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ARSENAL will look to secure back-to-back Premier League wins when Ipswich Town arrive at the Emirates Stadium on Friday.

SunSport betting experts have previewed the contest and selected the best bets, tips and exclusive sign-up bonuses from our leading betting partners.

Find The Sun’s betting publishing principles here

Arsenal vs Ipswich preview

In-form Arsenal welcome wobbling Ipswich Town to the Emirates for Friday’s Premier League showdown.

And Mikel Arteta’s side will be confident of securing maximum points following successive victories over Crystal Palace, scoring eight goals in the space of four days.

The Gunners are now unbeaten in their last ten matches in all competitions (W7, D3) and boast a formidable home record with eight wins and no losses from their 10 competitive matches – including six clean sheets.

Arsenal are back to being 3/1 second-favourites for the title ahead of Chelsea following their goalless draw at Everton, but every game is now must-win with Liverpool six points ahead of them having played a game less.

It will be a daunting trip for struggling Ipswich Town, especially now that Arsenal clicked back into gear offensively.

The Gunners have scored 5+ goals in six different away games in all competitions in 2024, the most ever by an English top-flight club in a single calendar year.

Ipswich, meanwhile, appear to be heading in the opposite direction following Saturday’s 4-0 thumping to Newcastle at Portman Road.

Still the only side in the Premier League without a home win, The Tractor Boys are stranded in 18th position with four losses in their last five matches.

A crumb of comfort for Kieran McKenna’s side is that Arsenal talisman Bukayo Saka looks set for a spell on the sidelines, although they still managed four of their last seven goals without him on the pitch.

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Arsenal vs Ipswich preview betting odds

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Odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.

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Arsenal vs Ipswich preview betting tips and predictions

Goals to flow

Arsenal should be capable of scoring a handful when Ipswich Town visit. As mentioned, the Gunners are back in the goalscoring groove – especially at home where they’ve netted 2+ goals in 10 of their 13 competitive games.

Only Brentford and Tottenham can better Arsenal’s tally of 17 top-flight goals at home, while only Leicester have conceded more than Ipswich Town on their travels (16). McKenna’s side have also shipped 4+ goals away own three occasions this season.

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Assist

Declan Rice looks an interesting price at 19/5 to provide an assist against Ipswich Town. The England international, 25, has provided five assists in 21 appearances this season with his latest arriving against Crystal Palace over the weekend.

Rice, who has taken 48 league corners this season, may well take set-pieces from the other side with Bukayo Saka absent. He’s also created 24 chances for his colleagues in 15 appearances with Saka Arsenal’s only player to have created more – including Martin Odegaard.

Rice has the 13th highest xA (expected assists) of any player in the Premier League.

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ARSENAL will look to secure back-to-back Premier League wins when Ipswich Town arrive at the Emirates Stadium on Friday.

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THE World Darts Championship has reached its Christmas break – and the first nine days have been packed with incredible drama.

A RECORD number of seeds have been knocked out in the first two rounds – Dave Chisnall and Rob Cross making it 14 overall with the likes of Gary Anderson and Michael Smith also among those already out.

Elsewhere, Luke Littler has issued a deep apology for denying a fan the chance to earn £60k having failed to hit a nine-darter during his thrilling opening match against Ryan Meikle.

But hopefully, the teen sensation can do it in round 3 which returns on Friday, December 27.

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IT has been a tough few years for high streets across the UK, with many retailers pulling the shutters down on sites and more likely to follow in 2025.

Shoppers have faced a swathe of closures on their local high streets in recent years as many favourite chains have closed branches.

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The high street is facing further store closures in 2025[/caption]

High street shops have seen lower footfall and less money landing in the tills as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.

People have naturally cut back on retail therapy as they have found they have less cash in their back pockets.

The decline in spending along with high rents and costs, have already forced many chains to pursue restructuring plans and close locations.

Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed almost 10,500 UK shops closed for the final time in 2023.

The 12-month period also saw more than 119,000 jobs lost across the sector.

