Arsenal v Fulham: Resilient Cottagers good for a draw

Arsenal v Fulham: Resilient Cottagers good for a draw

Fatigue could play a big part here as the draw specialists that are Fulham look good to go home with a point in the bag, says Jamie Pacheco...

Arteta eyeing up greater consistency

Mikel Arteta is quietly going about his work and suggestions that he wasn't ready for the job seem a little unfair.

It's clear that he knows his players well and that he wants his side to play in a particular way, which is pretty much the 'Arsenal way'.
But consistency has been a problem, just like it had been for the previous two Arsenal managers.

Just as an example, they weren't great in drawing 1-1 in the first leg against Slavia Prague in the Europa League yet were excellent in the second leg, thrashing them 4-0.

They did extremely well to come from 3-0 down at West Ham to draw 3-3, yet were torn apart by an out of sorts Liverpool 3-0 at home the week later. You get the picture.

Skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is ill with malaria (of all things) while defenders David Luiz and Kieran Tierney have actual injuries.

Parker's men improving but need points

Fulham may still be relegated given they're currently in 18th spot and six points away from safety right now.

But whatever happens from here, they deserve praise. They looked pretty clueless early on but have improved on a weekly basis as Scott Parker finally seems to understand how to get the most out of his players, where to play everyone and what style suits them.

For the record, an attritional and dog-eat-dog style seems to suit them well and it's been particularly in defence that they've become much better.

That same defence could have held on for another couple of minutes last week, though. They were closing in on a well-earned draw at home to Wolves but conceded late on. We'll have to wait and see how important that point might be.

Fulham could be good for a draw

If Fulham can overcome the disappointment of last week's defeat, this could be a good match-up for them.

First up, Arsenal will be understandably tired after their Thursday night exploits.

Just about every player who when fit would make Arteta's starting XI featured in the game so there should be some fatigue in those legs. The Cottagers of course have had a full week (plus two extra days) to prepare and that could make a big difference. As could the absence of Aubameyang, who often finds a moment of magic in games like this.

Fulham have drawn two of the last four here at the Emirates and love a draw themselves.

With 11 stalemates so far, only Brighton (12) have more. At odds of 3.8 it's a far better choice than the skinny 1.8 on Arsenal or the 5.3 on an unlikely away win for a side who has just five wins all season.

Some value in going 'unders'

A price of 1.86 on 'unders' is hardly the biggest you'll see all weekend but that's not to say it's a bad price.

Even though 'overs' in games at the Emirates has won at a rate of 60% this season, the figure for Fuham away games is very strong in terms of 'unders'. 73% of games away from Craven Cottage have had less than 2.5 goals and that's also been the case for five of the last six for Parker's men on the road.

One clean sheet and few corners as a Bet Builder

Over in the Bet Builder section, there's a good chance to put together a decent double.

If you think this could be a low-scoring game with at least one clean sheet, you can take the 'no' on both teams to score at odds of 20/23.

You can then combine that with under 9.5 total corners (11/10) safely in the knowledge that 53% of Arsenal's home games this season have had nine or less corners.

The double comes to 3.65.