Arsenal’s quest for that much-awaited fourth Premier League trophy kicks off with a visit from London neighbors West Ham United. The Gunners “Cech-ed” off one of the final pieces of their championship puzzle during the offseason with the long-overdue signing of a world class goalkeeper. Can Petr Cech and co. get off to a winning start against a West Ham side now managed by Premier League newcomer Slaven Bilic?
Read on below as we preview this all-London affair in the EPL’s first weekend. Also, check out that Sunday’s other big showdown in our preview of Stoke vs. Liverpool.
[sc:Soccer ]Arsenal vs. West Ham United Betting Preview
Where: Emirates Stadium, London
When: Sunday, August 9, 8:30 AM ET
Line: West Ham United +900 at Arsenal -500, tie +465; total 3.0 – view all EPL lines
Betting on Arsenal
Goalkeeper has been a problem position for Arsenal ever since Jens Lehmann’s exit in 2008. But this summer, manager Arsene Wenger finally addressed one of the biggest weaknesses in his squad when he signed veteran Petr Cech from championship rivals Chelsea.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Cech’s body of work speaks for itself. He’s a four-time Premier League winner (three as the full-time starter), a Champions League winner, and three-time Premier League Golden Glove winner. He also once held the Premier League record for most minutes without conceding a goal (1,025), which he set during the 2004-05 season.
Cech had the benefit of playing behind some terrific defenses at Chelsea, but his Arsenal backline should be pretty good as well. With the rock-solid central defensive partnership of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker leading the way, Arsenal conceded just 36 goals last season – third fewest in the league.
Arsenal have also found a reliable defensive midfielder in Francis Coquelin, who helped in stabilizing the middle of the park when he came into the starting 11 last season.
But of course, the Gunners’ main strength remains up front. They boast some incredible attacking talent led by the amazing Alexis Sanchez. Sanchez had a sizzling debut season with 16 league goals, one of them coming in Arsenal’s 3-0 home win over West Ham last season.
Arsenal have simply owned West Ham throughout the years. They have an active 10-match winning streak against the Hammers, and have an even longer 15-match unbeaten run. The Gunners have won their last three home games against West Ham by a combined score of 11-2.
Create a betting account now and go on a winning streak to start to the new Premier League season.
Betting on West Ham United
West Ham’s season began in earnest way back in the beginning of July as they kicked off by qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. But after easily taking care of Portuguese club Lusitanos, the Hammers needed a penalty shoot-out to overcome Maltese club Birkirkara. Despite new manager Slaven Bilic praising his team’s spirit in the match, it’s a sign that a lot of work is still in front of him ahead of his team’s visit to Arsenal.
A former Hammer in his playing days, Bilic made a name for himself as a manager during his successful spell as Croatia’s national team boss. His side famously torpedoed England’s Euro 2008 qualifying campaign by beating them at Wembley. He had less successful stints in his first two jobs at club level with Lokomotiv Moscow and Besiktas before filling the vacancy at West Ham left by Sam Allardyce. West Ham finished a disappointing 12th last season under Big Sam.
Bilic will be without two of West Ham’s top midfielders from last year’s campaign. He allowed Stewart Downing, who finished second on the team in goals (six) and first in assists (eight), to transfer out of the club, while Alex Song’s loan deal expired.
Bilic brought in a couple of unknown Premier League quantities in Dmitri Payet and Pedro Obiang as replacements, and also landed defender Angelo Ogbonna from Italian champions Juventus. Payet, though, scored seven goals for Marseille last season, and led the entire Ligue 1 with 17 assists and should provide a much needed spark to the Hammers attack.
West Ham will face an uphill battle against a clearly superior Arsenal team that they’ve been unable to beat in eight years. But the Hammers do have two things going for them 1) the element of surprise (in terms of new boss Bilic’s gameplan), and 2) the fact that the Gunners are usually slow out of the gate. Arsenal have won just one of their last five Premier League openers.
Writer’s Prediction
Arsenal (-500) start the season strong with a comfortable 2-0 home win.
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