Arsenal vs. PSV Betting Tips: 18/1 Bet Builder in exciting Group A clash

We may have had the prospect of a tasty top-of-the-table Premier League clash between Arsenal and Man City snatched from our grasp, but The Gunners are still in action on Thursday night in what promises to be an exciting rearranged Europa League match at home to PSV (6pm, BT Sport 1).

Both Arsenal and PSV are enjoying superb winning runs in all competitions as they tussle for supremacy in Group A.

Arsenal are three wins from three games at the top of the pile, meaning a fourth straight victory on Thursday will propel Mikel Arteta’s men five points clear with just two games to go. They’ve been in astonishing form this season with 12 wins from their 13 matches in all competitions, however it’s fair to say they survived quite the scare away to Leeds on Sunday.

PSV, who are managed by ex-Man Utd star Ruud van Nistelrooy, are 2nd both domestically (to Ajax) and in Europe, but a statement win at the Emirates will leapfrog them above Arsenal into top spot ahead of the reverse fixture next week. The Dutch side are currently undefeated in the Europa League with two wins and a draw on the board, scoring a whopping 11 goals from their three matches so far.

The visitors are enjoying a four game winning run and can be backed at 5/1 to extend this sizzling streak to five. However, it’s in-form Arsenal who are odds-on for an eighth win on the spin, whereas a draw is hovering around the 7/2 mark.

One PSV player who Arsenal will need to be extremely wary of is Cody Gakpo, who is in astonishing form right now. The Dutchman - an 80/1 outsider in the World Cup Top Scorer Odds - has accumulated 13 goals and 11 assists in just 18 matches for PSV this season, which has no doubt added a fair load to his price tag.

An excellent ball-striker with a jukebox of tricks up his sleeve, the talented 22-year-old has already bagged three goals so far in this season’s Europa League. Gakpo has hit the two shots on target mark in all three games so far, and is priced at an attractive 10/3 with Paddy Power for this bet to land for the fourth straight game in Europe.

We can hopefully look forward to an entertaining end-to-end clash on Thursday given that this game pits together two in-form teams with plenty of avenues for goals in their respective locker rooms.

PSV have scored 11 goals in their three group stage games so far and make the trip to London on the back of a 6-1 tonking of FC Utrecht. Arsenal may have kept back-to-back clean sheets but anyone who saw their games against Leeds and Bodo/Glimt will know how fortunate Arteta’s men are. As for the other end of the pitch, Arsenal have scored in all 13 matches this season, and three in each of their last three home games. 

Basically, we’re expecting goals. Which leads us on to the first part of this three-pronged BetBuilder in which we are after a goal from Eddie Nketiah (11/10), who has scored in four of his last five Europa League group stage games, including goals against Bodo/Glimt and FC Zurich so far in Group A.

As discussed in the section above, goal-machine Cody Gakpo is on tip-top form right now. He has 11 on the board this season including three in Europe and he's 11/4 to enhance that tally with a goal in London.

Combine these two tips with PSV double-chance (win or draw) and it forms an 18/1 shot courtesy of bet365. Arteta has a tendency to make changes in Europe and with the matches coming every few days he’s likely to tinker once again, while a free-scoring and in-form PSV could prove to be a very tough test.