Gameweek three is upon us and this time around Liverpool stand in Arsenal’s way of three more points. Thus far, Liverpool have claimed all of the points available to them in the opening fixtures, but they have looked less than impressive throughout these games. After having lost to West Ham at home on the opening day of the season, the Gunners will be looking to earn their first victory at home this season against Brendan Rodgers’ side. Either way, Arsenal must not be complacent in this game, if they’re hopeful of claiming all three points.
Once again, a summer transfer window has been opened and once again Liverpool have been splashing the cash to try and replace the holes left by Luis Suarez and most recently, Raheem Sterling. So far they have purchased James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Christian Benteke, Joe Gomez and Danny Ings – which is a lot of players, but not very many of them add that much quality to their starting line-up. The most notable additions are Benteke and Firmino, who not only fill the gaps left by past players but also add extra quality to their first team.
Christian Benteke is well-known in the Premier League for his goal scoring ability and over the last couple of seasons has almost single-handedly carried Aston Villa on his shoulders. Arsenal fans everywhere will recall the shock opening day defeat to Villa two seasons ago and Benteke was the key figure in that result. It goes without saying that in this star-studded Liverpool side, he should flourish beyond his own capabilities. Arsenal will need to nullify Benteke in order to stop Liverpool. He will act as the focal point of the Merseyside team and by cutting off any and all passes to him, Arsenal will be able to stop the entire Liverpool attack.
Roberto Firmino is another problem entirely. He is very tricky on the ball and has the technical ability to walk through most team’s defences. Much like Phillipe Coutinho, he will act as the creative attacker who will produce most of their chances. Similarly to how Arsenal were able to cancel out David Silva at the Etihad last season, if Arsenal can stop Firmino and Coutinho from getting into their passing game, the Gunners will have taken the bite out of the Liverpool attack.
In terms of the way that Arsene Wenger’s side need to play, they need to start on the front foot. If they attack quickly and strongly from the get-go, Liverpool could go on to become worn out before half-time. It is likely that Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla will start, and will without doubt create numerous goalscoring chances for the forward men. Arsenal must not get complacent, if they attack head on, they must make sure to keep enough men back to deal with any counter attacks swiftly and mercilessly and after a few shaky games this season, this is the perfect time for Francis Coquelin to show the world what he can do. Ball retention will be key so that Liverpool can only create limited chances and it will mean that they remain on the back foot.
As much as Liverpool are a dangerous side, Arsenal must beat them if they have any aspirations of winning the Premier League, because after all, they are still a stronger side than Brendan Rodgers’ men.
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