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Arsene Wenger will hope Arsenal can make him a nice present for his 65th birthday when the Gunners take on Anderlecht at Constant van Den Stock.
Alexis Sanchez, Chambers, Debuchy and Welbeck were expected to transform this Arsenal side into title contenders this season, but so far things have not worked well at all for the Gunners in the Premier League – just 2 wins in 8 games is not a statistic Arsenal can be proud of, even if they played decent football overall and lost just once. The visitors are also in poor form recently, winning just once in their last 5 outings, but it was Champions League football that brought them that win in a 4-1 drubbing of Galatasaray (after previously losing to Dortmund).
Anderlecht is on the back of a draw in Turkey against Galatasaray, gaining their first point in the group, and the Belgian side would relish a point here. They will look to take advantage of Arsenal`s poor form but Anderlecht is not playing much better either – 3 games without a win and 2 consecutive draws in Belgium, the last one against Mechelen on Saturday. The hosts have lost 18 out o 28 games against English opposition and have not won in Europe since 2012, constantly being overmatched by these Champions League level teams.
Bet on Anderlecht vs. Arsenal with the best Champions League odds offered by Pinnacle.
Team news & lineups
Injuries are back haunting Arsenal and Wenger will have to do without Szczesny, Ospina, Walcott, Debuchy, Ozil, Koscielny and Sanogo, while Wilshere and Ramsey are doubtful but they should both start. For Anderlecht N’Sakala is out, with Nuytinck doubtful.
Anderlecht: Proto – Vanden Borre, Heylen, Mbemba, Deschacht – Tielemans, Defour – Najar, Praet, Suárez – Mitrovic
Arsenal: Martínez; Monreal, Mertesacker, Chambers, Gibbs; Arteta, Ramsey; Wilshere, Sánchez, Cazorla – Welbeck
The odds on Arsenal are going up like crazy in the last few hours, increasing with over 20% and I was honestly expecting this, that`s why this pick comes rather late. Arsenal`s poor form and injuries have caused this movement of the odds, but also the fact that they will need to deputize rookie Martinez in goal with the main two keepers out. However, I like Arsenal to win this – even with all the injuries their lineup looks great, and we know Arsenal is used to these kind of situations with missing players. Anderlecht is really nothing special and they are not even in good form, so I expect the visitors to make use of their quality and experience at this level and get 3 points they badly need. Look for Anderlecht to be outplayed again against the top teams. Prediction: Anderlecht – Arsenal 1-2.
Pick: Arsenal
Odds: 2.05 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 8.4
Event date: 22 October
