Lens vs Arsenal prediction, odds and betting tips

Arsenal will be looking to maintain their 100 percent record in the Champions League this season.

Lens vs Arsenal odds

⚡ Quick Lens - Arsenal tips

• Arsenal to win to nil - 13/8 with bet365
• Arsenal/Arsenal half-time/full-time - 7/5 with bet365
• Bukayo Saka to score any time - 7/4 with bet365

Lens vs Arsenal predictions

Mikel Arteta will insist he is fully focused on Arsenal’s game against Lens on Tuesday. In actual fact, he will already have half an eye on this weekend.

On Sunday the Gunners will host Manchester City in the final Premier League fixture before the October international break.

It will be a blockbuster clash. City did the double over Arsenal last term - had that been reversed, Arteta’s team would have won the title.

Arsenal were in the Europa League last term, so balancing domestic and continental commitments is not new to them.

But the Champions League is another level entirely and Arsenal will be tested as they seek to be competitive in both tournaments in 2023/24.

They got their European campaign off to an excellent start on matchday one. PSV were no match for Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, as the hosts ran out 4-0 winners to lay down an early marker in Group B.

A 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby followed, before Arsenal thumped Bournemouth 4-0 at the weekend.

The Cherries are still finding their feet under Andoni Iraola, so it was not the toughest assignment the Gunners have had this season.

There was still plenty to admire in their display, however: Arsenal were productive in attack and solid at the back. 

It is a combination that Arteta will hope to see against Lens in the Champions League - and again when Manchester City head to north London at the weekend.

📝 Lens vs Arsenal betting tips

Arsenal can make it two wins from two in the Champions League when they do battle with Lens on Tuesday night.

Arsenal to win to nil - 13/8 (bet365)

Arsenal were never overly troubled at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday. Bournemouth mustered just one shot on target and finished the match with an xG of 0.64.

Arsenal, for their part, landed eight shots on target and registered an xG of 3.43, underlying their dominance on the south coast.

Arteta will have been delighted with both elements of his team’s performance, but the clean sheet probably pleased him even more than the four goals.

Arsenal have played four away games in all competitions so far this season and they have shut out their hosts in each of them.

That is some record, even though none of Crystal Palace, Everton, Brentford or Bournemouth are scoring a great deal of goals right now.

Still, Arsenal are proving to be very solid indeed at opposition stadiums, which bodes well for this trip across the Channel.

After tinkering with his defensive selection early on, Arteta has reverted to Arsenal’s strongest back four of late: Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Oleks Zinchenko. Meanwhile David Raya is an upgrade on Aaron Ramsdale between the sticks.

Another clean sheet beckons on Tuesday.

Arsenal/Arsenal half-time/full-time - 7/5 (bet365)

Lens outperformed expectations last season. Tipped to be top-six contenders at best, Franck Haise’s side instead mounted an unlikely Ligue 1 title challenge.

In the end they finished just a point behind Paris Saint-Germain. Given the difference in resources between the two clubs, it was a remarkable achievement from Lens.

That runners-up berth earned them a place in the Champions League for the first time since 2002/03.

This is their third appearance in the tournament. In the first, in the group stage of 1998/99, Lens drew 1-1 with Arsenal at home and then beat them 1-0 in the return fixture at Wembley Stadium.

Needless to say, Haise would settle for a similar pair of results this time around.

Lens drew 1-1 with Sevilla on matchday one and have won two Ligue 1 matches on the bounce, but this has still been a tough start to the campaign for the French team, who have failed to win six of their eight games to date.

Arsenal should ultimately have too much quality in this one. We will probably see the visitors attempt to establish an early lead in a bid to take control as soon as possible.

Do not be surprised if the Gunners are ahead at minute 45 and are still leading at the final whistle.

Bukayo Saka to score any time - 7/4 (bet365)

Bukayo Saka was an injury doubt for the thrashing of Bournemouth at the weekend, but it was not a shock when the pre-match team sheets revealed he was fit to start.

Saka is arguably the most durable outfielder in the Premier League right now. He recently set a new club record by appearing in 87 consecutive top-flight games. Few would bet against him reaching a century before the end of the year.

Put simply, Saka starts whenever he is fit - and this is a player who seldom gets injured.

The England international scored against Bournemouth on Saturday, taking his tally for the campaign to five goals in nine games.

Given his consistency, reliability and maturity, it is easy to forget that Saka is still only 22 years old. Back him to make his mark against Lens at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

📺 How to watch Lens vs Arsenal

• Location: Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France.
• Date and time: Tuesday 3 October 2023, 8pm.
• How to watch: TNT Sports 2.

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