Arsenal v Tottenham – Premier League Betting Preview and Prediction
A heavily anticipated fixture between Arsenal and Tottenham is set to take place this Sunday, September 1 at Emirates, where the Lilywhytes won only twice in the last 21 years.
Arsenal struggles with the top-six teams continue
The Gunners kicked off their 2019/20 EPL season with two narrow wins against Newcastle (1:0) and Burnley (2:1), which were not the most promising results, especially for a team with ambitions as high as Arsenal. Despite that, a win is still a win, and with six points in their pocket to kick off the season, a flame of optimism started in Arsenal camp as they looked to keep the momentum going. However, the flame soon died out, with Emery’s men suffering a painful 3:1 defeat against Liverpool continuing their 5-year-long dry spell at Anfield. Nonetheless, the season is still young and Arsenal’s ambitions of finishing top four are still very much alive. Knowing well they cannot afford to lose the second fixture in a row, Gunners are entering the upcoming fixture filled with hope they can derail Tottenham, who have not yet impressed so far into the 2019/20 season.
Spurs questionable results put to a test
Looking at how Tottenham performed so far into the Premier League season, it’s fair to say it could have gone much worse. That being said, there is a lot of room for improvement. An impressive 3:1 win against Aston Villa on day one, followed by a questionable draw at Manchester City and a disappointing 0:1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle is all Spurs have to show for so far. With two questionable results in the last two fixtures, it’s only reasonable to see Mauricio Pochettino concerned about what the future holds in store for his team. Their star striker Kane has not been in the best form, whereas it’s the key midfielder Christian Eriksen who seems like his frame of mind is not where it should be due to ongoing transfer speculations. The Danish international played barely 26 minutes against Villa, 28 against Newcastle, whereas he stood on the pitch for 38 minutes against Man City. With two key players failing to perform up to par, there is a serious reason for concern in Spurs camp, especially with a match against Arsenal on the horizon.
It’s no secret Mauricio Pochettino’s squad struggles to perform on the road against the “Big Six”. Maybe that problem is more obvious against other members of the elite group compared to Arsenal, considering there was not a lot to separate the two sides in recent years. The last term, Arsenal and Spurs met three times, winning one apiece and drawing the third one. Furthermore, in the last four years, Arsenal and Tottenham are 3-4-3 when playing each other, with 3/6 fixtures at Emirates since Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival ending in a stalemate.
Verdict & Prediction
Seeing two top English teams go head-to-head it would be easy to expect goals, which would be fair to assume a couple of years ago, yet this just might not be the case here. Tottenham and their struggles to keep their star players in line have taken a toll on their results. Arsenal on the other side have not yet impressed with their performance and we can’t see them producing something mesmerizing here either. Then there is also the fact that only one out of the last seven meetings between Gunners and Tottenham ended with three goals or more. With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Harry Kane running on the pitch, it’s always risky to predict a low scoring match, however, neither have been too impressive so far this season. Aubameyang, while very dangerous striker, tends to underperform against the “Big Six”, considering only three out of his 34 Premier League goals came from the fixtures against England’s elite. Kane on the other side is a completely different story. Looking at his whole career, Kane scored against Arsenal in all but one fixture, which would make us believe he can do it again, yet his inability to produce anything noteworthy against Newcastle makes us seriously doubt he can impress here.
Tottenham have showcased serious lack of creativity in the offensive end in their clash with Newcastle, whereas it’s Arsenal who historically struggle to perform against the “Big Six”. We don’t see either side risking too much here, considering neither can afford to lose again. Looking at last five fixtures at Emirates, all but one ended in two goals or less, and taking into consideration the form of the two sides, we can’t imagine this fixture to be a high scoring one either.
Prediction: Under 3.00 goals
Odds: 1.99 Matchbook
