Friendly
2008-08-03 - Arsenal vs Real Madrid
A Sports Betting Pick by Gooner
Emirates Cup Pre-season Tournament
Emirates Stadium, London
Sunday 3rd August 2008 - KO 4:15pm
ARSENAL (ENGLAND)
3rd in Premier Lge 24-11-3 GD +42
Arsenal tasted defeat on Saturday, sliding to a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Juventus after manager Arsene Wenger started a side that was well short of his first choice.
Wenger had obviously decided to balance the workload on his squad over the weekend. the Frenchman started with young players and those who had come back to pre-season training at the earliest stage.
Arsenal made six changes in the second half bringing on Gallas, Nasri, Sagna, Diaby, Wallcott and Adebayor and the Gunners did look the better side after the break - but failed to score.
The late arrivals and more senior stars were left on the bench against Juve, and Wenger did say they were likely to start on Sunday.
REAL MADRID (SPAIN)
1st in Primera 27-4-7 GD +48
Real Madrid got their Emirates Cup off to a fine start with a 2-1 win over Hamburg on Saturday thanks to an 85th-minute header from 19-year old Daniel Parejo.
It was a fairly even match with Hamburg having the better of the middle of the match, before Real Madrid got back on top after both sides made a whole host of changes.
Madrid looked to be earlier in their preseason than the other three sides, a statement that reflects the fact that the first competitive game for the Spaniards is still four weeks away when they'll open up their league campaign away at Deportivo La Coruna.
THE VERDICT
A tough game to call, but as a Gooner I saw enough from Arsenal in the second half to suggest that they can be competitive on Sunday.
There were plenty of wasted chances against Juventus, and that's a familar story at the Emirates, but I do think that Arsenal can get up and grab the win in this game - they're probably more motivated than Madrid to play a little harder.
The Pick :
Arsenal 2-1 Real Madrid
BEST BETTING TIP :
There was been a swing against ARSENAL on the exchanges - and if you are quick then you can get prices of 2.70+ on the Gunners at BETFAIR.I'll take that - but again it's only for small stakes.
