On October 22 2016 at 15:00 in the regular game of the 9th matchday of the English Premier League at the Emirates Stadium the local Arsenal play against Middlesbrough.
Arsenal had a traditionally strong start of the season in the EPL. Of course, they couldn’t help making a few mistakes. The Gunners lost to Liverpool 3:4 in the first game of the championship and drew Leicester 0:0. After that Arsene Wenger’s side won all of the games in the league. Last weekend they outplayed Swansea 3:2 and before that won against Burnley 0:1, Chelsea 3:0, Hull City 1:4. This way Arsenal managed to gain the same number of points as the leaders of the table Manchester City, the Gunners are on the second place only due to the worse goal difference.
The long-awaited come back to the elite division finally happened but Middlesbrough, obviously appeared not to be ready for it. That is why they are one of the teams, which will have to compete for staying in the league. In the starting games of the season Middlesbrough only managed to win against Sunderland 1:2. Last weekend they lost to Watford 0:1 and before that drew West Ham 1:1, lost to Tottenham 1:2, Everton 3:1 and Crystal Palace 1:2. After 8 games played Middlesbrough only have 6 points and take the 17th position just one step from the relegation zone.
Arsenal won most of the games played between the teams. Last time they met in 2015 in the FA Cup and Arsenal won without any problems 2:0 due to the difference in class. Even though Arsenal have a game in the Champions League this week and will probably be a bit more tired than the visitors, they are still very likely to win. The Boro are not ready to compete with the team like Arsenal.
Prediction for the match: Arsenal to win with -1.5 handicap.
