Gunners still firing blanks away from home

BY BILLY BUNTER 6:38PM 17 MAR 2016

There was plenty to like about Arsenal's performance in Barcelona on Wednesday night and restricting Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar to one goal each isn't a bad effort.

The Gunners are good at plucky defeats to European giants such as Barca and Bayern Munich but beating less glamorous teams is a bit of a problem for them.

Arsene Wenger's men have won only two of their last nine away games in the Premier League and that lean spell could continue at Everton.

The early Saturday kick-off does Wenger's men no favours and Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley and Aaron Lennon – the blue half of Merseyside's equivalent of Messi, Suarez and Neymar – could cause them all sorts of trouble.

Everton are a bit like Arsenal in that they play some brilliant football but find ridiculous ways to lose or draw games they should win easily.

Look at their last two league games at Goodison Park. They had about 80 attempts on goal and 160 per cent of possession against West Brom (I'll check those stats later) yet lost 1-0.

And, leading 2-0 with 12 minutes to go against West Ham, they somehow managed to lose 3-2. That's pure Arsenal self-destruction.

Another mind-blowing stat is that Everton have lost five of their last seven home league games but they saw off Chelsea in the FA Cup at Goodison last weekend and I'm backing them to take advantage of Arsenal's Camp Nou hangover.

I can't resist a small bet on West Ham to win at Chelsea in the 3pm kick-offs. The Hammers have been a joy to watch this season with Dimitri Payet at the heart of things and Chelsea would love to have a creative spark like Payet in their attack.

West Ham are nine points better off than Chelsea and have won at Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool this term. Their recent form is great, with that 3-2 win at Everton, a well-deserved home victory over Tottenham and an FA Cup draw at Manchester United.

I'm feeling far more bullish after giving myself that stirring pre-match pep talk. Forget a “small bet” on West Ham – I'm ready to supersize my Hammers punt.