English Premier
2011-10-23 - Arsenal vs Stoke City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Sunday 23 October 2011 - Kickoff 1:30pm
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger was rightly pleased with his side after they earned a 0-1 win at Marseille on Wednesday night and took control of their Champions League Group. He has been quoted as saying things are beginning to start going right for his side and now they can focus on moving up the Premier League table.
The Gunners moved up to 10th in the Premier League thanks to a Robin Van Persie brace in the win over Sunderland last Sunday, and they now have 10 points from their 8 games played. They had a horrific start that has seen only Bolton and Blackburn concede more goals, but all is not lost if Arsenal can find some consistency. They are 3-0-1 at the Emirates this season, scoring 6 goals and conceding 3.
The win over Marseille means Arsenal have won 5 of their last 6 games in all competitions, although the loss at Tottenham will still be bothering the fans. Arsenal have also won their last 5 home games in all competitions since losing to Liverpool in their first League game here.
Thomas Vermaelan has signed a new contract with the club but will not be back in action until early next month, while Kieran Gibbs is ruled out until the Chelsea game next week. Carl Jenkinson looks set to miss out, while Bacary Sagna, Jack Wilshire and Abou Diaby are long term absentees.
Stoke City
Stoke City continued their impressive form in the Europa League with a comfortable win on Thursday night, although Tony Pulis will be demanding a better performance from his team on Sunday, something they have not dealt with so well at the moment.
The team are 7th in the Premier League having gained 12 points from their 8 games so far this season, but their 2 defeats have both followed a Thursday night Europa League game. Stoke are 1-1-2 away from home, scoring just 2 goals and conceding 7, and only Fulham and Wigan have scored less away goals so far this season.
As I mentioned above, Stoke have not dealt with European commitments so well, going 1-1-2 so far this season in the League game following a European game. They have lost their last 2 games in such a situation 4-0 at Sunderland, and 2-0 at Swansea. Stoke have failed to win any of their last 3 away games in all competitions and have scored just 1 goal in those games.
Jermaine Pennant is facing a late test to determine if he can play against one of his former clubs. Kenwyn Jones will hope to retain his place following his goal-scoring return on Thursday, while Asmir Begovic should be restored in goal.
Head to Head
Stoke have regularly got under the skin of Arsene Wenger, even though Arsenal have won 4 and lost 2 of the 6 Premier League games they have played against one another.
Stoke also hold a FA Cup win over Arsenal in that time, but they have struggled in trips to the Emirates.
Arsenal have won all 3 games played here, including a 1-0 win last season, and have kept clean sheets in the last 2 wins.
Prediction
Arsenal are getting better if you listen to what Arsene Wenger has to say, but I think it is a little hard to predict what you are going to get from this side, especially with the way they have been defending in the League games so far this season.
The problem here is that Stoke seem to have had a hard time adjusting to the Thursday-Sunday schedule that comes with the Europa League and they have looked tired in the last 2 occasions when comfortably beaten at Sunderland and Swansea.
The doubts surrounding both teams makes it hard to pick either on the Asian Handicap, while the home win is plenty short considering the form they have displayed.
Instead, I am going to look at the first goalscorer market and have a small interest in Robin Van Persie to open the scoring for the Gunners.
Van Persie has been in special form for the majority of 2011 and has been scoring goals for fun. The Dutchman is the clear talisman of this team and also takes responsibility for free-kicks in shooting range as well as penalties, and he remains the focal point for the attack.
He has also opened the scoring in their last 2 home Premier League games so the 4.50 on offer for him to do so again looks the best way to get involved in this game in my opinion.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Arsenal 2-0 Stoke City
