Arsenal will have their eye on top spot in the Premier League when they host Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. With Manchester City playing on Sunday, the Gunners can go top for a day, at least, and to do that they need to pick up all three points against the newly-promoted outfit.
Arsene Wenger's men are currently on a terrific run, winning all of their last six Premier League matches, while they have impressed in the Champions League as well. That early blip, when they lost to Liverpool and just about held on for a draw against Leicester City, seems to be a thing of the past, and what Wenger will not want on his 67th birthday is another start of a crisis talk.
If Arsenal continue to play the way they have done over the last couple of months, that crisis talk is unlikely to happen, what with the defence, led by the excellent partnership of Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi, looking good and the attack, with Alexis Sanchez, Alex Iwobi, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil, all in brilliant form, scoring goals for fun.
Wenger is experienced enough to know this run will come to an end at some point, but considering the close nature of the Premier League this season, where seven-eight teams are all capable of finishing in the top four, the Arsenal manager will want to carry this run for as long as possible.
Arsenal are currently level on points with Manchester City, and the pressure to pick up a win could be further cranked up by the time Wenger's side take the field, with Tottenham capable of going top of the table, if they beat Bournemouth in the early match on Saturday.
Middlesbrough will hope the pressure is as high as possible on Arsenal at the start of this match, and while nobody is tipping Aitor Karanka's men to really trouble the home side, the beauty of the Premier League is that any team can beat any team on any given day.
However, with goals and points hard to come by this season – Middlesbrough have found the back of the net just seven times in eight matches, while picking up six points to lie 17th in the table – this could be a contest they might want to forget quickly.
Wenger's teams have the penchant of disappointing just when everything is looking nice and rosy, but if the real Arsenal show up on Saturday, this match will only go one way.
Where to Watch Live
The Arsenal vs Middlesbrough Premier League football match is set to begin at 7.30pm IST, 3pm BST, 10am ET. Live Streaming and TV information is below.
India: TV: Star Sports 4 and Star Sports Select HD1. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: No live coverage. Radio: BBC Radio 5 Live and Arsenal Player.
USA: TV: NBCSN. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live.
Thailand, Middle East: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
Australia: TV: Optus Sport. Live Streaming: Optus Online.
France: TV: SFR Sport.
Canada: TV: Sportsnet. Live Streaming: Watch Sportsnet.
Hong Kong, China: TV: LeTV and Guangdong Sports.
Malaysia: TV: Astro SuperSport3.
Singapore: TV: Eleven Plus.
Caribbean: TV: Flow Sports.
