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Football Betting
Arsenal Must Act Fast to Save their Season
Arsenal players understand the importance of the upcoming bunch of Premiership fixtures. If the Gunners want to make a run at leaders Chelsea and Manchester United, they must get the most out of the next few weeks. A win Sunday at home against Liverpool may serve as the catalyst for a midseason push.
"I would say that, yes, Liverpool is a must-win match. If you hope to win the Premiership, every game is important," striker Emmanuel Adebayor said. "But this weekend even more so. Hopefully we will all enjoy it and hopefully we'll win."
To do so, Adebayor, Thierry Henry and the others must score early to bring back their confidence. The Gunners have scored only twice in their last four games in all competitions, and must energize their attack to overcome Liverpool and get going again.
Regrettably, injuries continue to accumulate for the team. Arsenal are without midfielder Tomas Rosicky for the Liverpool game at Emirates Stadium, and likely for the next home match against Newcastle too. The Czech international joins Freddie Ljungberg and Lauren on the infirm list.
Recently Arsenal have particularly missed the unyielding game of Ljungberg, who provides steady energy and searing runs for the club. The Swedish international is a grinder along the wing and has created scoring chances on a weekly basis.
Despite the depleted squad, the bookies have Arsenal as slight favourites in Sunday's Liverpool match (odds from Coral bookies). But Rafael Benitez's boys will be ready, and will need to get more possession to minimize chances for the Arsenal attack line.
"We know they play very good football and have players with skill and pace," Liverpool manager Rafal Benitez said of Arsenal. "They have the quality you need, and they have players who can score goals. We know we'll need to work very hard if we want to win.
"They might not be scoring many goals, but if you see the number of opportunities they are creating usually they will score goals."
Despite struggling at home, expect Arsenal to find goals from Henry and Cesc Fabregas. Defensively, Arsenal must counterbalance Steven Gerrard in the middle by playing him tight and giving him restricted space to work with.
Arsenal will go all out for a win and hope to build momentum to lift them up the Premiership table towards Chelsea and Man Utd.
"Manchester United being so far ahead is a problem and perhaps we've had a bit of a poor start, but we know we can catch them," Adebayor assured.
Arsenal have some big games in the next month, including away to Bolton and Chelsea and home against Portsmouth, all clubs which are presently in the top four and ahead of Arsenal in the English Premier League. It's within this short period that the fate of the Gunners will be decided.
You can bet on Arsenal at 10/1 odds to win the Premiership (at Corals Betting).
