Match Preview

Last time out for Arsenal, in the FA Cup, it was a solid performance which saw Arteta’s youngsters tear Bournemouth apart in the opening 45 minutes, however it was a slightly different second half in which the Cherries pulled one back to make it end 1-2. For this game, Arteta will want to extend his sides unbeaten run away from home that stretches back 6 games.

Burnley will be up for this one, with the opportunity to go above the Gunners in the table, they will want to set the tone in the opening exchanges and hope to unsettle the away side. Arsenal will need to be switched on from the off if they are to get anything from this game, as Turf Moor is not an easy place to go. I believe Arsenal will want to execute a possession based game plan, which they have tried to do in every game under new management, while pressing high and not allowing the Burnley wide players to have time on the ball to whip in crosses to their target men. The visitors have looked a completely different side in recent weeks, evolving their style of playing quick free flowing football, while being much more compact when they don’t have the ball and they will look to build on this when the two sides meet on Sunday. It will be a hard fought 90 minutes for both sides and here’s some news on how they might set up:

Arsenal have received a few needed boosts in the suspension front, as goal machine Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is available for selection after missing the last three games following a red card at Selhurst Park. Centre-back David Luiz is also back in contention after completing his ban in the 1-2 win against Bournemouth on Monday night. News broke on Friday that Sead Kolasinac is progressing well from his thigh strain and is being assessed ahead of this weekends game, along with Kieran Tierney doing more frequent outdoor sessions, it will be music to Arteta’s ears to have both natural left backs approaching full fitness. Both new signings for the Gunners will most likely miss this fixture as centre-back Pablo Mari would have been in pre season for Flamengo at this moment, therefore is lacking match fitness and sharpness. Right back Cedric Soares has a knee injury which is expected to rule him out for a couple of weeks, so he should be in contention after the winter break. The only major miss for Burnley will be Johann Gudmundsson who was forced off recently with a hamstring issue and is likely to be out for a couple of weeks.

Predicted Lineup

Formation – 4-2-3-1

GK – Bernd Leno

RB – Hector Bellerin

CB – David Luiz

CB – Sokratis

LB – Bukayo Saka

CM – Lucas Torreira

CM – Granit Xhaka

RM – Nicolas Pepe

CAM – Mesut Ozil

LM – Gabriel Martinelli

ST – Aubameyang

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James Humphreys