They last failed to score in four consecutive Premier League away games in February 2006.
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Since the appointment of Rafa Benitez, Isco has been reduced to a fringe player – he has started only nine games of the 30 played by Madrid this season.
How wrong they all were.
The value in backing an away win diminishes further when accounts for the fact that Arsenal have lost one of their 18 Premier League home matches against Manchester City (W11 D6 L1) while City’s 22 EPL defeats against Wenger’s team is their joint-highest number of defeats against any opponent (along with Chelsea). United are just a few points behind us.
Nevertheless, forward Raheem Sterling insists finishing top of the pile domestically is the priority for the 2011-12 and 2013-14 Premier League champions, who were last-gasp 2-1 winners against Swansea City in their previous fixture.
The Citizens are third in the table, one point behind the Gunners.
The Belgian has scored seven goals in his last six games in the league, and given Leicester’s penchant for conceding only to come from behind and win, Lukaku looks a good bet to find the back of the net once again this weekend.
This Christmas period is grueling and heaven forbid a player like Olivier Giroud doesn’t get through it unscathed; we will be in trouble.
Brozovic will be available in January with an asking price of £11.9m but Arsenal are prepared to pay more than that, which would put them front of the queue for the 23-year-old and would ensure they don’t hit any problems in negotiations.
While Claudio Ranieri’s Foxes remain in the mix, many still believe Monday’s protagonists are the two sides more likely to be doing battle for the title when it comes to the business end of the season.
“I’d love them to do it but I don’t like tipping people too early”. In the last five years, only one team that has been in first place on December 25th has not gone on to win the title: Liverpool in 2013/14.
“When you look at the table, we [Arsenal] are in a good position”, Pires said.
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Monday Night Football is back with another huge match this week with Arsenal coming head-to-head with Premier League favourites Manchester City. With five of the best performers in the league in David Silva, Mezut Ozil, Sergio Aguero, Alexis Sanchez and De Bruyne, both sides pack the punch and possess the extra quality to outrun the likes of Leicester and United.
