Arsenal V Montpellier Champions League
The Gunners kick off their Champions League campaign as the outside shot of the four English teams involved this season. The Gunners warmed up well by recording back to back victories in the Premier League for the season on the weekend, a 6-1 thrashing of Southampton. Last season’s French Champions Montpellier have struggled to get out of the starting blocks in the league, picking up three defeats in their opening five matches. Can early season form be enough of advantage see the Gunners get off to a good start?
Arsenal v Montpellier Champions League Betting Odds at online bookmaker Bet365:
Arsenal 6/5, Draw 9/4, Montpellier 9/4
Verdict:
French side Montpellier just haven’t shown up this season. Their defence has been wide open and they suffered their third defeat of the early season on the weekend. They won’t entirely be relishing the trip to the Emirates at the moment. After blowing the league away last season, it has been a tough act to follow for themselves. Arsenal have had a steady start to their new season, exploding into life up front as they transition to life without Robin van Persie. The big positive of the Gunners this season has been their defence, as they have only conceded one goal in their opening four matches. If they keep that kind of consistency going in Europe, where they have vast experience over the French side, then they should be able to kick things off with a win. A confident Arsenal may be worth backing at an -0.75 Asian Handicap price of 8/5 with online bookmaker Bet365.
Stat Attack:
This is the first time that the two sides have met competitively
Montpellier have only faced an English side once in European competition
Arsenal have not lost a match day one fixture since 2003
Arsenal have made it out of the group stage 12 consecutive seasons
Online bookmaker promotion:
Online bookmaker Unibet offer some Champions League 0-0 insurance for their customers. The bookie will refund losing bets on the Correct Score, Halftime/Fulltime, First Goalscorer and Last Goalscorer bets placed on a Champions League match which ends in a 0-0 draw. Great Champions League coverage from popular online bookmaker Unibet who offer a risk free £20 bet for new customers registering an account with them. Just place your first bet on a new Unibet account and if it loses, the betting site will refund you up to the maximum of £20 with a free bet.
Arsenal v Montpellier Betting Preview:
Two sides with contrasting early seasons on the domestic front. Arsenal stated slowly in the new Premier League season, firing blanks in their first two matches. But they have come to life with boss Arsene Wenger tinkering with his front line, and summer signing Olivier Giroud will make a rapid return to face his former club. Giroud was Ligue 1’s joint top goalscorer last season with a haul of 21 goals, but has yet to open his account in the EPL with Arsenal. The Gunners should hold a big advantage here because Montpellier just aren’t looking the side that they were last season. Clearly Giroud was their main man and not only have they lost him, but defensively they look a bit lost.
Arsenal have gotten more and more fluent as the early domestic season has worn on and this should be a confident start for them. Olympiakos and Schalke await in the group also for Arsenal, but they can really heap some more pressure on the French outfit here. The experience of Wenger here should produce results. They beat Marseille in the Group Stage last season and that was only their second win in 12 Champions League away matches (with eight defeats in that twelve). They face up against Man City next in the Premier League but shouldn’t be distracted too much by that. Defensively they should be strong enough to get a result.
