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Club football returns to the fold with another set of matches this weekend as Athletic Bilbao lock horns with Mikel Arteta's impressive Arsenal side in an important encounter at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Both teams have good players in their ranks and will want to win this game.
Arsenal vs Athletic Bilbao Preview
Arsenal finished in second place in the Premier League standings and have been impressive over the past year. The Gunners slumped to a shock 3-2 defeat at the hands of Villarreal in their previous game and have a point to prove this week.
Athletic Bilbao, on the other hand, finished in fourth place in the La Liga table last season and have also stepped up to the plate in recent months. The Basque outfit suffered a 3-2 defeat against Liverpool this week and will need to work hard to bounce back in this match.
Arsenal vs Athletic Bilbao Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
Arsenal have not played an official game against Athletic Bilbao on the European stage and will need to adapt to a new opponent this weekend.
Athletic Bilbao are winless in their last five matches in all competitions and have conceded a total of 12 goals in these games, with their previous victory coming by a 1-0 margin against Ponferradina last month.
Arsenal have lost each of their last two games in all competitions and have conceded four goals in these matches, with their previous victory coming by a 3-2 margin against Newcastle United last month.
Arsenal have conceded at least one goal from open play in each of their last three matches in all competitions, with their previous clean sheet coming in a friendly encounter against AC Milan last month.
Arsenal vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction
Arsenal have an impressive squad at their disposal and have a point to prove going into this game. The likes of Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice can be effective on their day and will need to be at their best in this fixture.
Athletic Bilbao can pull off an upset on their day but have not been at their best in recent weeks. Arsenal are the better team at the moment and should be able to win this game.
Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Athletic Bilbao
Arsenal vs Athletic Bilbao Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Arsenal to win
Tip 2: Game to have over 2.5 goals - Yes
Tip 3: Arsenal to score first - Yes
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About the author
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Aditya Hosangadi
Aditya is a European and international football writer at Sportskeeda, covering previews, news, post-match articles and live blogs for 5 years. During his time here, he has had the privilege of covering a press meeting during the collaboration between his favorite club Bengaluru FC and Sevilla, where he got a chance to interact with Sevilla president Jose Castro and explore the grassroots development in his city.
Aditya started following the sport after being dazzled by Ronaldinho’s silky feet at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is a Barcelona fan and unsurprisingly, his favorite manager and players are Pep Guardiola and Andres Iniesta respectively. He admires the latter for his superhuman talent and his off-pitch demeanor, and his winning goal in Spain’s 2010 World Cup final win over the Netherlands left a lasting impact on Aditya.
The match-preview specialist believes that his ongoing five-year stint at Sportskeeda has given him the ability to identify the distinct line between emotional and fact-based articles, which separates him from other journalists. For him, fact-checking is the most integral part of his writing process and he only relies on authentic platforms for data.
Aditya is a semi-professional pianist and likes to participate in concerts and recitals when not immersed in football.
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Edited by Aditya Hosangadi