Author: voidsports1

Arsenal look to maintain flawless start to their UCL Campaign as they host Olympiacos

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Arsenal play hosts to Greek champions Olympiacos tonight after Gabriels dramatic 96th minute header secured all 3pts for the Gunners on Sunday. Mikel Arteta and his side had faced a heavy media backlash last week after tepid displays against title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, taking just one point from a possible six.

Arteta hit back hard in his defence of his team; describing David Raya as ‘a very attacking goalkeeper, his defenders as the most attacking in the league, and siting ‘midfielder Merino playing as a number 9, as something he’s never seen before’. 

Sunday’s win over Newcastle has eased some of the pressure, but the question remains: does Arteta have the courage required to deliver one of the big prizes, the Premier League or Champions League?

Right now, the Champions League looks a long shot. With the Spanish giants purring again and Bayern Munich starting in formidable fashion, English clubs have work to do to stay in the reckoning. However, with Liverpool’s defence looking disorganised and Salah starting slow, Slot’s side do not look to be the unstoppable force so many had predicted. Maybe this season the Premier League is Arsenal’s most realistic target.

Olympiacos look to be the perfect opponent for Arsenal this midweek. Although a regular feature of the competition, the Greek side have lost 67% of all away fixtures in the competition across 93 games. It is their form at home which will pose foreign sides a bigger challenge in the competition.

Our Prediction:

1u: Arsenal & Man City ML (-150)

The bookmakers have almost all angles covered off on this fixture, an easy win expected for the Gunners. 

With Man City facing a tougher test away to Monaco, it would be sensible to pair both English sides on the ML in a double.

Can Arsenal overcome a tough away trip up North

We turn our attention to a huge fixture on Sunday for multiple reasons. Mikel Arteta has been under fierce backlash during the week for his defensive approach to games that has seen Arsenal come unstuck against title rivals Liverpool & Manchester City.

In his response, ahead of Arsenal’s Carabao Cup tie, Arteta described David Raya as ‘the most attacking stopper’ in the league. He also went on to describe his backline as the most offensive full backs in the league. This stout defence of his players isn’t surprising but also isn’t necessary. Everyone is fully aware of the quality within the Arsenal squad, however with one of the lowest xG’s in the league it is undoubtable that Arsenal are setup to protect first, attack second. 

Arsenal fans remain confident in the wake of the scrutiny of Mikel Arteta. The side sit 2nd in the league and have already navigated difficult away games against Manchester United (1-0 Win), and Liverpool (0-1 Loss). They also kicked off their Champions League campaign with a structured and at times uninspiring performance to overcome Bilbao 2-0.

Meanwhile Newcastle have many challenges of their own to handle, none less than losing leading goalscorer and talisman Alexander Isak to Liverpool on deadline day. Newcastle have limped forward in the beginning of their campaign. With just one win in five and three goals to show for it. Eddie Howe’s side look void of confidence and quality in the attacking areas. 

However the raucous atmosphere at St.James Park is something to hang onto for fans. Newcastle averaged 2pts per game at home last season, winning twelve of their nineteen games. They also were the joint third top scorers at home. You have to extend back to the 7th May 2023 to the last time the gunners managed to take down Newcastle at St.James Park. Eddie Howe has proven to have the edge in this encounter.

Betting Prediction:

2u: Arsenal ML (+110)

1u: Total Goals over 2.5 (+100)

Despite recent history showing that 90% of competitive games between these two go under 2,5 goals in the last 10, we believe that changes on Sunday. 

The bookmakers have made no effort to reduce the odds and with Newcastle low on confidence, it will be an opportunity for Arsenal to strike and inject some momentum into their season.