Mikel Arteta has taken Arsenal from mid-table mediocrity to Premier League title challengers since taking charge five years ago.

The Spaniard took over the Gunners in December 2019 with the north Londoners languishing in the bottom half of the table.

Arteta has transformed Arsenal into Premier League title challengersAFP

Arteta watched on from the stands at Everton the day after his appointment, with his first match coming away at Bournemouth on Boxing Day in 2019.

Arsenal were sitting in 11th spot after their opening 18 games, winning just five matches, with only one victory in their last ten top-flight fixtures.

And unfortunately for the ex-Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, he didn’t get his Arsenal tenure off to a winning start.

The Gunners escaped with a point at the Vitality Stadium following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang‘s second half equaliser.

In the following five meetings with the Cherries, Arsenal would emerge victorious in each encounter.

That included an almost immediate return to Bournemouth in January 2020 in the fourth round of the FA Cup, which Arsenal would go on to win.

And five years on from Arteta’s opening match in charge, he takes his side back to the south coast – though with a completely new squad.

From Arteta’s first line-up, only Bukayo Saka will be amongst the matchday squad from the 2019 clash in Saturday’s 5:30pm kick-off.

And the England international will be playing in a different position from when he first broke onto the scene in the 2019/20 campaign.

Here talkSPORT.com takes a look at how Arsenal started against Bournemouth in Arteta’s first game.

Saka started at left-back at Bournemouth in Arteta’s first line-up in chargeGetty

Aubameyang earned Arsenal a point at Bournemouth five years agoAFP or licensors

This was how Arsenal lined up away at the Cherries in December 2019

Starting between the sticks was German goalkeeper Bernd Leno, who was eventually replaced by Aaron Ramsdale.

Coincidentally, Ramsdale started for Bournemouth in the 1-1 draw, before he left in the summer having failed to oust David Raya.

Slotting in at right-back was Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and while he impressed in the position, he longed to be a central midfielder, resulting in his exit to Lyon in 2023 following three loan spells away.

A centre-back pairing then consisted of David Luiz and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, with both men departing the Emirates as free agents in 2021.

And what may seem ludicrous today, Saka was deployed as a left-back, where he featured predominantly that season having failed to get ahead of Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe and even Reiss Nelson at times in the wing positions.

Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira featured against Bournemouth in a double-pivot role.

While Torreira quickly fell in the pecking order, Xhaka remained a permanent resident in Arteta’s XI until his £21million move to Bayer Leverkusen in 2023.

Mesut Ozil then occupied the No.10 role, but like so many from Arteta’s first line-up, he was soon offloaded.

Frozen out by his former teammate, he was allowed to depart on a free transfer in January 2021 having been omitted from both Arsenal’s Premier League and Europa League squads.

Instead of Saka on the right wing, it was Nelson who started against Bournemouth.

While still on Arsenal’s books, he was allowed to join Fulham on loan on deadline day having been limited to a peripheral role under Arteta.

Nelson started against Bournemouth, but he failed to hold down a regular spot in Arteta’s XIAFP or licensors

On the opposite flank was then-skipper Aubameyang, who was Arsenal’s main man before his fall out with Arteta.

After being stripped of the captaincy in December 2021, his contract was terminated in the 2022 winter transfer window.

Leading the line for Arsenal against Bournemouth – and until his release in 2022 – was Alexandre Lacazette.

While ten of Arsenal’s XI from Boxing Day in 2019 were allowed to move on, so were each of the seven substitutes.

Again all deemed as surplus to requirements by Arteta, Emiliano Martinez, Shkodran Mustafi, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Joe Willock, Matteo Guendouzi, Nicolas Pepe and Emile Smith Rowe were all sold or released.

Arsenal may have been the laughing stock five years ago at Bournemouth, but there’s no-one doubting them now.

Victory at Bournemouth will send them to the top of the table, and you wouldn’t be surprised if they finish top of the pile come May.

This is how the Gunners could look at the Vitality Stadium this weekend

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