How do Bournemouth start getting over the line?

The recent defeats for the Cherries have left a disappointing cloud over such a great start to the season. But if anyone knows how to get Bournemouth out of a dip in results it is Eddie Howe. From the post-match interviews, I get the impression that Howe is not going to dwell too much on the result against Arsenal, as there are so many games in December that will either keep Bournemouth in the top 10, or have fans thinking about the teams trying to get on even terms with the Cherries.

How to get back to winning ways?

Scoring first has suddenly become more of a challenge and it is no coincidence that when Bournemouth have not scored first they have found it more difficult to get something out of the games. It did appear that Bournemouth had set themselves up well for a recovery in the second half against Arsenal, but there was not enough quality in the last third to get in front.

The change in formation in the second half with the substitutes started to bring some opportunities but Arsenal were the stronger team. Eddie has to work out away that his team can get the edge in these close matches without making a fatal mistake. We have seen it against Man United and Arsenal, and yet a draw in either game would not have been unrealistic looking at the performances.

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How to get over the line is the conundrum. Bournemouth have the fire power on the bench to do more than they have before to win games, but perhaps better use of Mousset and Defoe in particular is something that Howe has to start considering when the games are in the balance. There is an understandable reluctance to take Callum Wilson off in games, but it would help the confidence of Defoe to start getting some minutes in the last quarter of games.