Arsenal vs Burnley

Arsenal will be seeking redemption following FA Cup and League Cup eliminations when they lock horns with Premier League basement boys Burnley at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal cannot catch a break this calendar year, going winless in all four competitive matches since the calendar flipped to 2022 (D1, L3), including a 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City on New Year’s Day. Coming into this fixture, the ‘Gunners’ fell to a 2-0 home loss to Liverpool in the return leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie and will be looking to bounce back against relegation-battling Burnley. Mikel Arteta’s men can call upon their eye-catching form down the final stretch of 2021, racking up five consecutive wins across all competitions to close out the last calendar year on a high. Adding to their confidence, the Londoners have only lost one of their previous 18 league meetings with Burnley (W12, D5), courtesy of their most recent Premier League H2H in the nation’s capital.

Indeed, Burnley will be looking to win back-to-back away league matches against Arsenal for the first time since 1960 and give their salvation hopes a much-needed leg-up. After winning just one of their 17 Premier League games this season (D8, L8), the ‘Clarets’ head into proceedings nailed to the bottom of the table, five points adrift of safety. What’s more, they remain the only Premier League side yet to pick up all three points away from home this season (D4, L6). With standout striker Chris Wood left for Newcastle in the January transfer window, Burnley’s hopes of improving their paltry scoring average of 0.8 goals per away league games look rather slim. Moreover, Sean Dyche’s men have failed to win any of their previous 11 top-flight fixtures on the road (D4, L7), losing the last three in a row by an aggregate score of 7-2.