Arsenal vs Bolton Prediction

Arsenal host League One opposition in Bolton in their first appearance in the League Cup this season. The Gunners last won the competition in 1993, while Bolton have never lifted it, despite winning four FA Cups in their history.

Key Stats

• Arsenal are currently one of just four Premier League teams unbeaten this season
• They have eight league goals spread across six different players
• Bolton’s last three games gave produced 16 goals in total
• Dion Charles is their top scorer so far this season with four

Arsenal vs Bolton Previews, Form and Players to Watch

Arsenal, despite conceding late in their weekend match against Bolton, come into the match in better form, having not lost so far this season.

Bolton have won just once in the last five. That came at the weekend when they beat Reading 5-2.

Arsenal Preview

Predicted Lineup: D. Raya, B. White, W. Saliba, J. Kiwior, R. Calafiori, Jorginho, T. Partey, M. Lewis-Skelly, E. Nwaneri, G. Jesus, R. Sterling

Arsenal will be disappointed with a couple of their recent results, namely their two Premier League draws against Brighton and Manchester City. They were ahead in both games but down to 10 men and failed to keep a hold of their leads.

David Raya will likely start again after impressing in the Champions League, as on loan goalkeeper Neto is cup tied in this competition with his parent club Bournemouth.

Riccardo Calafiori was impressive against Manchester City, scoring an excellent goal, but he did have to come off late on with an apparent injury. Considering the number of Arsenal injuries currently, that would probably be a cause for concern, however it didn’t look too bad so he could play in midweek.

Bolton Preview

Predicted Lineup: N. Baxter, E. Toal, R. Santos, G. Johnson, J. Cogley, J. Matete, J. Sheehan, G. Thomason, S. Schon, D. Charles, V. Adeboyejo

Bolton have been less than impressive this season so far. They opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over Leyton Orient, but have since won just once more and lost three, including a 4-0 loss against Huddersfield.

Their second league win came at the weekend, so they could start with a similar line up to that game. Charles, their top goalscorer this season, got a hat-trick including two penalties. He has been impressive at times this season, but winning at the Emirates is going to be a very difficult task.

Head to Head Stats - Arsenal vs Bolton

These two sides have met just once in the League Cup, and that was their second most recent meeting. The match took place in October 2011, and Arsenal won 2-1, with goals from Andrey Arshavin and Park Chu-Young.

The sides haven’t met since that season, with the two Premier League matches 3-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates, and 0-0 at what was named the Reebok Stadium at the time.

Throughout their history, Arsenal have had the better of the matches between the two sides, having won 58 and lost 39 of the meetings between the two. There have also been 36 draws.

1st Feb 2012 - Bolton 0-0 Arsenal - Premier League

25th Oct 2011 - Arsenal 2-1 Bolton - League Cup

24th Sept 2011 - Arsenal 3-0 Bolton - Premier League

24th April 2011 - Bolton 2-1 Arsenal - Premier League

11th Sept 2010 - Arsenal 4-1 Bolton - Premier League

Betting Tips for Arsenal vs Bolton

This match should be too easy for the Premier League side and I don’t see them losing unless they put out an academy side. Bolton aren’t anywhere near where they were the last time these two met.

The Gunners over the last year have become a defensively excellent side, so playing against League One quality attacks should be no problem for them.

With all of this in mind, our team of professional experts have decided that the best tip for this game is for Arsenal to Win to Nil. Odds of 8/11 on Betfred means that a £10 bet could see a potential return of £17.27.

(odds subject to change)

Final Prediction

Arsenal 3-0 Bolton

Bolton will avoid a demolition job because Arsenal will likely take it easy after going two ahead. Mikel Arteta will want to rest some of his important players, but will still want to win the game, so a mixture of youth talent and Premier League experience will make light work of the opposition.