BOSS Eddie Howe admits he is desperate to reward the loyalty of travelling supporters by ending Cherries’ away-day misery at Arsenal tomorrow.

Cherries have not won on the road in four months and have never secured victory in an away match against the Gunners, who are unbeaten at home in the league since the opening day.

Asked if such statistics could be a motivational tool, Howe told the Daily Echo: “I don’t think saying something like that would necessarily motivate more.

“What it does do is give you a great sense of achievement if you are able to break that.

“I’m well aware our record at the Emirates hasn’t been too good.

“I’m very determined to change that and to create great memories for our away fans, who I’m sure will be desperate for some kind of success away from home.

“I’m certainly desperate to give them that and to thank them for all the miles they have travelled up and down the country during this disappointing run.”

Howe will again be without injured quartet Steve Cook, Junior Stanislas, David Brooks and Callum Wilson. Midfielder Jefferson Lerma starts a two-game ban.

Quizzed on whether Lerma’s absence would alter how he approached the game, Howe said: “All our midfielders have different qualities but I think that’s a good thing, because you can pick and choose the games you think they suit better.

“With a player like Andrew Surman, his experience and understanding of how we want to play is so high, we can only benefit from having someone of his experience in the team for this game.”

German star Mesut Ozil has been unable to command a regular starting spot under Gunners boss Unai Emery.

And Howe admitted he would prefer Ozil to be missing from the starting XI.

“When you look at his performances against us in recent seasons, definitely without,” said Howe, when asked if he would prefer to face Arsenal with or without the former Real Madrid star. “He has been excellent.

“He has unbelievable technical ability, vision and the ability to execute things which others don’t even see, so I rate the player very highly.”

Discussing Arsenal under Emery, Howe added: “They are different but that was always going to be the case.

“Any manager is going to put his stamp on his team and it was obvious early in his reign that there were going to be differences.

“They still have the wonderful footballers they have always had and the style of play, attacking-wise, hasn’t deviated too much from traditional Arsenal. But there are subtle differences off the ball.”