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Arsenal vs Burnley preview, team news, line-ups and prediction

By on November 10, 2023

Mikel Arteta Arsenal

Arsenal get back to Premier League action on Saturday afternoon when we welcome Burnley to the Emirates Stadium ahead of the international break.

We returned to winning ways with a dominant 2-0 victory over Sevilla in the group stages of the Champions League on Wednesday night. Arsenal controlled the game from start to finish and were never in any danger against the Europa League holders. Goals from Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka sealed the win at the Emirates to put Arsenal on the verge of qualification to the knockout stages of the competition. A win over Lens at home in a few weeks will secure top spot with a game to spare so the Gunners are certainly enjoying their return to the Champions League this campaign.

However, we’ve come unstuck domestically recently. After crashing out of the Carabao Cup to West Ham, Arsenal’s title hopes were dented by a controversial 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United last weekend. Mikel Arteta was rightly furious following the game at St James’ Park after the officials allowed Antony Gordon’s ‘goal’ to stand – despite replays showing a clear push on Gabriel Magalhaes from Joelinton which directly led to the goal. Bruno Guimaraes should also have been sent off for elbowing Jorginho in the head off the ball – which was ignored by VAR.

While the key decisions went against us against Newcastle, Arteta would still have been concerned by the lack of creativity in his team last week. The absence of Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus was sorely felt but the boss will hope the win over Sevilla has reignited the creative spark and we can get back on track in the league with a win over Burnley tomorrow.

Arsenal head into the weekend action sitting fourth in the Premier League table but we’re just three points behind leaders Man City, so it’s tight at the top. A win over Burnley would see us move level on points with City ahead of their tricky trip to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea on Sunday afternoon. It’s vital we don’t slip up and keep the pressure on our rivals with victory over Vincent Kompany’s side on home soil this weekend.

Burnley head to North London after a tough return to the top flight. Having ran away with the Championship last season, they’ve found it hard to adjust to life in the Premier League. The Clarets have won just one of their 11 games so far and sit joint bottom of the table with just four points. Another defeat tomorrow would extend their losing streak to five games, so Kompany will be desperate to stop the rot with a shock result at the Emirates.

How to watch

The game hasn’t been selected by the television companies for live broadcast and is scheduled to be played on Saturday at 3pm. Therefore, the only way to follow all the action live is to attend the game in person.

Tickets via club channels have already sold out but fans can still buy Arsenal tickets at trusted reseller sites. However, be fast as any remaining tickets are likely to be sold quickly.

Team news

Arsenal have mounting injury worries to contend with and the international break could come at a good time for Arteta as it will give some players time to return to full fitness.

Martin Odegaard has missed the last three games with a hip injury and he remains a big doubt to face Burnley tomorrow. The captain will be assessed at London Colney today but Arteta won’t take any risks with the international break coming up.

Gabriel Jesus has also been on the sidelines with a hamstring injury in recent weeks. The Brazilian international is not back in training yet and is therefore set to miss out once again this weekend. Jesus has been called up by the Brazil manager for their upcoming games but it would be a surprise if he goes should he miss out against Burnley tomorrow.

Thomas Partey has suffered a major setback in his recovery from a thigh muscle injury. The midfielder sustained the problem in training and after seeing a specialist, it’s been determined that the injury is worse than first though. Partey is now expected to be out until the new year after undergoing surgery, which will be a huge blow for Arsenal.

Emile Smith Rowe is also facing a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury while Jurrien Timber is facing a race to play again this season due to a serious ACL injury.

Eddie Nketiah missed the win over Sevilla after picking up an ankle injury against Newcastle so he’s a doubt this weekend. Bukayo Saka limped off in midweek with an ankle injury so he’ll need to be assessed at London Colney today. Takehiro Tomiyasu is another doubt after being forced off at half-time on Wednesday night with a knock so Arteta has plenty of injury concerns.

As for Burnley, they’ll be without Aaron Ramsey and Lyle Foster, while Ameen Al-Dakhill and Michael Obafemi are doubts. But Josh Cullen returns from suspension.

Line-ups

Injury issues mean Arteta has very little room to rotate. Oleksandr Zinchenko should come in for Tomiyasu at left-back but otherwise it should be a very similar team to the one that started against Sevilla. If Saka is out, then Fabio Vieira may get a recall, or Nketiah if he’s passed fit.

It will be interesting to see if Arteta’s risks Saka, especially with the international break coming up after this game. If anything, I’d like to see Saka on the bench and only introduced if needed. He’s been overplayed and we shouldn’t rush him back for this game. If he doesn’t play against Burnley, we’d have a good case to pull him out of the England squad and give him a proper rest.

Likely Arsenal line-up: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Havertz, Jorginho, Rice; Vieira, Trossard, Martinelli

Likely Burnley line-up: Trafford; Roberts, O’Shea, Beyer, Taylor; Gudmundsson, Berge, Brownhill, Cullen, Koleosho; Amdouni

Prediction

If Arsenal have title aspirations this season they simply cannot drop any points at home to Burnley. However, a spate of injuries has stretched Arteta’s squad. If Saka, Jesus, Nketiah and Odegaard all miss out then we’ll be short of options in attack and Burnley may feel like they could pull off a shock in north London.

However, Gabriel Martinelli was in excellent form against Sevilla while Trossard also looked sharp so hopefully Arsenal still have enough quality to see-off the Clarets, despite their injury woes. Burnley have struggled to keep the ball out of the net this season and we should be confident of getting the three points at home. Arsenal 2-0 Burnley