Unai Emery earned his first Premier League victory as Arsenal boss after defeating West Ham 3-1 at the Emirates, and will look to build momentum as they gear up to face Cardiff away on Sunday.
Cardiff City are the only team in the Premier League not to have scored a goal this season (although still sporting a better goal difference than Manchester United) and will look to correct their inability to score when they clash with Arsenal, who have already conceded six goals in three opening games.
Arsenal are currently in ninth place and will need to seal a win against the Blues if they are looking to secure a top-four spot this season.
| Game | Cardiff City vs Arsenal |
| Date | Sunday, September 2 |
| Time | 1:30pm BST / 8:30am EST |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game will be shown on NBC Sports and streamed online via the NBC Sports Live app.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| NBC Sports | NBC Sports Live |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on Sky Sports or streamed through the Sky GO app.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports | Sky GO |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Cardiff City players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Etheridge, Smithies |
| Defenders | Ecuele Manga, Morrison, Bamba, Morrison, Bennett, Peltier, Cunningham |
| Midfielders | Ralls, Paterson, Murphy, Arter, Camarasa, |
| Forwards | Zohore, Ward, Madine |
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing was forced off the pitch last Saturday with a stretcher and will be forced to miss out on three months of action after damaging his posterior cruciate ligament.
Junior Hoilett was not included in the 0-0 stalemate against Huddersfield with a groin injury, and manager Warnock is likely not to risk the player against Arsenal.
Cardiff City XI: Etheridge; Camarasa, Manga, Bamba, Morrison; Bennett, Hoilett, Arter, Ralls; Reid, Ward.
| Position | Arsenal players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Cech, Leno, Martinez |
| Defenders | Bellerin, Sokratis, Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Holding, Monreal, Mavropanos |
| Midfielders | Elneny, Mkhitaryan, Ramsey, Torreira, Ozil, Iwobi, Guendouzi, Xhaka |
| Forwards | Lacazette, Aubameyang, Welbeck |
Mesut Ozil has returned to the starting XI after missing last week's victory over West Ham due to illness. Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been forced to make way to allow the German to play alongside Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in attack.
Sead Kolasinac is not expected to make his return to the squad until October as he continues to return to fitness after recovering from a knee injury, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles is a long-term absentee following damage to his left fibula.
Laurent Koscielny will also be unavailable as he continues to be sidelined with an extended injury.
Potential Arsenal XI: Cech; Bellerin, Sokratis, Mustafi, Monreal; Xhaka, Guendouzi; Ramsey; Aubameyang, Lacazette, Ozil.
Betting & Match Odds
Cardiff City are priced at odds of winning 5/1 according to bet 365, while a draw is available at 3/1. A win for the Gunners is up for 8/15.
Match Preview
Getty
Germany international Ozil is set to return to the Gunners squad after missing last week's match due to feeling unwell, and not due to a rift with manager Emery, insists the Spaniard.
The midfielder endured a tough summer after quitting the Germany national team due to the racism he received as a squad player, as well as dealing with the backlash after his former teammates in Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos publicly denied any racism occurring within the side.
Emery's side will need to improve on their dreary away record when they travel to Cardiff, having won just one Premier League game away from the Emirates in 2018 and starting their season in the worst possible way with back-to-back defeats to both Manchester City and Chelsea.
Cardiff are under pressure to score their first goal in the Premier League after being promoted from the Championship, misfiring against Bournemouth, Newcastle and Huddersfield in their opening fixtures.
They currently sit at 15th in the table – considering their lack of goals scored – but also sport a decent defensive record in which they have only conceded twice.
Warnock will be looking to exploit the leaky Arsenal defence that seemed to be the Achilles' heel of the team in their displays so far, and perhaps will be relying on their shaky back-four to register their first goal in the top-flight this season.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)