EFL Cup: Arsenal Can Smell Semi-final Berth

Arsenal vs Sunderland

Arsenal are one win away from their first EFL Cup semi-final berth in four years. The Gunners are in great form in the Premier League at the moment, and Mikel Arteta’s men will surely be eager to keep their fine run going in the cup.

Standing in Arsenal’s way are Sunderland, who head into this cup tie in the midst of their own impressive unbeaten run in League One. But still, the EFL Cup 2021 betting odds will be heavily against them as they visit the Emirates.

Talking Points

Arsenal not missing Aubameyang

Arsenal do not seem to be missing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at all. Since Mikel Arteta made the bold decision to drop the star striker and club captain for disciplinary purposes, Arsenal have reeled off three straight wins in the Premier League to break into the top four.

They beat both Southampton (3-0) and West Ham (2-0) at home, then thumped Leeds United 4-1 at Elland Road over the weekend.

The attacking quartet of Martin Odegaard, Alexandre Lacazette, Gabriel Martinelli, and Bukayo Saka has been in terrific form of late and has more than made up for Aubameyang’s banishment from the squad.

Odegaard, who is playing as a No 10 just behind Lacazette, is finally living up to his immense potential with three goals and an assist in his last five games. Lacazette and Saka both have a goal and two assists in their last three games, while Martinelli has scored four goals and delivered two assists in his last six appearances, five of which were starts.

However, Arteta is likely to significantly rotate his squad for this cup tie, with the likes of Eddie Nketiah and Nicolas Pepe expected to get a start. The 22-year-old Nketiah as started in two of Arsenal’s three EFL Cup ties thus far and has scored in both of them.

Pepe has also made his share of EFL Cup 2021 highlights, with a goal and two assists in his two appearances. The Ivorian is likely to start and get the chance to impress after being left on the periphery in recent weeks.

Sunderland in strong form

Sunderland head into their EFL Cup quarter-final against Arsenal in relatively good form. They are unbeaten in their last seven games in League One, with four wins and three draws. They are coming off a 1-1 draw away to Ipswich over the weekend.

Nathan Broadhead scored the equaliser for the Black Cats as he continues his tremendous run of goalscoring form. The 23-year-old Welshman has now scored four goals in his last three games and five in his last five. Broadhead also bagged a goal in Sunderland’s 2-0 away win over Wigan in the EFL Cup round of 32.

Meanwhile, Aidan O’Brien has been brilliant in the Black Cats’ run to the quarter-finals. The Irish attacking midfielder has four goals in four appearances in the tournament. He scored a hat-trick against Blackpool, including the winning goal in stoppage time.

However, it remains to be seen whether Sunderland coach Lee Johnson will start O’Brien at the Emirates against Arsenal. While the Black Cats have played all four ties of this year’s EFL Cup away from home, scoring seven goals, they will likely play more conservatively against Arsenal to try and avoid getting hammered.

History

Unsurprisingly, Arsenal hold the 62-50 edge over Sunderland in terms of their historical head-to-heads, with 41 draws. The Gunners are unbeaten in their last 11 meetings against the Black Cats, with eight wins and three draws.

Their last meeting came back in 2017, with the Gunners winning 2-0 at the Emirates thanks to an Alexis Sanchez brace.

Betting Tip

	Arsenal vs Sunderland	Arsenal Asian Handicap -2.00 @ 1.95
	December 22, 03:45 (GMT+8)

SBOTOP odds have Arsenal installed as overwhelming 1.18 favourites to move on to the semi-finals. Sunderland are priced at an astronomical 11.50 while a draw is at 7.00.

It’s hard to see Arsenal getting upset at home. Even with Arteta expected to make several changes to his side, the Gunners are clearly the much stronger side, hence the remarkably lopsided odds.

Whether they start or come on as substitutes, the likes of Lacazette, Odegaard, Martinelli and Saka should have more than enough to see off the challenge of Sunderland at the Emirates by a quite comfortable margin of victory.

 

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