According to the centre’s data 2024 had already seen 8,543 stores closed by mid-November and more than 130,000 retail jobs lost.

And, several retailers have warned that October’s budget, which saw employer National Insurance contributions increased, will lead them to increase prices and possibly reduce their outlet count.

The start of 2025 will be no different with WHSmith, Monki and Millets all planning closures.

Others are also likely to evaluate their estates following the crucial Christmas period and ahead of the implementation of those budget measures.

Of course, it’s not all bad news. In some cases branches will be replaced with bigger and better shops.

Retailers regularly open and close shops for a number of reasons – not just because they are struggling.

For example, they may have a store nearby that is performing better or it may be because they want to pick a spot that has higher footfall, such as in a retail park.

Here are all the shops we know are shutting next year so far…

WHSmith

Stationery retailer WHSmith will close its Winton branch in Bournemouth, Dorset, in 2025.

The shop will close for good on February 15.

It comes after the retailer closed its Boscombe branch in the same town in June 2024.

WHSmith has shuttered 10 stores since March 2023, including sites in Manchester and Bicester.

The closures also included branches in Somerset and Sale, which closed in September.

Despite these latest closures WHSmith has 1,400 UK stores and is on the expansion trail.

It had announced plans to open 110 new shops in 2024 in airports, railway stations and hospitals.

More than 50 of them were in the US and 15 in the UK. The retailer also opened a series of Toys R Us concessions in its UK stores.

While still expanding, WHSmith had announced plans to cut costs of up to £10million, following a 4% drop in sales.

Monki

H&M-owned fashion chain Monki has announced plans to close its seven UK stores next year.

Those earmarked for closure include a site on London‘s Carnaby Street and Manchester‘s Arandale Centre.

H&M has said it will close Monki stores or merge them with another of its fashion brands, Weekday.

The Scandinavian retail giant wants to blend the two brands together to make a one-stop shop that appeals to young shoppers.

H&M has not yet confirmed exactly when the stores will shut for good.

The Entertainer

Toy giant The Entertainer has confirmed plans to close its outlet at the Cameron Toll shopping centre in Edinburgh on January 4 2025.

It will mark the end of a decade-long run for the shop, which opened in 2014.

No reason has been given for the closure, but boss Andrew Murphy  said October’s Budget would impact the firm’s finances.

He said the government’s decision to increase employer’s National Insurance contributions had forced the group to abandon plans to open two new stores.

Co-op

Central Co-op is offloading 19 food stores in various locations across middle England.

Three of the food stores will reopen as B&M branches, while the remaining 16 are being sold to Samy Limited.

Independent convenience chain Samy currently runs 32 Budgens, Spar, Londis and Premier stores across the UK.

Central Co-op said the 19 branches had been “financially unsustainable for some time”.

All 19 shops will be shut wit by the end of May 2025.

Despite the closures, Central Co-op opened five new food stores in 2024 and refurbished a further 35.

Millets

Millets is set to close six stores and has launched huge closing down sales at the branches.

All the affected stores are expected to close their doors early in 2025.

Four of the locations will be reopened and rebranded as Go Outdoors sites, a sister brand to Millets.

These include sites in Lowestoft, Douglas, York and Grimsby.

A further Millets site in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, will not be rebranded and is set to close permanently in January.

JD Outdoors, the owner of Millets, appears to be prioritising the expansion of its sister brand Go Outdoors.

There are now 96 Go Outdoors sites across the county.

Homebase

Four Homebase stores in Derry/Londonderry, Inverurie, Omagh and Fife are expected to close in the new year.

The retailer closed six sites in December, with all 10 having been acquired by Sainsbury’s to be converted to supermarkets.

A further 70 Homebase stores were saved after being purchased by the owner of The Range, when the retailer fell into administration.

Homebase had been owned by Hilco Capital, which had closed 93 stores since its takeover in 2018.

Hilco bought the hardware store chain for £1 from Australian firm Wesfarmers, which had paid £340million for the brand.

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