The State of Play
Vincent Kompany was very frustrated by Burnley’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield last weekend. The Clarets are languishing in the bottom three and the relegation places with just three victories in their 24 matches so far this season. In those 24 games, they have conceded 50 goals and they appear destined for an immediate return to the second-tier with the likelihood they stand by Kompany to rebuild for next season.
Under the management of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal have began the calendar year of 2024 in exceptional form in the Premier League. The Gunners went into the New Year with concerns they may not even finish in the top four but they have now enjoyed four successive victories in the league, most recently hammering West Ham United by six goals to nil last weekend, meaning they have scored 16 goals and conceded just two in those four games.
Read our other football news stories here:
Klopp and Jota land monthly awards
Brentford v Liverpool: preview and prediction
Kylian Mbappe: Luis Enrique happy to focus on the team at Paris Saint-Germain
Team News
The aforementioned Kompany has confirmed that Charlie Taylor is expected to return against the side that he scored against in the reverse fixture. Jordan Beyer may also come back in but Lyle Foster has undergone surgery so he will now be unavailable.
Arsenal were able to make plenty of key substitutions relatively early last weekend with both Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice rested. That will mean Mikel Arteta is even more unlikely to rest players ahead of their clash with Porto in midweek.
Expected Line-ups
Burnley: Trafford; Assignon, O’Shea, Esteve, Taylor; Ramsey, Brownhill, Berge, Odobert; Amdouni, Fofana
Arsenal: David Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli
What they Said
Ahead of their clash with Arsenal, Vincent Kompany has issued a rallying call to his Lancastrians, insisting that they ‘cannot feel sorry for ourselves’ amidst a fair bit of complaining with regards to VAR.
Mikel Arteta was effusive in his praise of Arsenal after their hammering of West Ham and specifically on England international Bukayo Saka: “That at his age, in the position and consistency – normally they don’t go in the same time – he’s proving everybody wrong and he can do it.”
When and How to Watch
This match will be played at Turf Moor at 15:00 on Saturday February 17th but will not be televised live on the UK. It will also, therefore not be able to be streamed live in the UK.
Prediction
It does seem like it is more a question of when rather than if Burnley will suffer relegation this season and they could well be simply trying to find the right formula to go back down, come straight up and then steady themselves in a couple of years. Arsenal are in excellent form and absolutely romping their way through matches at the moment so another heavy Gunners victory would appear likely for this one.
