Arsenal return to Premier League action on Saturday when they host Burnley at Emirates Stadium and will look to bounce back from their defeat at Newcastle United last weekend.
The Gunners lost 1-0 to the Magpies at St. James Park and will be eager to pick up all three points against the Clarets tomorrow.
Arsenal have found themselves three points behind Manchester City in the Premier League table as a result of their only defeat so far out of the opening 11 games of the 2023-24, and Chris Sutton is tipping them to return to winning ways against Vincent Kompany’s side, predicting a comfortable 3-0 victory for them in his BBC column.
“Arsenal have got a few injury issues – Bukayo Saka took a knock during their win over Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Martin Odegaard missed that game as well as last weekend’s defeat at Newcastle,” the former striker turned pundit said.
“But even if both are absent here, I don’t see the Gunners having any problems against a Burnley team who have lost their past four league matches and are only off the bottom of the table on goal difference.
“The Clarets’ home form in particular is deeply concerning, with six defeats out of six so far, and their away record is not much better.
“They play high-risk football when they try to play out from the back, but it doesn’t look like their manager Vincent Kompany is going to change anything there. Week by week, though, their confidence is getting knocked by every defeat they suffer.”
Arsenal are also without Gabriel Jesus, Thomas Partey, Eddie Nketiah, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Emile Smith Rowe, but getting a win against Burnley should not be tricky.
However, the visitors will be desperate to pick up their second victory of the Premier League campaign having lost nine of their opening 11 games, and the Gunners cannot afford to underrate them.
They strolled to a 5-0 victory against Sheffield United a fortnight ago and could get a similar result against another struggling side.
Heading into the international break on the back of a comfortable win will come as a much-needed boost, and manager Mikel Arteta will hope to have a majority of his crooked players back when action resumes on November 25.
