The 3-1 final score does not do justice to the solitary front
Stoke City put up against Arsenal last weekend. A nasty clash between Ryan Shawcross and
Aaron Ramsey resulted in the young Arsenal player sustaining a serious injury. Stoke used their strength to overcome Arsenal's defense and once again it was Rory Delap's incredible throw-in that helped the Potters find nylon as early as the 8th minute. However, and partly in reaction to Ramsey's injury, the Gunners recovered quickly. They drew level before half and were able to finish the Potters off by the 90'. This was fortuitious because the Gunners are now within 3 points of tying league leaders Chelsea and will be hard-nosed in their effort to capture the title. Apart from Ramsey,
Arsene Wenger will be without the services of Djourou, Van Persie, Gibbs and Song (suspended). The return of Arshavin, Gallas and Diaby should be enough to offset any damages done by losing Ramsey.
Don't expect
Burnley to put up as strong of a fight against the Gunners as Stoke did last week. Saturday's match saw Burnley join Portsmouth in the relegation zone after losing to them at home. Although recently having a tough home to away game ratio recently, Burnley have consistently underperformed and disappointed expectations held for the newly promoted club. They will take heart in the fact that when these two teams met in the first part of the season,
Burnley was able to hold Gunners to a 1-1 draw. However, without a home side advantage it is difficult to see how they can get anything from this match.
With an 0-1-13 record on the road, hopes are pretty dim that Burnley will leave Emirates in a positive mood. The best they can hope for is to keep the match tight and reduce the amount of times
Arsenal reach the back of their net. Arsenal fought through a tough match last weekend and will not let a team like Burnley stand in the way of their title hopes this season.
Arsenal F.C. vs Burnley F.C.
Saturday March 07, 2010
Kickoff: 4:00 PM (CET)
Venue: Emirates Stadium (London)
Tip: Arsenal -2 (Asian Handicap)
Best Odds: 1.76 @ Betsson
