Daniels must have an invisibility cloak

If you were watching carefully in the first half yesterday you would have seen Charlie Daniels stand on the far side of the pitch with his airplane landing paddles out, signalling to Junior Stanislas that he was free and on his own on his own beach awaiting the ball. Junior of course looks up and is only to happy to deliver a beautifully weighted cross-field ball to him and the rest was just Charlie showing what a great footballer he has become.

Daniels hasn't got a magic coat but he has a magic touch. He may have sneaked in on the blind side, but Bellerin and Ramsey should and could have been tighter. That Charlie could slip inside and find a finish to beat Cech was Charlie at his best. He may not be a striker but he goes for goal when he sees the possibility and you can't teach a player to drive on, they either have the confidence to do it or will wait for support.

Charlie is up to three in the goal charts.

The goal that Charlie scored was perhaps a bit early on to do AFCB as much good as it might if the side had been racking up the goals late in the second half. That 2-0 scoreline at half time was catchable and yet when it went to 3-0, we would have said it's always good to score early and t have such a lead. The early lead merely gave Arsenal something to chase and the mood of expectation quickly changed when they got one goal back..

Just think for a minute though. Eddie has brought in challengers to rival Charlie's position and he's still there - Ian Harte, Tyrone Mings, Brad Smith - they've all found it too hard to get in front of Charlie Daniels. Far from being invisible, Charlie is what AFCB is all about and we love him for it. UTCIAD!

Can AFCB really follow up on Swansea win?

Eddie's problems seem huge but a win against Arsenal
would make the Christmas period end with a very reasonable return of points.

The problem of winning back-to-back games will give Eddie Howe plenty of work over the next few hours as his side prepare to take on Arsenal. While the Cherries are at home, Howe knows that his side has found the top six sides problematic with one win and one draw and three defeats against the elite class of 2016-17. To beat Arsenal will need something special, but we've heard that before.

The evening games at Dean Court have been few and far between, with only the Leicester City game in the league and the League Cup defeat to Preston in the recent memory banks, so it will be a bit of a rarity to play Arsenal in an evening game. An evening game gives AFCB as good a platform as they could hope for to beat a top side with the atmosphere hopefully ramped up. Of all the big sides though, Arsenal have periods when they do wobble and it's often after Christmas for them when they find it hard to pick up points. Their current away for is three points from nine in their last three games.

For this match Arsenal could well be without Mesut Ozil who has been ill with a winter cold over the weekend, but it was noticeable that Pérez was brought into the side against Crystal Palace in preference to Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain who was a second half sub, and could be being saved for this match against AFCB along with Aaron Ramsey. With Arsenal only having 48 hours to prepare for the Bournemouth match it is unlikely that AFCB will face the same side that turned out against Crystal Palace, and it's likely that those that come in will have plenty to prove to keep Arsenal's title chase on course. Against Palace it was the wing-backs of Arsenal that looked imperious - Monreal and Bellerin.  But Olivier Giroud's spectacular goal will mean he is buzzing, while Alexis Sanchez will be annoyed at not getting on the score sheet for once.

Eddie Howe will say it is all about 'us' though and not Arsenal. The players at AFCB need to play with the intensity and ambition to not only compete with Arsenal, but to knock them out of their stride. While the back four pretty much picks itself it is the striker and winger options that will come under most scrutiny. Having seen how few changes led to a lacklustre performance against Southampton, Howe is likely to change at least one of his wingers. What is less predictable is whether he will leave Afobe as the main striker. I believe he will, as the prospect for Afobe to score against Arsenal will give him an added incentive and Afobe has been in reasonable form.  

A back-to-back win would be a massive lift for Howe's side coming against Swansea and Arsenal - two of the possession masters - but the sleekness of the Cherries own passing will have to be much higher than we have seen during December.  

Possible AFCB team
4-2-3-1 Boruc (GK), Francis (RD), S Cook (CD), Aké (CD), Daniels (LD),
Ibe (RM), Arter (CM), Surman (CM), Stanislas (LM), King (FW), Afobe (FW)

AFCB Subs
Federici (GK), Mings (CD), Grabban (LM), A Smith (RM/RD), Fraser (LM), Gosling (CM),
C Wilson (FW)

Arsenal Away FormWDWLL

AFCB Home Form
DLWWL

The Boxing Day hangover may still remain for Arsenal

The AFCB players have to find some energy from somewhere for the match against Arsenal. It may only be 48 hours between games but Arsenal played a few hours later than the Cherries, so they have less time to recuperate. This is where the extra cash that AFCB have spent on ice baths and treatment rooms really come into play and while I am not sure if the team will travel up by coach or fly, I expect they will be fresh and ready to go with high-intensity when they see the Gunner's logo on the side of the Emirates stadium.  

Artur Boruc will be keen to add a clean sheet against Arsenal to his record.

The Christmas period is always a busy period and Dan Hodges will have the players  well set up to recover their energy quickly. I am not sure if the Southampton battering of Arsenal did the Cherries much good, but the defeat will be fresh in the heads of the Arsenal players which could be a good thing if the Cherries can have a good start and put them under pressure from the off. The game is a late kick-off at 5.30pm and that will also not sit comfortably with Arsenal after the late game against Southampton, even if it is in their home stadium. The Boxing Day hangover may still remain for Arsenal.

We know that Arsenal have a big squad, but they have also got injury worries - most notably Sanchez and Cazorla. But they have great talent at their disposal and players like Oxlaide-Chamberlain and Walcott will be a big test for Daniels and Smith, while Giroud has been scoring a lot of goals. Arter and Gosling will also have to take on Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil - doesn't it make you excited? I hope Eddie does not over think the threat from Arsenal though. The Cherries have to give Arsene Wenger's team something to think about and Josh King and Junior Stanislas can do it against the best teams as we have seen this month already.

Every Bournemouth player is going to need to be on their game but they have to be as excited about this game as the fans. If they perform and get a result at Arsenal it will surely have been the best footballing month in the Cherries' history.   

Later today, I answer some questions on the Cherries on the Gunners Town website - look out for my interview at Gunners Town.