Arsenal has been a bit sluggish in recent matches, and it badly needs a "get better" game.
Perhaps a match on Saturday against Sunderland, a team which figures to be in the relegation fight for the entire year, can be the panacea.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Arsenal -390
Sunderland +1150 Draw +500
Over/Under 3 (over -115)
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Gunners are understandably huge favorites in this match here at home against a poor side. They're heavy 1.5-goal favorites, the biggest favorites of the entire weekend in the Premier League. The moneyline price is a huge -390, insinuating that Arsenal is going to win this match near 80 percent of the time.
The total is quite high by Barclays Premier League standards at 3 with -115 vig on the over.
KEY INJURIES
Santiago Cazorla picked up bad news last week against Norwich when he was taken off for a knee injury. He'll be out for at least three months, joining Francis Coquelin, Tomas Rosicky and Mikel Arteta on the long term injury list for the Gunners.
We're just a few weeks away from the transfer window opening up, and you can bet that Arsenal is going to be active to try to replace the wounded, but for the time being, this team is clearly thinned out, which explains the iffy results of late.
Sunderland will be playing without Erik Larsson and Jermain Defoe. That's really a big step backwards for an offense which has had problems putting balls in the back of the net all season long.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We might be out of the bottom three, but it's still relegation (in terms of) points per game played, and we have got to make sure we continue to lessen the gap, the quicker the better and certainly by winning three in the first six, it takes us to where we want to be going." – Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce on the perilous situation the Black Cats still find themselves in even after a win over Stoke City last weekend
RECENT FORM
Sunderland not only beat the Potters last week, but it also knocked off Crystal Palace on the road five days earlier. That's a heck of a return from the international break for a team which really was on life support without those six points.
Arsenal's last three results in the Premier League have been awful. The team blew a 1-0 lead against Norwich City last week at Carrow Road, drawing 1-1, and that came on the heels of losing to West Brom and drawing at home against Tottenham. Let's not forget that we're only a few weeks removed from Bayern Munich blasting the Gunners 5-1 in the Champions League as well.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
This is just a really thinned out Arsenal team at this point. Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud are all great scoring threats, but in the midfield, there are just far too many absentees.
Sunderland has done a fantastic job maintaining possession and has consistently managed to keep the net around Costel Pantilimon relatively clean.
Unfortunately for the Black Cats in this one, they probably aren't ultimately going to get any results. That said, Arsenal isn't really capable of putting three or four goals on the board at this point as we see it. This has the feel of a match which the Gunners struggle for around an hour or so, ultimately score a goal, then pump the breaks and ultimately coast to a 1-0 victory.
We want that goal and a half on our side, knowing that a draw is a lot more possible than a two-goal defeat.
Arsenal 1, Sunderland 0
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The fixture between Arsenal and Sunderland will take place at 10:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, December 5, 2015 at Emirates Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.
