Arsenal vs Man Utd betting tips, BuildABet, best bets and preview
Football betting tips: Premier League
2pts Arsenal to win and under 3.5 goals at 11/8 (Sky Bet, Ladbrokes, Betway)
1pt Arsenal to win and under 2.5 goals at 100/30 (Sky Bet)
BuildABet @ 22/1
- Arsenal to win
- Under 3.5 goals
- Bukayo Saka to score anytime
- Saka 1+ assists
Mikel Arteta certainly used the international break to his advantage.
Prior to it Arsenal had beaten only Preston and Shakhtar Donetsk in a seven-game spell where two points from four Premier League matches may well have ended their title aspirations already. Since, the Gunners have won three in a row, scoring 13 times in the process.
The Arsenal medical team deserves plenty of credit too, with the return of key players a major reason for such improved form.
A revitalised Manchester United now arrive at the Emirates, five wins and two draws achieved since the sacking of Erik ten Hag.
Not that the Dutchman deserves any kind of excuse for his abject spell in charge, but his successors have enjoyed a particularly soft set of fixtures: four matches against bottom-six opponents and Europa League home ties with PAOK Salonika and Bodo-Glimt.
The honeymoon period, though, is well and truly over.
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United's 4-0 win over Everton on Sunday was "far from the perfect performance," according to Ruben Amorim.
"Instead of looking at the result and trying to convince our fans of something, we have a lot to do. It will take time."
In a step change from Ten Hag, the new man appears to be watching the same match as everyone else. The scoreline was indeed flattering (xG: MNU 1.07-0.58 EVE) with United struggling to control the flow of the game for large periods, especially in the first half.
Against one of the worst teams in the league.
That doesn't bode particularly well as they enter an incredibly tough run of fixtures, which now includes beginning their FA Cup defence with another trip to north London.
Amorim is right to ask for patience.
Overpriced Arsenal a huge step up
This fixture took place just a month into last season, with Arsenal understandably a touch longer than they are on Wednesday night given that (remarkably) United had just finished third in the Premier League.
But at a general 4/9 for victory they are still bigger than in home matches against Aston Villa, Chelsea and Newcastle (fourth, sixth and seventh-placed finishers respectively) in the closing weeks of last term.
Combining the price of an ARSENAL WIN with UNDER 2.5 GOALS and UNDER 3.5 GOALS provides significant interest as the respective 100/30 and 11/8 available offers a bump on anything we could manually build.
- CLICK HERE to back Arsenal win and Under 2.5 goals with Sky Bet
- CLICK HERE to back Arsenal win and Under 3.5 goals with Sky Bet
While the Gunners have scored 10 goals in their past two matches, both were away. At the Emirates this season they have scored more than three goals against only struggling Leicester and League One Bolton.
A further factor in our favour is Amorim's determination to stress the importance of defending as a team during his early weeks, with "good football coming later."
Of course, he could never admit this, but given the positivity the Portuguese coach has managed to build already, he would probably be happy to escape north London without a morale-crushingly heavy defeat.
He made pragmatic, tactical changes mid-game to avoid the ignominy of a shock defeat by Bodo-Glimt on Thursday. Expect more pragmatism here.
Team news
Arsenal defender Gabriel is a little doubtful after being substituted at half-time against West Ham as a precaution.
Mikel Merino, Thomas Partey and Myles Lewis-Skelly all missed that game, joining longer-term absentees Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Manchester United are without suspended duo Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo while Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof remain injury doubts.
Bruno Fernandes injured his ankle against Everton and was taken off as a result, but should be ok. Harry Maguire is back fit and could start, as could teenager Leny Yoro who is yet to make his debut since joining in the summer.
Predicted line-ups
Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
Manchester United: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Maguire; Diallo, Casemiro, Ugarte, Shaw; Zirkzee, Fernandes; Hojlund.
Match facts
- Arsenal have won their last three Premier League games against Manchester United – they’ve never won four in a row against the Red Devils in their league history.
- Manchester United have lost seven of their last nine Premier League away games against Arsenal (W1 D1) and are winless in six visits to the Emirates (D1 L5) losing the last three in a row.
- Arsenal’s last three Premier League home games against Manchester United have seen them win 3-1, 3-2 and 3-1 again. The last team to score 3+ goals in more consecutive home league games against the Red Devils were the Gunners themselves, who did so seven times in a row between 1970 and 1978.
- Arsenal have won just two of their 17 evening kick-offs (7pm or later) against Manchester United in the Premier League (D9 L6), though one of those was in their most recent such home game in January 2020 (2-0).
- Manchester United have won six of their last seven midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Premier League games (L1), with these games producing 38 goals in total (F23 A15).
- This will be Arsenal’s 500th competitive match at the Emirates Stadium in all competitions (W335 D93 L71).
- They’ve won 10 and lost six of their 20 meetings with Manchester United at the ground (D4), only losing more against Manchester City (9) and Chelsea (7).
- Manchester United have won just two of their last 18 Premier League away games against London sides (D5 L11), with both of those victories coming against Fulham. The Red Devils had been unbeaten in 13 visits to the capital before this (W8 D5).
- Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has won six of his nine Premier League games against Manchester United (D1 L2), with his first ever victory for the Gunners coming against them (2-0 in January 2020). Of all managers to face the Red Devils at least five times in the competition, Arteta has the highest win rate (67%).
- Bukayo Saka has had a hand in five Premier League goals against Manchester United (3 goals, 2 assists). Only Thierry Henry (12 – 8G 4A) has been involved in more against the Red Devils for Arsenal.
- Bukayo Saka has already both scored and assisted a goal in four different Premier League games this season. On only four occasions has an Arsenal player done so more in a single campaign – Thierry Henry (7 in 2002-03, 6 in 2004-05), Robin van Persie (7 in 2011-12) and Lukas Podolski (5 in 2012-13).
Odds correct at 1100 GMT (3/12/24)
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