ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PICK - ARSENAL V WIGAN ATHLETIC

English Premier

2013-05-14 - Arsenal vs Wigan Athletic

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Arsenal v Wigan Athletic
Football: English Premier League
Tuesday 14 May 2013 - Kick Off 7:45pm
This game is live on TV

---

Arsenal

Finishing in the Champions League places has been essential to the finances of Arsenal over the last few years, but the desire to get back into that competition has a different feel this time around. While it would be a financial disappointment if Arsenal don't finish in the top four, there is a suggestion that Arsene Wenger is willing to spend this summer so being in the Champions League is essential in bringing in the calibre of players the fans demand.

The destiny of this club is in their own hands and Arsenal know that they will finish at least fourth in the table if they win their remaining two games this season. However, they saw local rivals Tottenham Hotspur move above them in the table on Sunday and Arsenal will begin this game in 5th place and 2 points behind Spurs. The Gunners have a 10-5-3 record at the Emirates Stadium this season, scoring 43 goals and conceding 22 in those games.

Arsenal have been in good form of late and they are unbeaten in their last 9 games in all competitions since losing to Spurs at White Hart Lane. They are also unbeaten in their last 5 games at the Emirates Stadium since back to back losses to Blackburn Rovers and Bayern Munich, although Arsenal have been held to draws by Everton and Manchester United in their latest two home games.

Lukasz Fabianski and Kieran Gibbs have both returned from injury and are available for selection. Olivier Giroud will complete his suspension in this game.

Wigan Athletic

It was a magical day for Wigan Athletic on Saturday as they won the FA Cup, but they were brought back to reality with a bump on Sunday. While some of the players may have been nursing a headache after a party on Saturday, they would have seen all of their relegation rivals pick up points and that leaves Wigan in a desperate spot as they head to another part of North London on Tuesday.

Thanks to wins for Newcastle United and Norwich City and the draw between Sunderland and Southampton, Wigan Athletic are now 4 points from safety and have to win their final two games to survive. A draw is not good enough for them from this game as Wigan have a far inferior goal difference compared with Sunderland and would not a bit of a miracle to overturn the 13 goals on the final day of the season. The Latics have a 5-3-10 record away from home, scoring 20 goals and conceding 30 in those games.

Wigan were impressive in winning the FA Cup on Saturday, but the 2-3 home loss to Swansea last Tuesday has left them in a tough position to escape relegation to the Championship. The side have won just 2 of their last 8 away games in the Premier League and they had suffered back to back defeats at Manchester City and West Ham United before the 2-3 win at West Brom around ten days ago.

There are no new injury concerns for Wigan ahead of this game, but Roberto Martinez has to continue dealing with the fact they are missing a number of their defensive personnel.

Head to Head

Arsenal recorded a 0-1 win over Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium earlier this season.

Arsenal had also won 9 in a row at home against Wigan in all competitions, although that run was snapped with a surprise 1-2 loss to the Latics last season.

Prediction

Both of these teams are desperate for the three points in this one and that should mean that this is a more open game than one would think, even taking into account the tension that both will likely feel.

With the way that both of these sides play, I do think there will be chances throughout the game and I am going to take on Bet Victor's offer that the first goal comes before the 28th minute. All 3 goals between the teams came before this mark last season and Arsenal have scored early goals in their last two games.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

BEST BETTING TIP :

I'll back Time of first goal before 28th minute @ 1.70 (Bet Victor)