English Premiership 2009/2010

Arsenal V Blackburn Rovers

Kick-off: Sunday 4^th October – 13:30 GMT

Venue: The Emirates

TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Arsenal

League Position: 5th

Recent Form: WLLWW

Arsenal have put their recent woes and defeats against both Manchester outfits to one side as they have now gone on to record back-to-back wins since suffering back-to-back defeats against both Man Utd & Man City. Victories over Wigan Athletic (4-0) & now Fulham (0-1), has seen Arsenal regain some of the form & momentum that might have been lost after that patchy spell in Manchester, but it does appear that the Arsenal of old is back, or is it?

Arsenal have a lot to thank for their third choice keeper’s display against Fulham, as Vito Mannone put in a stunning goalkeeping display, one that earned him man of the match and most of the plaudits, in a game completely dominated by Fulham, from start to finish. Robin Van Persie took the limelight, though, as he scored on a rare attacking venture for Arsenal in that game when he slickly guided the ball into the bottom corner to hand Arsenal their fourth victory of the season, at the expense of a Fulham side who will feel heavily aggrieved.

Arsenal do still look a real handful when they do go on the attack but their defending on the day, against Fulham, left a lot to behold. Fulham carved out several glorious opportunities with ease, only to see an inform Vito Mannone standing in their way. Were it not for Mannone that day, Arsenal could and probably should have lost that game. However, Arsene Wenger can now put that game to bed as his group of youngsters did get the result they set out for, and that’s all that matters in this day and age, especially with the top six sides in the table so closely grouped together now.

Arsene Wenger will need to get his defence in order before the arrival of Blackburn but they have been blessed with a pretty easy fixture on paper. It’s been six years since Rovers last recorded a rare win on Arsenal soil, with the Gunners winning six of the previous seven encounters in London. Rovers have been far from prolific in the final third so, as long as Arsenal attackers don’t get complacent in front of goal, Arsenal should comfortably outscore and beat Blackburn at The Emirates.

Blackburn Rovers

League Position: 15th

Recent Form: LDWLW

A rare win for Blackburn this season was enough to lift Rovers away from the relegation zone, four points clear in fact, but if they don’t follow that big win up with at least another point then Blackburn cold find themselves embracing the red zone once again. Goals from Christopher Samba & David Dunn was enough to give Sam Allardyce and the ten men of Blackburn all three points, and it was just their second win of the new season. Rovers had previously lost three out of five games so the win was a welcome relief.

However, Blackburn didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory with their performance on Saturday. It’s imperative that teams like Blackburn make their home stadium a fortress and Blackburn are slowly starting to achieve that, although, slow sluggish starts at home won’t help their cause. Rovers have picked up seven points at home this season, the source of all of their points thus far in the league, but, were it not for Villa getting complacent after scoring an early goal within 3 minutes, Blackburn could have been staring down the barrel of a second home defeat.

Sam Allardyce has to get his players to assert themselves in home games, especially as there will be games such as this trip to The Emirates, where Blackburn have little chance of registering any points. The main bulk of Blackburn’s points will come at Ewood Park, with Blackburn already showing big signs of homesickness this term. Rovers have been on their travels just twice this season, both ending in bitter defeats, losing to Everton (3-0) & Sunderland (2-1). ‘Big Sam’ will need to conjure up a tactical master-stroke for his side to take any of the spoils away from Ewood Park at The Emirates, the home of the Gunners.

Head-to-Head:

Arsenal W: 7 Blackburn Rovers W: 1 Draws: 2

The Gunners have completely dominated previous encounters, especially on Arsenal turf. Not only have Arsenal won the last six encounters in London, but they’ve also won them very convincingly, with Arsenal scoring 19 and conceding just two in the last six meetings at Arsenal. Blackburn’s last success on Arsenal soil came way back in the 2002/2003 Premiership campaign when Rovers beat the Gunners 2-1 at Highbury, the former home of Arsenal.

Over 2.5 Goals: 6 Under 2.5 Goals: 4

This has been a favourable game for goals, mainly because Arsenal have been pretty prolific in front of goal against Blackburn. Five of the previous six visits of Blackburn has produced a game filled with goals. However, Blackburn have managed to locate the Arsenal goal just once in six meetings at Arsenal, that being in a 6-2 defeat back in 2006.

Match Verdict: Arsenal to WIN – 1/4 BlueSquare

Arsenal did all the hard work last week and they have now been rewarded with what looks a gift wrapped home fixture. The Gunners have vastly enjoyed the previous meetings between the two, with Arsenal winning six of the previous seven clashes between the two sides in London. They completely dominate the head-to-head and we expect that trend to continue here as Arsenal romp to victory against a Blackburn side who’ve lost their previous seven away fixtures in the Premiership, a run stretching back to March of last season. Everything points towards not only a home win but a comfortable one at that.

Match Odds:

Arsenal – 1/4 BlueSquare

Blackburn Rovers – 14/1 SkyBet

Draw – 11/2 Bet365

SoccerBetting Tip: Arsenal – 2 Goals (Handicap) – 13/8 PaddyPower