At this point, you just have to have to win your games as they come because in all honesty, we are actually running out of games. The Gunners take on a resilient Burnley side that has produced some great results in front of their home fans with Manchester City suffering a shock result there recently. The Clarets have notched up a win and a draw in their last two home games, recording clean sheets in the process but that win was Burnley’s only victory in their last 10 outings. (W1, D3, L6)
The home side will no doubt be looking to their main man, Danny Ings, that has scored nine and assisted four of Burnley’s 26 goals this season. However, he has gone six Premier League games without a goal, equaling his longest barren spell of the season. The Clarets’ manager, Sean Dyche, is a stern believer of continuity, and he has used the same XI for 16 games this season but he would be wary of the team’s weakness from set pieces as Burnley has conceded 17 headed goals this season and a further 11 goals from corners, both league-high tallies. This would be a huge concern to Burnley, especially with the mere fact that Arsenal has scored a record-high 20 goals from set pieces this season.
The club is staring relegation in the face and would want to do everything in their bit to avoid the drop but they are up against an Arsenal side with lofty ambitions of their own. Since the Gunners surprise 2-0 loss to Southampton on New Year’s Day, Arsene Wenger’s men have notched up an amazing haul of 15 wins from 17 games with the only blips coming at home to Monaco and at White Hart Lane.
The Gunners have won seven successive Premier League matches, scoring 17 goals in the process. It’s their best run of form since a nine-match streak between January and March 2004 during their unbeaten title-winning campaign. Winning at Burnley today would equal the feat the Invincibles achieved 11 years ago – eight wins on the trot. It’s also worth noting that Arsenal is the only side yet to lose against opponents in the bottom half of the table (W13, D3).
When both sides met at the Emirates early in the season, Arsenal ran out as 3-0 winners with Alexis Sanchez netting a brace as well as Calum Chambers scoring his first ever competitive goal. The Chilean hot shot would be hoping to do the double over Burnley but I’m sure Chambers would have to make do with a place on the bench with the kind of form Hector Bellerin is in.
The Gunners have built impressive momentum since the New Year’s Day loss at Southampton, winning 15 of 17 games in all competitions.
Team News
A couple of players are still working their way to full fitness and I’m sure that the manager would want to integrate them into the squad as soon as possible. Mikel Arteta, Abou Diaby and Jack Wilshere recently featured in an Under-21s match against Stoke and they would be relishing the prospect of playing with their teammates again. Wilshere has recently spoken about the fierce competition for first team places in the squad and he knows that it’s for the overall benefit of the team.
The Gunners would be sweating on the fitness of Laurent Koscielny as he’s scheduled to have a late fitness test today. However, Gabriel Paulista could be in line to take the Frenchman’s place if he isn’t fit enough. Gabriel recently stated that he made the right choice joining the club in January and he’s looking forward to improving himself in one of the world’s most competitive leagues.
Alexis has scored five goals in five matches versus last season’s promoted sides, including two versus Burnley at the Emirates but the team will be looking to Olivier Giroud to continue his red hot goalscoring streak. The French forward has scored 10 goals in his last 10 appearances and he has also scored in six successive Premier League matches. If he scores today, he could equal Emmanuel Adebayor’s feat of scoring in seven Arsenal games in a row in 2007-08.
Injury Updates
Burnley: Kevin Long (knee), Dean Marney (knee), Ross Wallace (knee), Steven Reid (calf), Matthew Taylot (lacking match fitness)
Arsenal: Serge Gnabry, Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby and Mathieu Debuchy (all lacking match fitness), Laurent Koscielny (hip / thigh), Wojciech Szczesny (rib), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (hamstring)
Team Form
Burnley
- Last Five Games: L L W L D
- Last Result: Burnley 0 Tottenham 0
- Leading Goalscorer: Danny Ings (9)
Arsenal
- Last Five Games: W W W W W
- Last Result: Arsenal 4 Liverpool 1
- Leading Goalscorer: Alexis Sanchez (20)
Predicted Lineups
Burnley (4-4-2): Heaton; Duff, Shackell, Tripper, Mee; Boyd, Arfield, Jones, Barnes; Vokes, Ings
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Gabriel, Monreal; Coquelin, Ramsey; Ozil, Cazorla, Sanchez; Giroud
Gooner Daily says 1-3 to the Arsenal
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