Following on from the drama of the FA Cup at the weekend, we’re diving head first back into the chaos of the Premier League over the course of the next 48 hours or so. It’s the competition that everyone tunes in for when it comes to English football, and even those in the divisions below can’t really deny that anymore. Sure, they might be a little bit inclined to say that they still love watching the Football League, but there’s a certain level of interest for the Premier League that you could argue isn’t even replicated across the rest of Europe.

One of the fixtures that will be going down this week is Arsenal vs Cardiff City, in the kind of game that you’d think could go one of about a million different ways. That’s the intrigue that rests at the core of many top flight matches, especially this season, but we aren’t here to blow smoke. We’re here to try and predict how this game will go down, because it’s quite a complex thing to unpack. Arsenal will be considered the favourites as you’d expect, but we’re all well aware of the fact that they’ve got a slip up or two just waiting to burst out.

The Gunners are on the outside of the top four race looking in right now, but judging by the way in which the season is going, that may not be a bad thing. Of course, it’d be ideal if they could bring in a few more reinforcements by the time the January transfer window comes to an end, but they’ve got a plucky squad. Unai Emery has a long way to go before he convinces some Arsenal fans that he is indeed the man to lead them forward, but we’d argue that he’s well on his way.

Cardiff City will come into this game with heavy hearts, following the disappearance of their proposed new striker Emiliano Sala. Fans have been calling for the authorities to continue the search but it appears as if it’s going to be a private search if that is indeed going to happen, and unfortunately, given their current situation in the Premier League table, the Bluebirds will have to re-focus their attention to what’s happening on the pitch pretty quickly. That shouldn’t be the way this works but it is, and they’ll want to honour Sala’s memory in a big way.

In their last six game stretch, Arsenal kicked things off with a pretty humiliating 5-1 defeat to Liverpool that confirmed just how far away they are from challenging for the Premier League title. They came fighting back with a 4-1 win over Fulham before dispatching of Blackpool 3-0 in the FA Cup, but a 1-0 loss to West Ham United brought them crashing right back down to Earth. They surprised quite a few folks with an efficient 2-0 win over Chelsea, but in their FA Cup tie against Manchester United on Friday, they looked poor as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at the Emirates.

Cardiff, on the other hand, just can’t seem to get their affairs in order. Their last six game run began with a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace, before a narrow yet impressive 1-0 triumph over Leicester. A 3-0 demolition at the hands of Tottenham soon followed, before a major disappointment occurred in the form of an FA Cup third round exit to Gillingham. They stopped their two game slide with a 0-0 draw against Huddersfield Town, but they fell right back into the relegation trap nine days ago when they were taken apart by Newcastle United – in what many considered to be a six pointer.

Arsenal’s record against Cardiff certainly favours Emery’s men, but not by quite as much as you’d think. The Gunners lead 21-10 in the overall head to head standings with 14 draws, with their first meeting taking place on Boxing Day 1921. They also met earlier on in the campaign, with Arsenal coming away with the narrow three points with a 3-2 win. That victory helped them to push on in what would prove to be a successful unbeaten run in all competitions, although the Bluebirds certainly won’t forget just how close they came to causing the upset on that day in September.

Arsenal’s defensive issues just seem to be getting worse and worse as time gradually goes on, with Koscielny and Sokratis both picking up knocks during the game against Manchester United. Nacho Monreal may be turned to as a makeshift centre back due to Rob Holding’s absence, although Konstantinos Mavropanos is said to be edging closer and closer to full fitness. Ramsey will likely start ahead of Mesut Ozil once again, although in more positive news, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is being tipped to potentially return to training. It’s not much, but at the very least, it’s a shining light for Arsenal.

Cardiff’s lack of FA Cup action ensures that they are going to be the healthier of the two teams here, although the issues surrounding Emiliano Sala would’ve likely drained them all the same. Arter, Richards, Zohore and Harris are all doubts for the visitors, with many expecting Neil Warnock to alter the line up in order to continue testing two forwards up top. Some would argue that it could backfire dramatically, but in the Premier League, you aren’t going to get anywhere if you don’t take risks and the veteran Warnock is more wary of that than most in this division.

Arsenal vs Cardiff Betting Prediction

Cardiff are going to give Arsenal a good game, to the point where we think they’ll actually take the lead. Arsenal have been in this position before but we do think they’ll go into the second half behind, but again, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Bluebirds are likely going to throw everything against the wall in an attempt to see what sticks, but when they come out for the second 45 minutes, we think they’re going to struggle to cling onto the advantage. Why? Because, simply put, the gulf in quality is just too large.

Arsenal will introduce the true fire power into the equation and will start to put some nice combinations together, but probably won’t score until quite late in the game – such is the nature of Premier League drama. The Gunners know how to leave their fans on the edge of their seats, and we imagine that’ll continue to be the case until the last 10-15 minutes. In the end we’re predicting that they’ll score twice and take home the three points, but Cardiff can, and should, still be proud of what they were able to accomplish (if this comes to fruition, that is).

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