This Sunday, Arne Slot’s Liverpool travel down to the Emirates to take on Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, in the biggest matchup in gameweek 9 of the English Premier League.
One of the most anticipated fixtures on the Premier League calendar takes place this weekend, as Arsenal host Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.
This is a fixture steeped in history, providing so many headline moments.
Can anyone forget Andrey Arshavin’s four goal haul in that 4-4 draw at Anfield, or Mohamed Salah running nearly the full length of the pitch, before cooly finishing past the goalkeeper in a 4-0 routing in 2017.
Both teams have been touted as early title contenders, and would see a result this weekend as something well within their reach.
The Dreamer's favourites
Following last week’s loss to Bournemouth, Mikel Arteta’s men currently sit third on the Premier League table, having won three of their last five games and playing out an interesting 2-2 draw away at Manchester City.
Arteta’s men have earned plaudits for their pragmatic approach, with the side boasting of one of the best defences in Europe at the moment.
Apart from a surprising amount of sending offs, the Gunners have also struggled at the other side of the pitch.
Despite creating almost four big chances per game, they are only converting around 1.9 - barely half of them.
They currently rank highest for big chances missed, failing to convert 20 of such chances so far.
Nevertheless, Arsenal remains a very tough team to beat any day. They remain tough to break down, and with players like Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka , they remain a very potent threat on counter attacks.
Their biggest not so secret weapon has come from set-pieces, corner kicks to be precise. With three huge goals against Manchester City, Tottenham, and a last-minute winner against Leicester, all coming directly from corner kicks.
Currently on a seven match unbeaten streak at the Emirates, Arsenal will hope they can preserve that record with a positive result on Sunday.
Slotting in smoothly
Taking over from Jurgen Klopp was never going to be an easy task for new Liverpool boss Arne Slot, but the former Feyenoord manager is adapting very well to life in the Premier League.
While Arsenal play the more pragmatic style on paper, it is Liverpool who has the better defence of the two teams.
Slot’s Reds have only conceded two goals in the Premier League this season, having kept an impressive five clean sheets from eight games played.
The Reds are slowly moving away from Klopp’s heavy-metal approach, to a style which looks to control possession as much as possible, with Liverpool behind only Manchester City and Tottenham for average possession in the league.
With one loss in eight games, and the stingiest defence in the league, Arne Slot will hope that his boys can continue from where they stopped against Chelsea and continue their commanding start to the season with three points at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta on the other hand will be looking to bounce back following last week’s shock loss to Bournemouth.
Finishing as runner ups in the last two seasons, more than a few fans and pundits alike have tipped Arsenal to go all the way this season.
If they are going to be the ones to topple Pep Guardiola’s regime, a big result against a fellow title contender like Liverpool is a step in the right direction.
This is your classic six point clash, where both sides need a win to keep their title charges going.
Arsenal vs Liverpool lineups and team news
Arsenal have endured a tough six weeks without their captain and chief creator, Martin Odegaard. The Norwegian playmaker is still out until at least November.
The biggest concerns for the Gunners is the trio of Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Bukayo Saka, who are all major doubts for this game, having picked up various injuries in the last few weeks.
Another massive miss for Arsenal will undoubtedly be that of William Saliba.
The 23 year old French defender is a key part of the core at Arsenal, and following a red card against Bournemouth last week, he won't feature in this game against Liverpool.
Liverpool’s biggest miss is still that of Alisson. The legendary shot stopper has been out since picking up a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace a few weeks ago.
Diogo Jota is also a doubt, but might still feature as his injury isn’t thought to be very severe.
Arne Slot will also be without the services of Connor Bradley, Federico Chiesa, & Harvey Elliot, who are all still sidelined with long term injuries.
FanBants picks: Arsenal vs Liverpool
Kai Havertz
Since the start of the season, Kai Havertz has looked like a brand new player, flourishing as one of the standout players in Arsenal’s attack.
The rangy German is a versatile player, who can feature in different facets of the attack, using his height, intelligence and technical ability to set up chances for teammates, and also score goals.
Havertz has scored in his last five Premier League games at the Emirates, a feat that would undoubtedly have Arne Slot’s men on their toes, as they look to put an end to that run of form.
His five goal contributions in that time frame earned him a spot in last week’s Power rankings.
With both Odegard, and possibly Saka out of this tie, the spotlight will fall on Havertz to give the Gunners a fighting chance against Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah
Undoubtedly a Premier League legend, very few players have made the sort of Impact Mohamed Salah has made on Merseyside.
The catalyst of Liverpool’s rebirth under Jurgen Klopp, he has grown from a good attacker to an elite finisher and creator.
Salah is no stranger to Arsenal, having put 10 goals past the Gunners in his 12 matches against them.
Only Manchester United have conceded more against the Egyptian attacker since his Premier League debut.
While some have claimed that Salah is slowing down, the stats say otherwise.
He still tops the Liverpool charts for goals scored (5), assists (5), shots per game (3.0) and big chances created (5).
Currently sitting ninth in the all-time Premier League goalscorer charts, just one goal behind fellow Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler, we won’t put past Salah to add to his tally on Sunday.
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