Utd then Burnley – big game day for The Arsenal…

Morning all.

Another away fixture for Mikel Arteta and his players and it could be a tough one. Burnley are in a relegation battle so they need points. They’re seven points behind Luton who sit fourth from bottom. Any one of nine clubs could in theory be relegated in May as it’s that close in the bottom half of the table.

Mikel Arteta was asked if it’s more difficult to play a team in a relegation battle:

You just have to see the recent games when they went to Anfield, what they did, and how Liverpool beat them. And it’s going to be at home, which is going to be even more difficult. So it’ll be very tough.

Thankfully, we as a club are well away from the relegation drama but we still need points and as many as we can get.

Mikel Arteta said yesterday that Fabio Vieira is on the verge of returning and Thomas Partey might not be out for much longer either as he’s progressing really well. He didn’t elaborate too much but said he’s looking very good and he’s on the field already. Well, I’m not getting my hopes up just yet although it sounds promising. Oleksandr Zinchenko, Emile Smith Rowe, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jorginho could be back in contention too.

For Burnley, Lyle Foster and Charlie Taylor are doubts. Jordan Beyer is ruled out as is Luca Koleosho and Nathan Redmond.

Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke on Burnley:

Vincent Kompany likes to deploy a 4-4-2, and even though Burnley are in trouble towards the foot of the table he still prefers an attacking style of play rather than being tactically pragmatic. Where possible he always wants his players to take positive actions. It has cost the Clarets a number of goals this season, but their high-profile head coach remains committed to playing out from the back, building through the thirds with short passing. When it comes off, Burnley have technically strong individuals who can produce quality inside the opposition half, but they have been consistently vulnerable to the press. Knowing this, I would expect Mikel Arteta to encourage us to pressurise the home players at every opportunity to force turnover situations. Set pieces have been a real issue for Burnley. They have conceded 12 so far this term, the second most in the division, and that includes two against the Gunners at Emirates Stadium.

William Saliba scored in the reverse fixture when sneaking in front of goalkeeper James Trafford unopposed, on a day where five of our 10 best chances according to xG were from set pieces.Burnley are not always easy to break down. Six top-flight sides have faced fewer shots in open play. Their pressing can be effective, and they also rely on the pace of Dara O’Shea when they become stretched. The Irish centre-back is the third-fastest player in the Premier League in 2023-24. Burnley’s danger man could be loan striker David Fofana. The lively frontman, who recently joined from Chelsea, is sharp on the ball and capable of creating chances for himself. In just three appearances, two from the bench, Fofana has scored twice and made an assist.

If Burnley play the style of football Adrian Clarke believes they will, there should be plenty of spaces for the Arsenal players to exploit. West Ham found that out as did Crystal Palace. But it does sound like Burnley have a number of dangerous players who could cause problems if we’re not focussed. Arsenal not being focussed under Mikel Arteta though is highly unlikely.

Set-pieces could work for us again today as it’s a Burnley weakness and an Arsenal strength. Declan Rice takes a wicked corner from our left, creating chances which William Saliba and Gabriel have scored from. Press hard and fast from the front because as Clarke says, Burnley don’t like it.

I’m pretty sure Vincent Kompany will have watched Arsenal’s destruction of West Ham, his players too no doubt and they’ll know that give this Arsenal team an inch, they’ll take a mile. Against Liverpool, they dug in hard and created plenty of goal scoring opportunities but they just couldn’t execute them. The week before that game, Burnley came back from being 2-0 down against Fulham at Turf Moor to draw 2-2. Fofana with both goals. This Burnley team clearly doesn’t give in easily.

Just in case you’ve forgotten, there’s a huge game in the WSL today as Arsenal’s women take on Manchester Utd at The Emirates Stadium. It’s a sell out and Arsenal need to win to keep the gap between Chelsea and Manchester City to just 3 points. Arsenal still have to play both clubs who sit above them in the table. Kickoff is at 12:30 and is live on Sky Sports.

Catch up in the comments.