start huge talent Bukayo Saka and misfiring Nicolas Pepe in his starting XI to face Bournemouth.
Saka, 18, was impressive in his first league start against Man United last Monday and provided an assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s equaliser.
The Spaniard has kept his faith in the youngster who is overshadowing his £72million team-mate on the field.
Pepe has struggled to find form since his big money move from Lille in the summer, scoring just once in nine appearances.
But he will get another chance to prove his worth against the Cherries with Aubameyang also looking to maintain his stunning goalscoring form.
Kieran Tierney only makes the bench following his impressive showing in the win over Standard Liege on Thursday.
The Scottish left-back is recovering from a hamstring injury and Emery is keen not to rush him back on his return to full fitness.
It means Sead Kolasinac gets the nod while Thursday’s hero Gabriel Martinelli makes the bench.
Emery bizarrely revealed that he feels his defence are improving… because they only conceded one against misfiring Manchester United.
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The gaffer claims their 1-1 draw at Man Utd proves that they are finally finding a solution to their defensive woes.
In today’s matchday programme, he said: “To focus on us, I think we are progressively getting better defensively and in the last few matches we have had some important clean sheets.
“In the match against Manchester United we conceded only one goal, and I think that shows we are improving.”