Arsenal vs Sheffield Utd

Date – 18/01/2020

Kick off time – 15:00pm (GMT)

Venue – Emirates Stadium

Head to Head Stats

Out of the last three games, Arsenal have won two of them.

In the last three meetings, both teams have failed to score in the same game (0-3 Arsenal, 6-0 Arsenal, 1-0 Sheffield).

In all competitions, Arsenal have come out on top in their last five home games against the Blades (4W, 1D).

Last time out, Sheffield managed to get all three points and keep a clean sheet against the Gunners.

Match Preview and Predicted Lineup

After a slightly disappointing result against Crystal Palace, the Gunners will be keen to bounce back and take all three points this time round. I believe this game will be a tough one for Arsenal as Sheffield are going to be very compact when defending, then direct on the counter attack, which could cause us some problems. However, Arteta will be wanting to see a reaction from his depleted squad in which I think he will get. With the atmosphere at the Emirates less toxic, the fans will be like a 12th man, pushing the team into their new high pressing tactics which I cannot see the Sheffield defence being able to cope with. The Blades will allow Arsenal to have the ball when it’s being played in front of them, then as soon as it breaks the lines they will press in numbers, as we saw in the previous fixture between the two this can be very effective. It will be down to Arsenal to take the game to them and for the front three to finish the limited chances in which they will be given, with Lacazette and Pepe hopefully able to get us a positive result in Aubameyang’s absence.

Arteta does have a few selection headaches as he is missing key players all over the pitch, Hector Bellerin is still struggling for fitness following his return from a horrendous ACL injury last January and will miss this fixture. Bosnian powerhouse Kolasinac has also been picking up little niggles throughout the season, with the latest one being a slight thigh strain which will most likely sideline him for this game. The Gunners have two long term injuries with Callum Chambers rupturing his ACL and Kieran Tierney dislocating his shoulder in a recent game against West Ham, with the latter in a race to be fit in time to feature again this season. Lucas Torreira is a doubt as he was substituted at halftime last week as a result of a muscle injury. Also, after last weeks red card, Aubameyang will be Arsenal’s biggest miss, with the Gabonese International scoring 14 goals in the Premier League this season. Sheffield on the other hand have no fresh injury concerns as boss Chris Wilder confirmed during the week.

Predicted Lineup

Formation – 4-2-3-1

GK – Bernd Leno

RB – Maitland – Niles

CB – David Luiz

CB – Sokratis

LB – Bukayo Saka

CM – Lucas Torreira

CM – Granit Xhaka

RM – Nicolas Pepe

CAM – Mesut Ozil

LM – Reiss Nelson

ST – Alexandre Lacazette

Score Prediction

Even though we have a majorly depleted squad, the fact that we are at the Emirates, with our fans much more likely to get behind the team I think it will get us across the line. My prediction is:

Arsenal 2-0 Sheffield United

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James Humphreys