Gunners Could Summit the Premier League with a Win Over Burnley

Burnley vs Arsenal

Mikel Arteta will rally his troops to Turf Moor to face the ailing Clarets in an exciting Premier League clash.

The Gunners are back on their winning ways to start the new year, and have looked invincible across all competitions.

Bukayo Saka and the rest of his teammates are keen on getting as many points as possible at Turf Moor in hopes of overtaking Manchester City and even Liverpool in the league standings.

Meanwhile, Vincent Kompany’s Clarets are still in the relegation zone, thanks to an abysmal five-game stretch, where they only garnered two points.

Their leading scorer, Lyle Foster, is currently dealing with more important matters, and his availability for their matchup against the visiting Gunners is still unknown.

Talking Points

Arsenal remain perfect in 2024

Arteta’s Gunners are poised for another run for the Premier League title after an abysmal tail end to the 2023 calendar year.

The boys from north London captured the essence of “a fresh start” by quickly rallying back to their dominant ways, winning all of their matches across all competitions since the new year.

Arsenal’s key win against league-leading Liverpool is the perfect attestation of their revitalised and spirited form, while their 0-6 annihilation of West Ham United served as the perfect punctuation mark that propelled themselves back in the upper echelon of the Premier League standings.

Thanks to their scorching form in recent weeks, they now have a price of 6.50 to win the league in the SBOTOP betting odds, trailing only Manchester City and Liverpool.

Bukayo Saka has been the main catalyst for Arteta and the rest of Arsenal’s success, as the 22-year-old leads the goal scoring department for the Gunners with 10 top-flight goals this far, ranking 7th in the Golden Boot race.

Saka led the Gunners with two goals in their victory over the Hammers, and head coach Mikel Arteta had nothing but praise when asked about his No. 7.

“When you talk about consistency at his age… what he has done in the last two or three seasons is remarkable. His attitude, his quality, what he delivers every week… it’s really difficult to find. That’s why he is so important to us.” Arteta boasted.

Coming off of their best Premier League 2024 results against West Ham United, they aim to do more of the same against the relegation-poised outfit, Burnley.

Keep in mind, the Gunners could possibly summit the league standings if they get a win against Kompany’s Clarets.

SAFA investigates Lyle Foster’s absence from the AFCON

Kompany’s boys have only been able to find the back of the net 25 times after 24 matches, which is obviously insufficient if you want to compete in the most competitive top flight in the football world.

Their leading scorers, Zeki Amdouni and Lyle Foster, only have four goals each, tied for the 53rd spot in the Premier League Golden Boot race.

But Foster’s season hasn’t been a smooth one whatsoever, as the 23-year-old is battling something bigger than any football match: his mental health.

Struggling with internal battles, Lyle Foster was omitted from playing for South Africa in the 2023 AFCON and agreed to be sidelined from Burnley skirmishes as well.

“Honestly, I’m not happy. I knew from the beginning what the problem was, I knew and I was understanding. I talked a few times with [Vincent] Kompany and I really understand what the problem was. Our doctor talked with the doctor of Burnley, we put everything together and we said yah okay it’s not good to call Foster,” South Africa boss Broos told reporters.

It seemed like both the Clarets and Bafana Bafana were on the same page with regards to Foster’s unavailability. Or so it seemed.

Kompany and Broos settled to omit Foster from competing in the AFCON due to his struggles with his mental health, and agreed to rest the 23-year-old from football activities, but Foster still played for Burnley in the Premier League while South Africa was competing in the AFCON.

“Obviously I think if we had Foster, it would have been a good addition to the squad but I don’t know the details of why it was not possible for him to play for his club and not for his country,” SAFA president, Jordaan, said on Metro FM Sports.

Now, the South African Football Association is investigating Foster’s absence from the AFCON.

Foster’s status for their upcoming match against Arsenal is still unknown.

History

Since 2008, Arsenal and Burnley have faced each other 21 times across all competitions. In those 21 matches, the Gunners bossed the Clarets with 15 wins, while Burnley only won two and tallied a draw four times.

It seems like home field advantage won’t have that much of an effect for Burnley, as they’ve won just one out of their 10 matches against Arsenal at Turf Moor.

During their last matchup, the Gunners cruised past the Clarets at Emirates Stadium with a 3-1 score line. Leandro Trossard, William Saliba, and Oleksandr Zinchenko all scored one goal apiece for the Gunners to send the Clarets home with no points in hand.

Betting Tip

Unsurprisingly, the Premier League 2024 betting odds have the visiting Arsenal as the heavy favourites to win at 1.30, while Burnley are the overwhelming underdogs at 7.60 with a draw price of 4.96. In my opinion, their main lines are very straight-forward, and it would be silly to bet on anything else but Arsenal’s 1.30.

I personally don’t see how Arsenal can lose this match, given the disparity of their forms in the Premier League this season.

With Burnley’s top goal scorer, Lyle Foster, still uncertain for their matchup, I predict a clean sheet win for the Gunners, which is why a handicap of -1.75 at 2.25 serves as a sweet spot for both excitement and value.

 

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