ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PICK - ARSENAL V WIGAN

English Premier

2012-04-16 - Arsenal vs Wigan

A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted

ARSENAL v WIGAN
Football : English : Premier League
Monday, April 16th, 2012, 8:00PM GMT

---

PREVIEW

Arsenal can put 8 points between themselves and Tottenham if they can beat Wigan on Monday night. History shows this is a fixture Arsenal have relished, with the Gunners winning all 9 home meetings against Wigan, in all competitions.

Wigan have faced Arsenal 13 times in the Premier League, winning just once, back in 2010 when they grabbed a 3-2 win to help stay up. They need this game for exactly the same reason, but to do it they would have to upset a serious trend, one that says they are the most unsuccessful team in this stadium against the Gunners.

Of course, Wigan are getting some respect here, because Arsenal are priced as high as 1.30 at some books, which is free money. The price is clearly due to Wigans recent results, the latest of which saw them blank and beat Manchester United, the in-form league leaders who had been on an 8 game winning streak. If Wigan can beat them, why not Arsenal?

Wigan have already achieved points they shouldn't have, beating United, Liverpool and Stoke in their last 4 games. Winning here will be tough though, for a number of reasons. Arsenal have won their last 5 home games, and have lost only once here in their last 15 matches.

The Gunners are having no trouble scoring, and their 66 goals in 33 games is more than double Wigans output of 31. Arsenal have made it a habit of scoring a bunch against Wigan, and you will find Wigan have conceded 19 goals against Arsenal in just their last 6 league matches, which is over 3 a game. The reverse fixture this year ended 4-0 to Arsenal, and yes, Van Persie was on the scoresheet.

I mentioned Arsenal had won all 9 matches at home against Wigan in all competitions. Here's the really impressive bit - Arsenal kept clean sheets in the last 6 encounters here! It's not just against Wigan that the Gunners are doing well defensively. This year, Arsenal have conceded just 12 goals at the Emirates, which is 2nd best in the Premier League! Manchester City are only just better with 10, and even they couldn't score when they came here but a week ago.

Back to scoring - Arsenal have scored 35 at home this season, and they are doing it properly too, with all but 3 coming from open play. No divey penalties for us, no sir. Recent games here have seen Arsenal score 3 against Milan, 3 against Villa, somehow Arsenal only scored 1 and beat Manchester City when really we should have scored at least 3. Van Persie scored again after a long break, and you have to fancy him to score again against Wigan to extend his lead over Rooney, who grabbed himself a brace to pull close to Van Persie in the race for the Golden Boot.

BETTING VERDICT

It's got to be Arsenal, but of course the price means a single isn't worth it, unless using it as part of an accumulator.

If you forget about that QPR blip, where Arsenal lost away 2-1, you'll find something in common with the other 4 matches Arsenal have played recently. All have been wins, and there have been clean sheets in all of them. Yes, Koscielny is suspended, but the defence has been clicking big time, and looks hungry as hell. Szczesny has been magnificent too, and you have to fancy another clean sheet here.

I'm torn between two bets. Arsenal to win to nil or the Gunners on the AH giving up a bit to get better odds. Both appeal exactly the same and are priced the same.

I see Arsenal scoring either 2 or 3, with a strong chance of a clean sheet, so I'll take the less risky option and go for the AH bet, because that bet can still win if the clean sheet gets ruined and the Gunners turn on the offence.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

---