Although it looks on paper that Arsenal should easily beat Sheffield Utd, but as we all know, form means nothing this season in the Premier League.
Sheffield United may be rock bottom of the EPL, but they rarely get hammered and over half their games have been decided by just a single goal, usually in favour of their opponents but they did beat Aston Villa by 1-0 last month.
We must also consider that Arsenal just played a very disappointing game on Thursday, while Sheffield have had a full week to train for this. Mikel Arteta was asked what he expected against Sheffield, and he replied: “What they do every week. A team that has a big commitment, a team that fights in every single game which is not easy for the opponent, and we will face a difficult game again. We have no time to recover or prepare for the game, so we know what we are going to be facing.”
And you may think that Sheffield have nothing to play for, considering that they only have 14 points, and are a massive 15 pooints from safety, but according to their caretaker manager Paul Heckingbottom all the players are now fighting for their future. “Everyone, the young lads included, they have to remember that they’re being watched by whoever is going to be in charge of them going forward,” Heckingbottom said. “If you are a young lad, for example, you come in and do well and that is going to create a really good impression.
“The same goes for the more senior lads. It’s why, what happens now, is so important because it is going to have a huge bearing next season.”
So let us not assume that Arsenal will win easily today, especially after their last few performances. But we can just watch and hope I guess….