No overreaction to Arsenal defeat

With only three defeats in their last 10 games there is no need for AFCB players or fans to dwell too much on the Arsenal defeat. Yes, it was a game where the Cherries might have expected to have stayed in the game for longer, but they were caught out a couple of times and that is the difference between the very best sides and those below.

AFCB move on and they do so into a crunch game against Stoke City. The onus is now to keep pushing on and to get over the 30 point mark as that will reinforce the Crystal Palace points and get the players focused on how close they are to safety. These home games are the ones when you'd expect the Cherries to be able to secure a lot of the points they need, even if they have been doing better away from Dean Court. 

A home defeat, but there were some positives from the game against Arsenal.

It is an exciting time with games against Stoke and the FA Cup match against Everton now both at home. This is where managers want to get some momentum and Eddie Howe won't want his players looking back now. While I can't see too many changes in the team, it is easy for the manager to tinker with his side in these next two games to get the right balance. It is clear that he is not happy with Benik Afobe being too isolated and there has to be a way found to ensure he is more involved in the build up play, while the need to get back to having clean sheets is also something that can't be overlooked.

The Norwich home win seems a long time ago and yet it is only a few weeks back and the team needs to find that desire in front of goal if it is to overcome a Stoke City side that will also fancy their chances at Dean Court. The Stoke game is one of those matches that can change the look of the table massively and AFCB need to make their move up the table now.

You can also catch up with my thoughts on Josh King's season so far over at Shoot