English Premier
2013-04-28 - Arsenal vs Manchester United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 28 April 2013 - Kick Off 4pm
This game is live on TV
Arsenal
There must have been some relief for the Arsenal fans on Saturday as they saw rivals Tottenham Hotspur drop two vital points from a game at Wigan Athletic and that leaves Arsenal in pole position to grab one of the top four Champions League spots. However, they still have to welcome back former striker Robin Van Persie this weekend as the Dutchman arrives with the new Champions of England.
Arsenal began the weekend in 3rd place in the Premier League and they remain in that position, albeit just 1 point clear of Chelsea and Spurs below them in the table. They do have a 10-4-3 record at the Emirates Stadium, scoring 42 goals and conceding 21 in those games.
Since losing at White Hart Lane, Arsenal have gone on a 7 game unbeaten run in all competitions and they have won 6 of those games. Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 4 home games since a 1-3 loss to Bayern Munich, and they are actually unbeaten in 7 in the Premier League at this ground. The side had won 4 in a row but could only draw with Everton last time out here.
Olivier Giroud will be missing as he begins a suspension and Lukasz Fabianski is out through injury.
Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson and his players will be given a guard of honour as they enter the Emirates Stadium this weekend after securing the Premier League title at Old Trafford last Monday.
While it may seem that the players have nothing to play for, Ferguson has been speaking loudly about making a top flight record haul of points and will be demanding nothing less than a full effort from the players he sends out on to the pitch.
The Premier League title was secured with 4 games still left to play thanks to Manchester City's failure to get a result at Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday and Manchester United beating Aston Villa 3-0 on Monday night. United are the only team to win a double digit amount of away games in the League as they are 12-3-2 on their travels, scoring 35 goals and conceding 18 in those games.
Manchester United have picked up 7 points from a possible 9 in the Premier League to get over the line for the title and that run also stopped a period where they suffered back to back losses. United are also unbeaten in their last 10 away from home in the Premier League and they had won 4 in a row before drawing 2-2 at West Ham United a couple of weeks ago.
The chance is now there for some of the fringe players to be given a chance to shine, although these are games that Sir Alex Ferguson has promised to play strong teams so the League's integrity isn't compromised.
Head to Head
Manchester United beat Arsenal 2-1 at Old Trafford earlier this season in a game where Robin Van Persie opened the scoring.
Van Persie also scored in this fixture last season, this time for Arsenal, in a losing effort as United won 1-2 here.
United have actually won on 3 of their last 4 visits to this ground in all competitions.
Prediction
Arsenal look incredibly short in the win-draw-win market and it seems it is a reaction to them 'needing' the win more than Manchester United.
I don't buy that fully, and I think this is going to be an entertaining game where both teams are looking to win the game.
Goals have not usually been a problem when Arsenal and Manchester United play one another and I'll back that being the case again.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Arsenal 2-2 Manchester United
