Betting.Betfair.com
·5 November 2024
Betting.Betfair.com
·5 November 2024
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal will have to dig deep
Inter Milan v ArsenalWednesday 06 November, 20:00Live on TNT Sports 1 & Discovery+
Since losing the derby 2-1 to AC Milan on September 22nd, Inter have started to find their stride. They've won seven out of eight in all competitions and that includes a rather mad 4-4 draw with Juventus.
That eight-goal thriller is a stark contrast to other results which show that three of their last four victories have been by a very Italian 1-0. The latest came at home to second-bottom Venezia on Sunday but only just after the visitors had a late 'goal' chalked off.
The surge has taken the champions up to second place and just a point behind leaders Napoli and while 13 goals conceded in 11 Serie A games is very unlike Simone Inzaghi's side, they've kept three clean sheets out of three in Europe this season.
An away game at Newcastle on Saturday lunchtime was always going to be difficult for Arsenal but they needed a result after taking just one point from their previous two Premier League games: a 2-0 loss at Bournemouth and a 2-2 draw with Liverpool.
But, lacking a creative spark, they fell to another defeat, this latest setback leaving them seven points behind leaders Liverpool and five adrift of champions Manchester City. That gap is already feeling a little uncomfortable.
And to make Gunners fans even more fidgety, Monday brought the shock news that Edu - a massive key cog in Arsenal's push for title glory over the last couple of seasons - was resigning as sporting director.
Life goes on and Mikel Arteta will no doubt do his best to play it down but plenty of Arsenal stars who came to the club under Edu's watch will feel a little spooked. This was supposed to be the season when they finally chased Manchester City down but, right now, that dream looks shaky to say the least.
The massive 36-team Champions League table still seems a strange thing to look at but at least we don't have to scroll too far down to find both these teams.
Arsenal are seventh thanks to a 0-0 away draw against Inter's fellow Italians, Atalanta, along with a pair of home wins over PSG (2-0) and Shakhtar (1-0). Like Inter, Arsenal have yet to concede in three Champions League games.
Inter kicked off by holding Manchester City to a goalless draw at the Etihad and followed that with a 4-0 cruise over Red Star and a 1-0 away win at Young Boys in Switzerland, a victory only secured by a 90th minute Marcus Thuram goal.
Arsenal fans (those who are old enough) certainly won't forget the last time they travelled to Italy to take on Inter as a Thierry Henry double helped the Gunners to a stunning 5-1 win. However, Inter had made their mark earlier in the group by winning 3-0 in London.
For this one, the betting is tight with Inter 13/8, Arsenal 9/5 and The Draw 11/5.
As both are yet to concede in this competition, it's worth pointing out that the 0-0/no goalscorer is 15/2.
While 0-0 is a possibility, Inter's liking for a 1-0 also needs to be taken into account. That correct scoreline is 7/1.
But I'll give myself a bit of leeway and get 0-0 onside too by backing Under 1.5 goals at 21/10.
Inter played out a stalemate at Manchester City and Arsenal held out for a goalless draw at Atalanta so both can dig deep. And if the Gunners do manage to nick it, we have that covered too.
As both have seven points from nine, it's likely to be a tight, cautious affair with neither really having to push too hard for victory.
But if Inter do take the lead, there a few sides in this competition better equipped to keep it at that and defend their advantage to the finish.
Perhaps watch highlights of that 5-1 win for Arsenal instead and tune in to get the result of this one just before the final whistle!
Lauro Martinez got Inter's winner in the 1-0 success over Venezia at the weekend and also the only goal of the game in their narrow success away to Roma a couple of weeks earlier.
That makes him an obvious Bet Builder candidate and it's an attractive 25/1 that the Argentine striker bags the winner in a 1-0 here. He was on the scoresheet in Inter's last Champions League game at the San Siro, the 4-0 win over Red Star.
Should Bukayo Saka pull off the same 1-0 trick for Arsenal, the BB price doubles to a fraction under 50/1.
As for team news, Martin Odegaard could return for the Gunners but it's asking a lot for the midfield playmaker to have an immediate impact in a game like this. Inter have a clean bill of health.
Staked: 19pts
Returned: 17.95pts
P/L: -1.05pts
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