Merry Christmas everybody! While we’re still a few days away from the holiday itself, it certainly feels like the festive period has well and truly begun. With that comes an extremely hectic period for English football, and in particular, the Premier League. It’s considered to be the top division in Europe by many, and there’s a very valid reason for that – because it just is. One game that we’re looking forward to feasting our eyes on this weekend will be Arsenal vs Burnley, in an encounter that could determine the path both clubs go down between now and the remainder of the season.

That sounds a little bit excessive, but we tend to believe that it’s true. Arsenal vs Burnley is a fixture that goes way back, and you can bet that neither team is going to take the other one lightly. We’ve already seen a number of shocks and surprises in the top flight this season, to the point where we’ve just decided to go with it. The games are much more enjoyable that way and while fans of both clubs will be stressing out right up until the final whistle, neutral fans certainly aren’t going to have that problem.

Despite a fantastic 22 game unbeaten run this season it seems like there’s a layer of doubt that is starting to kick in at the Emirates. It’s not that the fans don’t feel as if Unai Emery is the man for the job, it’s just that recent results have raised a few question marks. A lot of that can be put down to the players but some of Emery’s selections have caused a few eyebrows to raise, and he needs to start thinking about ways in which he can rectify that. With the January transfer window coming up, that might be a good place to start.

Then we come to Burnley who, to put it bluntly, have been struggling. A lot of fans are still living off of their Europa League qualification from last season, and to be perfectly honest, that’s just not good enough. Football is all about focusing on both the future and the here and now, and in the present day, there are problems that need to be addressed. Sean Dyche will probably be given until the end of the season to turn things around, but either way, there’s a very serious relegation threat looming large at Turf Moor.

Arsenal’s last six game stretch kicked off with arguably their biggest moment of the season so far – a 4-2 triumph over bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur. They managed to follow it up with a 2-2 draw against Manchester United and while they didn’t get the three points from that one, at least they avoided the embarrassment of defeat. Wins against Huddersfield and Qarabag served as the final games of their unbeaten run, with a 3-2 loss against Southampton and a poor 2-0 defeat in the League Cup against Tottenham bringing the Gunners right back down to earth.

Burnley, on the other hand, have struggled to put it lightly. They drew 0-0 with Leicester City in a game that hardly succeeded in inspiring the masses, before a 2-1 home loss to Newcastle United that many fans felt was pretty avoidable. They then lost two more games in the span of four days against Crystal Palace and Liverpool, confirming their status as one of the favourites for the drop this season. A 1-0 win against Brighton & Hove Albion got them back on track for a brief amount of time, before they wound up losing a heartbreaker to Tottenham Hotspur. They played well in that game, but it still wasn’t enough.

Believe it or not, the overall head to head standings between the two teams is actually a lot closer than you may think. Arsenal lead the proceedings by 51-33, with 21 draws in between, showcasing just how good Burnley have been throughout the course of their history. The first encounter between the two teams took place in 1896, back when the Gunners were still known as Woolwich Arsenal. Their last meeting back in May saw Arsenal run out 5-0 winners, and Arsenal are actually riding an eight game winning streak against Dyche’s men – with Burnley’s last win coming back in December 2008.

Saying that Arsenal have defensive worries is the definition of an understatement, with Koscielny’s return serving as proof that things probably need to change in January and fast. Rob Holding, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Hector Bellerin are all definitely ruled out of this one, meaning they may need to get creative again. Kolasinac and Mustafi are expected to be game day decisions but Emery probably won’t want to risk injuring them further if they aren’t at 100%, although Sokratis will indeed return after his suspension. Up top, many are wondering whether or not Lacazette and Aubameyang will start together or Emery will opt for one starting over the other again.

Aaron Lennon’s knee operation confirms that he’ll be out until the New Year, but there are a few positives for the visitors ahead of their trip down south. Robbie Brady and Johann Berg Gudmundsson have both had injury worries but both are in the running to be fit in time for this one, and it’s all a case of testing them out on the day. The expectation is that Burnley will get walked over here, but they’ve certainly got a few names in their proposed starting XI that could pop up with a goal or two.

Arsenal vs Burnley Betting Prediction

While we don’t like to suggest parking the bus just so that you can hit teams on the counter attack, it feels like that’s going to be Burnley’s best route towards a positive result. We can picture Arsenal, on the other hand, coming straight at the Clarets with everything they’ve got, which should make for a thoroughly entertaining encounter. We can see the home side breaking Burnley down relatively quickly, scoring two goals in quick succession to storm into a 2-0 advantage after just half an hour.

Then, Burnley will pull one back through a set piece, making it 2-1 heading into the second half. Arsenal will start the second 45 minutes as they began the first, and we actually think they’ll score within two minutes of the restart (specific we know). Burnley will cut the deficit down to size once again to leave us at a scoreline of 3-2, before Arsenal finally score a decisive fourth in injury time when Burnley are pushing forward for an equaliser. It sounds incredibly hectic and it sounds like the kind of game that we could only dream of seeing, but we’re confident in both teams to pull it out of the bag.

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