Arsenal vs Sheffield United 18/01/20

18 January 2020

Arsenal will be looking to end a two-game losing streak in the Premier League (PL) H2Hs with Sheffield United when the two sides lock horns at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

A 1-1 away draw with Crystal Palace last time out means the hosts have won just one of four league matches under Mikel Arteta (W1, D2, L1). Moreover, the Gunners have picked up only six triumphs in 22 PL fixtures so far this season (27%), which is one of the worst PL starts in the club’s history. Importantly for the Londoners, 66% of their total PL wins have come at the Emirates, where they’ve, unfortunately, lost three of their previous four league matches (W1). Nonetheless, the Emirates has been a venue of entertainment recently, as five of Arsenal’s last seven PL games here have produced over 2.5 goals, with five seeing both teams score too. A fast start is definitely on the cards, as Arsenal have found the net inside the opening 15 minutes of play in five of 11 PL home matches so far, while they’ve conceded at least once in that same interval on three occasions.

The visitors snapped a three-game winless PL streak (D1, L2) with a narrow 1-0 home triumph over West Ham last weekend and are currently sitting four points clear of tenth-placed Arsenal. But, Sheffield’s dip in form in the recent period has seen them go from back-to-back PL away wins to two straight losses, with three of their last away results (win/loss) seeing the winners on the day keep a clean sheet. In fact, before succumbing 2-0 to both Manchester City and Liverpool, the Blades went unbeaten in nine PL road trips, although securing just three wins in that sequence (W3, D6). Chris Wilder has to worry about the fact that his men have shipped the opening goal in seven of 11 PL away matches this season, although they’ve managed to return seven points from such fixtures (W1, D4, L2).