Burnley v Arsenal Preview, Line-up and Score Prediction

Due to past experience I can’t help but feel jittery when Arsenal are on a brilliant run of wins, and then we are poised to face a so-called “easy” opponent. Past experience tells me that we will get overconfident and think we simply need to turn up to win….but life rarely turns out that way…

I’m not the only one that thinks that way, and our brilliant defender Laurent Koscielny has also called for the Gunners to keep calm and stay grounded. “When we have good movement, with the quality and speed of our passing and when it is on a high level, we can be a danger in every situation,” Koscielny told Arsenal.com.

“We have been better for the past two or three weeks and we need to keep this and not to think that because we played well [previously], the results will come.

“We need to fight on the pitch and defend together, to be better in the transition from offence to defence and from defence to attack. It is very important to keep our feet on the floor, to work and then the results will come.”

This is definitely the day we need a workman-like performance with no showboating unless we get a good lead. We need to keep our efficiency and extend our three-game record of clean sheets and just get the points, and that is certainly not going to be easy today given Burnley’s excellent home record. Koscielny thinks his partnership with new boy Mustafi is going well, but they still have room for improvement. “We kept another clean sheet, so it is very good,” he said. “[Mustafi and I] need time to know each other well and it is very important to communicate well.

“We did a good job because the whole team defended well and when we play like this, with all the players helping their team-mates, it is easier for us at the back.”

So what is the most efficient team that Wenger can choose for today’s game? Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin will not be back in the squad until after the international break, so I can’t see Wenger making many changes to a winning formula except, of course, Petr Cech will return between the sticks. Le Prof is also maintaining that Olivier Giroud is still out, despite no explanation as to why. There is definitely something funny going on with Olivier, and I find it extra interesting that there has been no mention of the French striker in the official Arsenal injury list..

But on to my predicted line-up….

Cech
Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal
Cazorla, Xhaka
Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi
Sanchez

This line-up has been in excellent form, and seem to be enjoying playing together. As I said earlier, if the team goes into today’s game in a determined mood and with no signs of complacency, we should be in for another treat.

I think Burnly will defend well from the start, but we will gradually get the upper hand, so I’m going for another 0-2 win for the Arsenal.

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