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Arsenal will want to continue their winning run | Arsenal FC via Getty Images
A look at the pundit predictions for Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Burnley.
Arsenal are back in action on Saturday when they face Burnley at Turf Moor. The Gunners have been in sizzling form of late, now four points clear at the top of the Premier League table. Mikel Arteta’s men are navigating a very busy part of their season, with the current run of fixtures proving relentless, but they will be expecting to continue their winning run here.
Burnley will have other ideas having won each of their last two to kick-start their season. Ahead of the game, we have rounded up the predictions from SportsKeeda’s Paul Merson and BBC Sport’s Chris Sutton.
Paul Merson
“It all depends on how quickly Arsenal can break Burnley down. We saw how Liverpool struggled to do that for a long time before nicking a late win at Burnley earlier this season. Burnley have performed well at home. They sit back and play to their strengths, which is not a bad thing if you're a newly-promoted team looking to stay up in this league.
“The way Arsenal are playing, if Burnley can even get a shot on goal, it's a job well done! That's how good Arsenal are. I read this crazy stat the other day - if Arsenal would have conceded a goal from every shot they faced this season, they would still have 13 or 14 points at this stage. That stat is just out of this world. Arsenal have been compared to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea of the past. The difference between that Chelsea team and Arsenal is that they did it for the whole season. Arsenal have only done it for nine games, and still have three quarters of the season left to play.
“If Arsenal want to be as good as that Chelsea team, they have to concede not more than four goals in every nine games coming up. If that happens in this day and age, it will quite simply be unbelievable.
“I said on 19th September that if Arsenal get four points out of their games against Manchester City and Newcastle United, they win the league. Arsenal did it and I stand by what I said. In fact, the title race could be done and dusted in the next two weeks! Arsenal face Burnley and Sunderland before the international break, while Liverpool have Aston Villa and Manchester City. I expect Arsenal to win both them games and I'm not backing Liverpool to win this weekend. If City and Liverpool then take points off each other in gameweek 11, I think Arsenal will win the league quite comfortably
“I even believe Arsenal could enjoy a good run in the Champions League because by the time it reaches the latter stages, we could be looking at a situation where they would have sealed the league title already! Prediction: Burnley 0-2 Arsenal.”
Chris Sutton
“Arsenal know how to win games in so many different ways, and that puts them in an unbelievably strong position. They have got flair players, but also have this amazing record of scoring from set-pieces and are strong defensively too.
“We talk about machines when I go up against AI or a computer game at predictions but, let's face it, Arsenal are a machine at the moment and no-one is stopping them. There have been prettier Gunners teams than this, but they are just so effective and they don't concede.
“That's why we might see a fair few results where it is '1-0 to the Arsenal' - as their old song under George Graham in the 1990s used to go - but when they hit the straps there will still be games where they take teams apart.
“Like the other promoted teams, Burnley have been really competitive and ran Liverpool and Manchester City close earlier in the season, despite losing on both occasions. The Clarets' late win at Wolves last week was a massive result for them and it really takes the pressure off them here.
“You don't get many free hits in the Premier League but this is one of them - Burnley are probably not going to get anything out of this game, but it doesn't matter too much. I am expecting Scott Parker's side to be robust, keep it close, and stay in the game, which is a sign of where they are at... but Arsenal will still win - and you can probably guess what score I am going for. Prediction: 0-1.”
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