Lens vs Arsenal 10/03/2023: Back Gunners to win and keep another clean sheet
Ligue 1 side RC Lens will be buoyant for the visit of Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
Champions League, Tuesday, October 3, Kick-off 3pm (ET), live on TNT Sports 2
Predicted score
- Lens 0-2 Arsenal
Suggested bets
- Arsenal to win to nil
- Arsenal to win
- Under 2.5 goals
Lens vs Arsenal – team news
Jimmy Cabot and Wuilker Farinez are still out of action as they continue their recovery. David Costa and Massadi Haidara also miss out.
Joint top scorer Deiver Machado will operate as a left wing-back in a back five with 20-year-old Elye Wahi leading the line alone.
Arsenal’s 4-0 romp against Bournemouth allowed them to withdraw Oleksandr Zinchenko, Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka for the final 20 minutes.
While the former pairing should start again, Saka picked up a knock that could see Leandro Trossard join Gabriel Jesus and Nketiah in attack.
Lens vs Arsenal – verdict
Lens failed to win any of their first six matches this season, losing four and conceding 12 goals in the process.
A 1-1 draw against Sevilla in the Champions League seems to have been a turning point, with the French side picking up back-to-back league wins since.
Franck Haise’s side were forced to defend for long periods at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium and were able to carry that performance forward.
Arsenal thrashed Bournemouth 4-0 at the weekend to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 matches.
Mikel Arteta’s side beat PSV Eindhoven by the same scoreline in their first UCL group stage match and have now recorded four clean sheets in five.
That’s ominous for a Lens side who are averaging 0.80 goals per game this season in the absence of last season’s star striker Lois Openda.
Son Heung-Min is the only player to breach Arsenal’s barriers in 513 minutes of football, while only two of Len’s five goalscorers have found the net more than once.
It is notable that the French side have netted in 25 of 27 Ligue 1 home matches but Openda and another departed star, Seko Fofano, played a role in the majority of their goals.
Arsenal have yet to concede on their travels this season. The Gunners have shown how they’ve matured with 1-0 wins over Palace, Everton and Brentford.
It’s never easy to win away in Europe but Arteta’s side seem to have a rhythm and a formula, while Lens are yet to prove.
