Fulham v Arsenal Tip

When people think Arsenal, they tend to think goals and entertainment, but that hasn’t really been the case lately. The question for quite a while has been, if Van Persie doesn’t score, who will for the Gunners? The big hope is that Thierry Henry will return and conjure up some of that old magic at the age of 34. He may take up a spot on the bench at Craven Cottage for Monday’s televised clash, but it’s a big ask to expect an instant impact.

When I look at the recent results of both these sides it actually suggests that a tight contest should be on the cards. In the last five Arsenal outings, there have been a total of 8 goals in the matches, at an average of 1.6 per game. When you consider that Wenger’s side’s last two were at home to Wolves and QPR, it will be a slight cause for concern that they only managed one goal against both.

Fulham are a bit Jekyll and Hyde lately; one day impressive against Chelsea or Liverpool, other times disappointing against Odense or Swansea. But one trend is that they aren’t scoring too many generally. A 2-0 home win over Bolton was the only time in nine league outings they’ve found the net more than once.

This encounter really looks like it could be settled by a single strike. Sportingbet offer us 13/5 on there being 0-1 goals in the match, so we’ll also get paid out if it remains scoreless.