Sean Dyche may have been saying nice things about Arsene Wenger and the Frenchman´s achievements at Arsenal in the build up to the game this week, but that does not meant that the Burnley boss will be planning anything other than pain for our long serving manager.
They may be struggling to avoid the drop but after a slow start to the season, Burnley have improved a lot (a bit like Arsenal I suppose), and they have proved themselves against the big teams in the Premier League as well. So how do Arsenal avoid joining the likes of Chelsea, Man City, Man United and the spuds in dropping points to the Clarets?
Well apart from the obvious tactic of taking them seriously and being on our toes from the start, Arsenal do have the players and the tactics that should prove too much for the visitors. Burnley´s success against the big clubs has been based on hard work and using a 4-4-2 formation to get in their face and pressurise the ball right from the front.
They are also very strong and organised in defence, so Arsenal may need to be patient while using our passing ability to keep a high tempo and keep the ball, drawing their sting and the energy from their legs at the same time. We must use width to stretch their defence as a compact game would play right into their hands. Perhaps this would be a good game to use the more attacking Gibbs instead of Monreal at left back.
Giroud will have his hands full against the excellent Shackell and Duff in the centre of their defence but if the big man can keep them busy it will allow the pace, power and silky skills of players like Alexis, Ozil, Cazorla, Ramsey and Welbeck to open them up.
It will be a tough game, especially if we do not get an early goal, but if we approach it right and play to our own strengths, Arsenal should become the first BPL team this season to win eight in a row.