Arsenal will play host to Watford in Sunday’s early kick-off as we look to join West Ham in fourth spot in the Premier League.
The Hammers face high-flying Liverpool a few hours after we finish up at the Emirates, with a loss potentially meaning we could end the weekend level on points with our rivals in the bid to earn a Champions League place.
We will have to concentrate on our own job in hand however, and it is difficult to gauge our upcoming opponents.
Watford only travel from Hertfordshire which will bring elements of a local derby matchup to the atmosphere, and their recent signing of Claudio Ranieri as manager also brings some excitement.
The Italian boss has seen his side lose both of their home matches thus far, a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool and a 1-0 defeat to Southampton at the Hawthorns, but did lead his side to an impressive 5-2 away victory at Everton in his only trip on the road before today.
The Hornets had just seven points from their initial seven league fixtures prior to the appointment of the former Premier League winning manager, and we certainly shouldn’t take anything for granted.
Arsenal on the other-hand have some rather transparent form. We are unbeaten in our last nine matches in all competitions, winning all-but two of those fixtures, and have been thoroughly impressive in recent weeks in all departments of the field.
We’ve proved to be extremely difficult to score against with Aaron Ramsdale between the sticks and commanding his defence, and you would expect that on their game it will be theirs to lose.
The form that we are in, I can only comprehend a comfortable victory this weekend, with a 3/4-0 scoreline on the cards, with Aubameyang, Lacazette and Smith Rowe all likely to be in amongst the goals.
What are your predictions for today’s matchup?
Patrick
WATCH The Just Arsenal Show on YouTube – Dan Smith urges Arsenal fans to not raise expectations too high
Patrick, we can only go 4th if we score something like 10+ goals, best we can do is 5th. No such thing as joint 4th unless points, goal difference, goals scored and one to one outcomes are equal. Sorry everyone, this fallacy gets my goat!
We wouldn’t necessarily need to score 10+ goals to get to fourth. Depending on how many goals West ham concede against Liverpool without scoring, a 5 or 6 nil scoreline could land us the coveted fourth position if they(Westham) lose by a similar scoreline. Looks like a long shot from happening, but this is Premier league…never rule out anything
I pointed out this same thing on another thread today. Certain writers think being fifth equals being fourth. It does NOT!
I tend to say “level on points” with 4th place so as not to upset those who feel as strongly as some of you do, although it seems rather pedantic to me.
Pedantic…..moi!………😊
Just arrived at my accommodation, ready for tomorrow’s game.
I expect nothing more than a resounding win, along with a consistent performance…. 3-0 prediction.
And how are things at Claridges, Ken? (;-))
Enjoy your day my friend – you deserve air miles for the distances you cover to watch our fab team playing the total football we will soon be renowned again for delivering.
Pass the port…
guy, I have this lovely lady who puts up with my Arsenal phobia and let’s me stay with her…. she’s a good friend of my wife and daughters as well!!!!!!
Just having my second glass of wine and waiting for MOTD.
Who needs Claridges when The Arsenal are on the horizon!!!! 😂😂😂
As you observe, being pedantic seems to be a requirement to qualify as a fan, let’s just win the b****y game!!!
I’ll be looking for you in the crowd, Ken. Don’t forget to wear red and white so I can spot you more easily.
My grandad was a lifelong supporter of my home town team – Portsmouth. He went to every home game for nigh on 60 years, and remembered their glory days and such things as the carrier pigeons taking off at half and full time with reports for the newspapers. On his 80th birthday the club finally gave him a free season ticket for life. Not a huge financial investment on their part to be honest, but a nice gesture.
So hang in there Ken – you never know…
Now that WOULD be something to write home about!!
its usually when hope is this high that arsenal dissappoints. still expect a 3-0 win for the gunners though COYG!!!
Watford have something to prove. And Ranieri is no joke as a manager. He’s the guy who’s gonna get em firing on all cylinders. Trust.
Hope the lads take this one serious, or they might be in line for an upset. IJS
Reminder: Arsenal no complacency guys.
Tough match. We need to respect Watford and not underestimate them. That way we can win
I think a 4-0 scoreline would be useful and attainable. From what i have seen of Watford, they are going to be fighting relegation with Norwich and Newcastle, i hope.
Talking about Fourth place and aEuropean spot so prematurely is just fantasy at this point. Okay, we’ve put together a good run………so far. But there’s still 27 games to go until the end of the season. Anything could happen between now and then. Our fortunes could be put off kilter way too easily. Let’s just wait until the end of the season and see where we are then !
I get really nervous when everybody and his dog predicts a thumping 3-0, 4-0, 5-0 win. It is exactly this kind of atmosphere that has been our undoing in the past. Hope I am proved wrong. COYG
It is showtime!
2-0, Auba, ESR..assists Laca and Saka.
If Brighton can draw at Liverpool, the Palace win at mancity & Burnley draw at Chelsea surely it’s possible that we might drop points????…no it’s not possible it’s our God given rights to be beaten inferior teams like Watford by at least 3 clear goals anything less is a national disaster.