Arsenal fans are bracing themselves for another blend of madcap defending and incisive attacking as the Gunners prepare for a trip to Newcastle.
Last time out Unai Emery’s men faced a Cardiff side that had not scored in their first three Premier League games, and they conceded twice.
Neil Warnock’s side could have had plenty more, but their finishing was wasteful, and they were punished as Alexandre Lacazette inspired Arsenal to a 3-2 victory. Playing him up front alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang worked well, and those two will need to continue thriving as the defence looks extremely leaky.
Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal have started the season playing like old school wingers, doing their best impression of Andrei Kanchelskis and Ryan Giggs. When they push up in tandem, it leaves Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis ridiculously exposed, and bouncy haired teenager Matteo Guendouzi has offered limited protection. Mustafi looks like an accident waiting to happen, and Sokratis has been cumbersome and ponderous, while Petr Cech is having a nightmare with his attempts to play out from the back, so Arsenal always look like conceding.
Yet if you check out a review of the best betting sites on the market and find leading odds, you will see that the Gunners are the odds-on favorites to secure victory. They have banged in eight goals in their last three games, and Aubameyang and Lacazette are starting to look really dangerous.
Mesut Ozil is yet to get going this season, and he is well overdue a big performance, so the Gunners look as though they have plenty of goals in them. They must be the best Premiership team for a neutral to watch, as you are seemingly guaranteed plenty of goals and dramatic talking points, yet it could turn Arsenal fans into nervous wrecks by the end of the campaign.
One interesting point to note is that the Gunners are still playing like an Arsene Wenger team. The hallmarks of late Wengerdom were abysmal defending and bursts of attacking magnificence, and that remains the defining traits of this side.
Emery has done little to tighten this creaking defence, and it is a shame to see him persist with Gunedouzi when the terrier-like Lucas Torreira is waiting in the wings.
Torreira was at the heart of the Uruguay side when they annihilated Mexico during the international break, and he offers more tenacity than Guendouzi. The young Frenchman is becoming a cult hero at The Emirates as he wears his heart on his sleeve and never goes missing, but he does not really look ready for first team action.
Yet despite all their problems the Gunners are steadily climbing the table, with two wins in their last two games after consecutive defeats at the hands of Man City and Chelsea.
READ MORE:
Lucas Torreira: The man who could defy Unai Emery’s era at Arsenal
Lucas Torreira: The N’Golo Kante Arsenal never had
Alexandre Lacazette: Never Back Down
Reiss Nelson’s Hoffenheim move can pay high dividends
This trip to Newcastle offers another great opportunity to take three points and cement a position near the top of the league. The Magpies have already faced Tottenham, Chelsea and Man City so far this season, so they have been dealt a horrendous early fixture list, with Man Utd up after Arsenal. They lost 2-1 to all three of those teams, and they could only draw 0-0 with a poor Cardiff side, so the Gunners really should be able to sweep them aside.
A 2-1 victory would be a great achievement up there, and with Arsenal’s tendency to concede it looks like a realistic result. Rafa Benitez is a pragmatic manager, but he must be encouraged to instruct his men to have a go at Arsenal, and that should allow the Gunners to create plenty of chances and grab a couple of goals.
