Arsenal starts the New Year from the Premiership summit thanks to back to back triumphs over West Ham and Newcastle, so no wonder the Gunners are feeling confident ahead of the clash with struggling Cardiff. The Bluebirds are still searching for a new boss, but they remain above the bottom three despite squandering a two-goal lead against Sunderland.

Back in business

Arsenal have done a tremendous job to finish the first part of the campaign at the top of the Premier League standings and they have no reason to regret several successive slip-ups in December that were always going to happen at some stage. What is more, the Gunners did really well to recover from the poor run of results and showed a lot of character to return to the Premier League summit. Arsenal first came back from a goal down to record a 3-1 triumph at Boleyn Ground before recording a hard-fought triumph over in-form Newcastle at St James’ Park. The Gunners will be happy to return to their Emirates, where they host out-of-sorts Cardiff before facing arch rivals Tottenham in the FA Cup third round. Arsene Wenger again has some selection problems, but with his rotation policy producing great results, chances are his side will enjoy another comfortable triumph. Having conceded just one goal in last three Premier League fixtures, Arsenal look a good bet to win this match without conceding, especially now that Laurent Koscielny has returned.

Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey continue to miss out, but Lukas Podolski could play a part after he was an unused substitute against Newcastle.

Malky Mackay gets the boot

Cardiff City fans had avidly protested club owner’s plans to sack long-serving boss Malky Mackay over the past few weeks, but their efforts proved in vain as Vincent Tan relieved the talented manager of his duties following the 3-0 defeat to Southampton. That was hardly the right thing to do with the Bluebirds still few points clear of the relegation zone, and the search for the new boss continues. Cardiff managed to show some improvement last weekend as they looked to be cruising towards a victory against relegation rivals Sunderland, but they conceded two late goals that could end up costing them dearly in the final count. Despite scoring two goals against the Black Cats, the Bluebirds have been largely struggled up front this season, having failed to score in six of last eleven Premier League fixtures. And with Arsenal’s back line looking pretty impressive at the moment, I seriously doubt they will fare any better at the Emirates.

Craig Bellamy remains doubtful with a hamstring problem, but caretaker boss David Kerslake has no other worries at the moment.

Verdict

Two very important victories on the road helped the Gunners restore the lost confidence and they can now be trusted to get the job done against struggling Cardiff City. The Bluebirds will have problems scoring at the Emirates let alone getting something from the game, meaning a comfortable home win looks on the cards.

Top pick: Arsenal to win to nil 1.92 (23/25) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: Arsenal/Arsenal 1.67 (2/3) @ Coral

Alternative pick 2: Arsenal with -1.5 Asian handicap 1.70 (7/10) @ bet365