Martinez expects Arsenal to be firing on all cylinders

REUTERS – Everton manager Roberto Martinez does not expect Arsenal to be hampered by a Champions League “hangover” when his side travel to the Emirates in the Premier League on Saturday.

Everton, humiliated 3-0 at home by Manchester United last weekend, face an Arsenal side that have won five of their last six league games and sit second in the table, two points adrift of leaders Manchester City.

Martinez acknowledged that his side, who are ninth on 13 points, typically struggle against the London club, who beat German champions Bayern Munich in the Champions league on Tuesday.

“I wouldn’t say a team as experienced as Arsenal will suffer a hangover,” Martinez told reporters. “When you play two games in a week, you hope it will allow us to be fresh but I don’t expect it to have a negative effect on Arsenal.

“They have a big enough squad to find fresh legs,” he added.

Martinez’s side have beaten the Gunners just once in 17 attempts, but with Tom Cleverley, Steven Pienaar and Bryan Oviedo nearing full fitness the Spaniard hopes they will have a better chance of getting the three points.

“From a medical point of view I would say he (Cleverley) will be 100 percent ready, it’s just trying to work on his match fitness more than anything,” Martinez said.

“It’s been challenging for us. We’ve had to find solutions to injuries and it’s been really pleasing.

“We have shown signs of a really interesting season. This is now a very important period for us. Arsenal is not a fixture historically we do well in.”

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)