After holding David Moyes’ Manchester United to an impressive 2-2 draw, Cardiff face perhaps an even sterner test in the form of Arsenal.
Malky Mackay is thought to be leaning towards sticking with the unchanged team that managed to snatch a point from Manchester United last week. If he wishes to change anything, he has a fully fit squad to do so. This means former Manchester City and Liverpool star Craig Bellamy may not find himself among the starters for the game this weekend.
Cardiff have been impressive at home, especially against teams that are thought to be top-four teams. The newly-promoted Welshmen beat Manchester City at the beginning of the season; held Tottenham for 90 mins, only for Spurs to snatch a cruel winner at the death, and their point against United was fully deserved. Add in to that the derby day win over Swansea, and all in all, it’s been a fairly surprising start to life in the Premier League for Cardiff City.
Arsenal’s early season success continued with two 2-0 wins against Southampton and Marseille, with Olivier Giroud grabbing a brace against the Saints, before Jack Wilshere’s brace all but sealed qualifications past the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.
The Gunners have already won three points in Wales this year, after beating Swansea 2-1 through goals from Serge Gnabry and Aaron Ramsey.
A win for Arsenal would at least maintain their four point lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League. Whatever happens this weekend, they can not be pushed off their perch. It is a good time to be an Arsenal fan: The club is performing very well; a title push looks realistic, and £42.5m man Mesut Özil hasn’t even found his best form yet.
It will be an emotional return for a certain Aaron Ramsey this Saturday. The midfielder left Cardiff City after their FA Cup Final appearance for £5 million in 2008. Malky Mackay recently spoke about the midfielder, saying: “I hope he gets a great reception here and I am pretty sure he will.
He is a fine young man, I met him a couple of weeks ago when the Welsh squad were here. He popped in and at that point I said to him to make sure that in a couple of weeks’ time he goes easy with us.
It’s good to see a young British player grasping the nettle at Premier League level and actually being one of the main men at Arsenal.”
It is certainly not going to be an easy task for Arsenal by any means. They come into the game with a few injuries to note. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lukas Podolski and Abou Diaby remain out, while Kieran Gibbs should be back following illness that prevented him from playing against Marseille. Theo Walcott is fit and raring to go following his re-introduction into the first team set up.
Betting Tips
Having a bet on the game? Why not check out our selected bets.
ARSENAL TO WIN AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE – 12/5
Arsenal have been in scintillating form as of late, and based on talent, should win this game quite comfortably. However, it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility that Cardiff nick a goal. They are at home, after all.
AARON RAMSEY TO SCORE FIRST – 11/2
It’s written in the stars that Aaron Ramsey will score against his former employers, right? The odds of 11/2 make that all the more appealing.
OLIVIER GIROUD TO SCORE AND ARSENAL TO WIN – 19/10
Olivier Giroud is in great confidence after bagging a brace against Southampton last week, and who would bet against him nabbing one against Cardiff? If he scores again, it would be hard to see Arsenal not picking up all three points.
