BT Sport pundit Michael Owen is predicting a “comfortable” away win for Arsenal when they travel to face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

The former Liverpool and Manchester United striker says he has been impressed with head coach Mikel Arteta and would also not be surprised if the Gunners finish in the Champions League places this season:

“I think they will have lofty ambitions for the upcoming season and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them pushing hard for a place in the top four come the end of the season. I fancy a comfortable 3-1 win for the Gunners in this one.”

Owen is very optimistic about Arsenal’s season and it is certainly justified considering how well Arteta’s side finished last campaign, but it is probably best not to get too excited about the London club’s prospects.

Despite the new season being close at hand, the Gunners’ transfer business is far from done, and it is going to take time to build a squad which the manager is happy with. That, of course, doesn’t preclude them from performing well on the pitch, but there are likely to be a few more bumps in the road before Arteta has a team capable of performing consistently on a week by week basis.