Burnley are facing a tough away day against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, who are fighting at the top of the Premier League table with an unbeaten record. Here is a preview.
The 2022/23 EFL Championship winners Burnley are back to renew familiarities with Arsenal, whom they played out a stalemate the last time they faced each other at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal are flying this season while they boast an impressive record, having won two and lost one of their last six Premier League games against the Clarets, drawing the other three.
The Gunners are genuine title contenders this term and believe they can go one better than last season’s near miss. They have oozed class throughout this campaign, and a home game with Burnley sees two of Pep Guardiola’s former disciples face off in the dugouts.
A big season for Arsenal began with a win in the Community Shield over Manchester City as they opened the league campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 scoreline against Nottingham Forest. Two tight London derbies against Crystal Palace and Fulham brought a win and a draw before their first significant campaign victory at home to Manchester United.
Everton provided a stern test at Goodison Park, but Leandro Trossard’s goal delivered the maximum points, and an entertaining clash with rivals Tottenham Hotspur ended 2-2. Kai Havertz’s first goal for Arsenal was the standout moment of their 4-0 win against Bournemouth, but the next would decide the course of their entire season.
Title rivals Manchester City came to town, and Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected strike in the 86th minute provided the decisive moment of the clash. That goal is critical in the title race, representing their first league win over the Citizens since December 2015.
Indeed, the Gunners are still unbeaten in the league and two points off Tottenham at the top of the table.
They are confident enough to go all the way, especially considering their improvements to the first-team squad. This could become a historic season, two decades after their last league title triumph.
On the other hand, Burnley will be hoping to catch their hosts on a bad day at the office and cause an unlikely upset. Vincent Kompany is very familiar with the methods of his former Man City coach in Arteta and will get massive satisfaction from spoiling the Gunners’ day.
The Clarets secured a record-breaking season in the second division, blowing opponents away to prove they were too good for the Championship. However, their return to the Premier League hasn’t gone to plan so far.
There were little surprises in the 3-0 thrashing of Manchester City in their first game, but the two weeks to prepare for their next match only produced further defeats against Aston Villa and Tottenham.
A first point was secured at Nottingham Forest, but they failed to build on that during another defeat, this time by a lone goal to Manchester United. Newcastle away is a tough assignment, and Burnley lost 2-0. Still, the next match brought their maiden Premier League win, with Lyle Foster and Jacob Bruun Larsen scoring the goals against Luton Town.
The visit of Chelsea went off to a dream start as Wilson Odobert became their youngest Premier League goalscorer only 15 minutes in. However, a Raheem Sterling-inspired attack left Lancashire with a 4-1 win.
Kompany’s side have struggled to find balance so far, with tactical naivety off the ball being their biggest undoing.
That is sure to be exploited by the Gunners, who they have beaten only once in their last 19 games, but notably, the one that came at the Emirates. A lot more would need to be done for any semblance of that result as the Clarets players get to terms with the quality of their opponents.
Match tickets
This match takes place on Saturday, November 11, with the action scheduled to start from 3pm UK time. For the hosts, home Premier League fixtures tickets are usually sold via a ballot system exclusively for Arsenal season ticket holders.
Arsenal expect to have 60,000 fans in attendance per home match, and given their lofty ambitions this season, fans will rarely miss any game. With that in mind, Arsenal vs Burnley tickets may be tough to find through official channels.
Supporters who still want to make the trip to London may be lucky to find their tickets on a ticket resale site.
Team news
Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka, and Leandro Trossard are injured, while William Saliba also pulled out of the October international matches due to a recurring toe injury. Timber is the only long-term absentee, with the latter three set to return in the coming weeks.
Burnley are without as many as six players through injury and at different stages of recovery as Hjalmar Ekdal, Nathan Redmond, Jordan Beyer, Michael Obafemi, and Johann Berg Gudmundsson are currently in the treatment room. At the same time, Ameen Al-Dakhil was forced to withdraw from the Belgium squad.
They will be hoping for some positive updates on players who could be available for the Arsenal trip.
Line-ups
The Gunners should be able to call on some recently injured stars to bolster their forward ranks. Meanwhile, Kai Havertz should be handed a start as he continues to gel in the Arsenal midfield.
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Rice, Odegaard, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
Kompany is beginning to build some chemistry within his largely inexperienced team, and he must retain his strongest players to take on the league leaders.
Crucially, they must acquire some form of balance in midfield and be clinical enough to take their scoring chances when they present themselves.
Burnley: Trafford; Roberts, Al-Dakhil, Beyer, Taylor; Brownhill, Berge, Cullen; Odobert, Foster, Amdouni
Prediction
The odds are firmly with the home side, and it will take the most optimistic Claret to anticipate a draw or even all three points.
Arsenal’s relentless press will be set up to catch the Burnley backline, and we can very much expect a high-scoring affair. The quality they possess all over the team is immense compared to Burnley’s, and with their sights set on silverware this term, Arteta’s men should see a comfortable victory.
Arsenal 3-1 Burnley