It was clear that Unai Emery had to leave Arsenal. The players were not giving their all for the manager and the Emirates crowd never really took to him. New man Mikel Arteta has certainly given the fans some hope for the future and like all managers it takes time for them to implement their brand of football.
Southampton are a great example of this, having stuck by Ralph Hasenhuttl. The modern game is cruel though; new managers have to hit the ground running or their job is at risk. Arsenal must have patience with Arteta, even if the numbers haven’t been great for him in his opening seven Premier League games.
They’ve only won one game in seven, drawing five and losing just once. They have only scored more than one goal in two occasions. If you look at Expected goals it doesn’t look great either: they were expected to concede 1.42 goals against Bournemouth and lost on the XG to Burnley (2.25 to 1.89)! How can you lose on XG to Burnley?
It’s clear from these numbers that Arteta hasn’t shored things up at the back and is a couple of transfer windows away from where he wants to be. So Newcastle are going to get their fair share of chances when they visit north London for the 4.30pm Sunday kickoff.
The Magpies are 12th in the league but that’s a somewhat fake position – on expected goals they would be relegated and are lucky they picked up enough points to avoid a relegation battle.
Best Bets
So, where to put your money with all this in mind? Well, as indicated both teams are shambolic at the back so get on Both Teams To Score at 20/23.
Meanwhile, as their xG highlights, Newcastle just haven’t got enough up top to win the game, meaning that Arsenal To Win & BTTS at 2/1 looks the bet in this one.
Arsenal 2/5, Draw 7/2, Newcastle 13/2