Leicester hope to end bogey run at Arsenal

Leicester hope to end bogey run at Arsenal



Leicester hope to end bogey run at Arsenal


Mikel Arteta lamented the decision-making of officials after the final whistle blew. VAR was once again the subject of debate with Arsenal being denied what looked like a clear penalty.

Instead, they missed out on a spot-kick and ultimately lost, again, to Manchester City.

It was the eighth time that City had beaten Arsenal in their last nine attempts.

It was the fifth time in a row that City had gotten the better of Arsenal at the Etihad. And yet, the Etihad remains a sort of symbol of hope for Arsenal.

It was, after all, the venue at which they last beat a fellow member of Premier League's 'Big Six' club away from home. Since then, there have been 29 consecutive unsuccessful attempts to repeat that trick.

It's hard to imagine a club with such a record winning a league title. Or, at least, it was. This season has started in a fashion so open that it's sent a lot of truisms out the window. Unlike the last few campaigns, a near-record points tally won't be required to top a division filled with clubs slipping on spectacular banana skins.

If Arsenal can continue winning at home, who knows what they can accomplish.

Arsenal are the only Premier League side to win at the Emirates in 2020.

The Gunners have been superb on their own patch since the turn of the year, winning nine and losing none of their 11 home league fixtures. One of the only teams that have made them drop points there is Leicester.

The Foxes competed for a Champions League place last season but a poor run of form after the restart undid their good work.

They started this season without any semblance of a hangover, taking the maximum nine points from the opening three matches.

While Arsenal are reaping the benefits of home advantage, Leicester much prefer to play away right now. They lost three of their last four home Premier League matches, whereas they won their last two away. A 5-2 bashing of City showed that Pep Guardiola's men aren't always imperious at the Etihad. Away to Arsenal, though, they're not so hot.

Leicester last won away to Arsenal in 1973. Since the, they have gone on a run of Arsenal-away-to-the-big-six proportions, failing to win 23 games on Arsenal's patch. As we already stated, victory here does not seem crucial to earning a spot here or winning a title there with teams dropping points on a regular basis.

However, it does seem like the perfect time to end such a run. The climate for unusual results can be taken advantage of to win a bogey fixture. Whether they will or not, we expect an entertaining match.

Leicester are unbeaten in three of their last four matches against Arsenal but the Gunners won their last meeting in the League Cup earlier in the campaign. Leicester are expected to be without Ndidi, Soyuncu, and Pereira. Arsenal, meanwhile, should be able to field their best eleven.

Both sides compete in the Europa League next week and they will be expected to take it seriously as an alternate route into the Champions League, as well as a competition of relative prestige in its own right.

There are expectations that each club makes it to the latter stages with bookies offering short odds on a Premier League side to win the competition.

Tips can be found on Sporty Trader, an informative site for keeping in the loop on the odds of European tournaments and EPL predictions. In an unpredictable season, help is needed to accurately predict what bizarre result is coming next. The high scorelines suggest that gung-ho attacks are the order of the day. It would seem as though fortune is favouring the bold.

 


NEW! Subscribe to our weekly Gooner Fanzine newsletter for all the latest news, views, and videos from the intelligent voice of Arsenal supporters since 1987.

Please note that we will not share your email address with any 3rd parties.


Article Rating

Leave a comment

Sign-in with your Online Gooner forum login to add your comment. If you do not have a login register here.