SATURDAY PREMIER LEAGUE: The Striker previews Saturday’s remaining Premier League game between LEEDS v ARSENAL at 5.30pm with a recommended BETDAQ bet and extended match stats.
LEEDS V ARSENAL
5.30pm With all the lost fixtures today, it’s nice that we got to keep this one as it’s the highlight fixture of the day. While both sides had a very different experience in their midweek games, you never quite know what type of performance we’re going to get from Arsenal away from home, and I’m sure there will be a lot of big opinion on the Arsenal price at 2.0 here. Leeds have had a tough season in problems at the back, and they are in the middle of a very tough run of fixtures. They were beaten 7-0 by Manchester City midweek, have to play Arsenal here and then they are away to Liverpool on Boxing Day. Looking at their fixture list, they are due to play Burnley and Newcastle in January and they are absolutely must win games for them if they want to avoid a relegation fight. We keep saying that they are “too good to go down” but at what point does that turn when they are still in the relegation fight. There’s no point being too harsh on them losing 7-0 away to Man City; that can happen to anyone, but their issues are well documented. They just haven’t fixed the problems at the back, and when you are slightly under performing with the ball and front of goal, everything goes wrong when you aren’t solid at the back. Last season was a success because they were so good going forward; but they were just as bad at the back!
When makes this fixture fascinating is the Arsenal questions. Will they perform away from home, and are they good value at 2.0. I have to say I was impressed with their second half performance midweek against West Ham. They were on top in the first half but 0-0 seemed a fair score, but they really turned on the style in the second half and blew West Ham away. If they play like that here they will win easily. West Ham would have been disappointed with their performance no doubt, but Arsenal bossed them. That game came at home for Arsenal, and as we all know they are unreliable away from home. You do worry about Arsenal under pressure away from home, and the recent Everton game is a classic example, especially considering Everton haven’t even been playing well lately. I feel Leeds won’t be able to put them under the sort of pressure to be successful here however, and their issues at the back will give Arsenal chances. I’m happy to always limit stakes on Arsenal, especially away from home, but this is a good time to back Arsenal in my opinion.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Arsenal to beat Leeds at 2.0 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
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MATCH STATS
● Leeds United are winless in their last 10 meetings with Arsenal in all competitions (D2 L8) since a 3-2 victory at Highbury in May 2003.
● Arsenal are unbeaten in their last six away games against Leeds in all competitions (W4 D2) since a 1-0 loss in November 2000. Meanwhile, the Gunners haven’t conceded more than once in any of their last 13 trips to Elland Road, since a 2-1 loss exactly 28 years ago today (18th December 1993).
● Arsenal have won 10 of their last 13 away league games against Yorkshire sides (D1 L2), with both defeats in that run coming against Sheffield United. It’s more victories than the Gunners had managed in their previous 49 league visits to the county (W9 D17 L23).
● Leeds are unbeaten in their last five home league games (W2 D3), having picked up just one point from their first three at Elland Road this season (D1 L2).
● Arsenal have lost their last three away league games, conceding more goals in this run (9) than they had in their previous nine on the road combined (8). The Gunners last lost more consecutive away league games between January and May 2018 under Arsène Wenger (7).
● Leeds have lost their last two Premier League games, conceding as many goals in these defeats (10) as they had in their previous 10 league games combined. The Whites haven’t lost three consecutive games in the top-flight since April/May 2004, a run that included a 5-0 loss against Arsenal.
● Since Mikel Arteta’s first game in charge on Boxing Day in 2019, Arsenal have scored 28 Premier League goals via players aged 21 or younger – more than any other team.
● Since the start of last season, Leeds United average 1.6 goals-per-game when Patrick Bamford plays, compared to just 0.9 when he’s absent. The Whites have won 41% of their Premier League games with Bamford in the side (18/44), and just 27% without him (3/11).
● Englishmen Calum Chambers and Eddie Nketiah scored for Arsenal in their 2-0 win against Leeds in the EFL Cup earlier this season. Before this, just one of the Gunners’ last 35 goals against the Whites in all competitions had been scored by an English player.
● Arsenal pair Emile Smith Rowe (21) and Bukayo Saka (20) have assisted one another six times in the Premier League; among duos when both aged 21 or younger, only Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney (8) have assisted one another more often in the competition’s history.
