With the rain and winds battering London this Wednesday morning. Arsenal look set for another fierce encounter at The Emirates. UCL nights at the carpet is back once more and Arsenal need a win to help secure qualification to the round of 16!
The Art of Analysis Previews & Predictions is here to show just how it can be achieved:
The lineup:
The main question mark for Arsenal remains Ødegaard and his fitness. His omission was very much felt against Newcastle, whilst the likes of Havertz and Rice certainly stepped up we do need a creative force in the middle. There still remains hope that he will start!
With that being said I’m hoping he starts up front and helps galvanise the attacking threat that we know we can pose. Should this not be the case then expect similar midfield against Newcastle with Jorginho in the holding CDM and Rice pivoting between 6 and 8 roles. Kai really came to life against Newcastle, he found his swagger and self-belief and really delivered a performance on the Leverkusen Kai rather than that of Chelsea and I can only see him doing this more and more! Certainly in the videos from the training ground are to be believed he has found his confidence once more.
The backline speaks for itself, Tomi over Zinny is a must where the team pose a real counter attacking threat. Once again Arsenal will expect a compact approach from Sevilla given their poor away record. However, despite their aging squad they do have pace to offer a counterattacking threat, as a result I feel that Tomiyasu’s physical presence and intelligent defensive duties across all the backline will certainly be a better prospect that Zinchenko offers.
The History:
With a chance to secure our place in the Champions League knockout stages with two group games remaining, we seek to recapture our winning form when Sevilla visit north London.
Our 2-1 triumph in Spain last month has put us in a strong position, and a repeat of that result, coupled with PSV Eindhoven’s failure to defeat Lens, would guarantee our progression.
While Diego Alonso’s team boasts a wealth of European experience, with seven Europa League titles in their history, their away form in the Champions League has been less impressive, as they have failed to win any of their last eight away matches in the competition.
They have also only secured one victory in their last eleven matches in England.
The Keys to Winning:
These two in midfield really need to step up once again. Even if Ødegaard is fit, he will not be at 100% so they will need to offer something for him to utilise. Be it in creating space for the wingers or drives forward from deeper in midfield both need to present an attacking threat.
Alongside the midfield, Martinelli and Saka need to be much more clinical at the moment. Whilst they have been effecting in certain games they have been somewhat less effective in others. Be this a case of not pushing inside from the wings enough, or even a case of minimal interplay with our deeper midfielders in Rice or Jorginho. Something has been lacking. We don’t want to see either Martinelli or Saka going deep to get the ball, we want them driving at defenders and driving into the box for shots on goal!
Predictions:
Scoreline: Arsenal 2 – Sevilla 0
POTM: Bukayo Saka
Suggested Bet: Penalty in the game: YES
Written by Reekesh Somaroo