Arsenal v Montpellier: Must-win game for the Gunners

Arsenal’s Champions League progress with be seriously jeopardised should they fail to come up with the goods at home to winless Montpellier.

The Gunners picked up three points when they travelled to the home of the French champions for the Group B curtain raiser and can be backed as huge 1/3 favourites to complete a precious double over their next adversaries.

These odds clearly don’t take into consideration the fact Arsene Wenger’s side have never beaten a team from France at home in this competition.

Goals are a staple in this group with only one side – Schalke in their 2-0 win at the Emirates – managing to keep a clean sheet and just the solitary game – the aforementioned Arsenal defeat – seeing the ball hit back of the net fewer than 2.5 times.

This makes the price of 1/1 for both teams to score well worth a bet with Arsenal, whose anticipated domination is the reason behind this generous offering, having failed to keep all but one side at bay in their last 15 encounters.

Fans have witnessed an astonishing 32 goals in the Gunners’ last five games, including the four scored in extra-time against Reading. They’ve scored two or three times either side of two hauls of four goals and upwards and both eventualities are well-priced here. Two or three Arsenal goals is available at 11/10, while four or more is available at 9/4.

Domestically, Montpellier have turned a bit of a corner after a torrid start to proceedings. They’re unbeaten in five games, drawing their last three in the league; 4/1 says they’ll carry this stalemate tendency over into the next game and given Arsenal’s defensive leakiness it’s got to be worth a bet.

Rene Girard’s charges earned a credible point at Schalke and were 10 minutes away from doing the same in Greece before Olympiakos struck twice in the closing stages. They’ve also picked up more points on the road in Ligue One than what they’ve managed at home so it would be foolish to expect an Arsenal rout.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date