Up next for Arsenal is a home Premier League fixture against one of the worst sides in the table, Burnley FC. Playing a side that’s currently in the drop zone provides a very likely chance of a victory, and thus the opportunity to quickly move past last night’s disappointment.
Wednesday night saw Tottenham Hotspur bounce the Gunners from the EFL Cup tournament, and thereby get some revenge for the north London derby won by Arsenal 4-2 back on December 2. In this quick turnaround fixture, the second earliest of the Premier League weekend, behind only Liverpool-Wolverhampton, the Gunners are dealing with an injury crisis in the back line.
Defenders Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Shkodran Mustafi are all out injured, leaving manager Unai Emery with a bit of a selection headache. On the the other touchline, goalkeeper Nick Pope is cleared to return to action, meaning that the Clarets now have a fully fit side.
Arsenal saw their 22 game unbeaten streak end with a 3-2 loss to Southampton this past Sunday, and coupled with the loss to Spurs, being on the wrong end of the result here would mean they have a three game losing streak on their hands. Emery is known to be a master motivator, so it’s hard to imagine that he could let that happen.
Especially given how they are already three points outside the top four, and can’t afford any more slip ups right now.
Arsenal vs Burnley FC FYIs
Kick-off: 12:30 pm (BST), 7:30 am (EST), Saturday December 21st, Emirates Stadium
Google Result Probability: Arsenal win- 78%, Draw 15%, Burnley win- 7%
Odds via Sport Pesa: Arsenal win 4/17, draw 21/4, Burnley 13/1
Arsenal FC starting XI Prediction: go to this link- will Mesut Ozil play?
Prediction: Arsenal 3, Burnley 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.