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Arsenal look to defy the odds as football prepares to return next month

By on May 29, 2020

Mikel Arteta Arsenal

Arsenal will be looking to salvage something from a disappointing season when football finally returns next month following a three-month hiatus.

Players from the top tier returned to non-contact training earlier this month with strict social distancing measures in place but group sessions began recently and the Premier League confirmed this week that matches will restart in June.

Arsenal will kick things off when we take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on June 17th with a full round of fixtures to take place the following weekend between 19-21 June. All remaining matches will have to be played behind closed doors without fans but the games will all be broadcast live on Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC and Amazon Prime.

Clubs have set a provisional date of July 25th for the final weekend of the Premier League season while the FA Cup final is expected to be staged the following weekend on August 1st, if all goes well following the restart.

Obviously it’s hugely exciting that football is returning soon but Arsenal are going to have to defy the soccer betting odds if we’re to salvage anything from the 2019/20 campaign.

We currently sit ninth in the Premier League table and eight points adrift of the top four so it’s no surprise the bookmakers are backing Arsenal to miss out on Champions League qualification once again. For those who enjoy soccer bets, you can get odds of 18/1 on Arsenal finishing fourth this season with the likes of Sheffield United [12/1] and Tottenham [12/1] expected to finish higher up the table.

Liverpool, Man City and Leicester are almost certain to take the top three positions so there is only one spot up for grabs and Chelsea are in pole position followed by Man Utd so Arsenal need a miracle if we’re to snatch a top four place over the remaining league games.

Therefore, the FA Cup is probably our best bet for Mikel Arteta to take something positive away from the season. Arsenal are through to the quarter-finals where we’ll travel to Sheffield United after beating Leeds United, Bournemouth and Portsmouth in the previous three rounds.

If we can beat the Blades, anything can happen in the semi-finals but it’s still going to be tough to lift the trophy as Man City, Man Utd and Chelsea are all still in the competition and are favourites to progress from their quarter-final ties.

The soccer betting odds have Man City as the 8/11 favourites to retain the FA Cup followed by Chelsea [7/1] and United [8/1]. With Arsenal currently priced as the 9/1 fourth favourites and the prospect of City, Chelsea and Utd all making it to the last four there could be some heavy-weight ties ahead.

So we should have some exciting games to look forward to but what’s for certain is that Arsenal are going to have to pull something out of the bag and defy the odds if we’re to salvage any form of success from this disastrous season.