Arsenal face what could potentially be one of their toughest games on the road this season, as they travel up to the north to Anfield this Wednesday night, to take on Jurgen Klopp’s reformed Liverpool.
The Gunners go into this clash in great form. They opened up their second defence of the FA Cup in two years with a comfortable 3-1 win at the Emirates against relegation-battling Sunderland. The game opened up and drifted further and further into the home side’s control, and despite leaving it until the latter stages of the game, this reshuffled side kept the Black Cats in their grasp to allow Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud to deliver the nail in the coffin – keeping Arsene Wenger in the hunt for a record 7th FA Cup winner’s medal in his trophy cabinet. This win, combined with the previous two victories in the league to send the north London side to the top of the table, means the morale at London Colney should be high going into this must-win fixture.
Liverpool travelled to Exeter last Friday with a starting XI that wouldn’t look out-of-place in a Premier League under-21s game. One of Klopp’s most iconic traits is his faith in youth and, as a result, a number of Liverpool’s academy graduates – plus Adam Bogdan, Jose Enrique and Christian Benteke – started as the German boss made his mark on England’s domestic cup competitions for the first time. However, the side chosen were picked apart for their lack of quality or experience and succumbed to some schoolboy errors in defence, particularly when Bogdan failed to handle a swerving corner, which found its way into the Reds’ net.
It’s hard to give a fixed, concise answer on how Klopp has improved Liverpool. The team from Merseyside still find themselves languishing around the mid-table spots, and whilst they have produced shock, resolute wins against the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Leicester, the players have also fallen significantly wide of the mark against Watford, Newcastle and now Exeter. However, it is clear that the ex-Dortmund boss has instilled a sense of drive and commitment to the cause, in the form of high-energy performances, but that has had its downfalls – 13 players now find themselves injured at Melwood, with enough to form a respectable outfield team. This will pose a great advantage to Wenger and his men, in what promises to be an end-to-end match which will thrive on physicality and the quality in the attacking thirds.
Klopp and Wenger have obviously met before, quite frequently in fact: Wenger’s Arsenal and Klopp’s former club Borussia Dortmund have been drawn together in the group stages on more than one occasion.
The last time these two met ended up being one of the final outings for Brendan Rodgers. Finishing a 0-0 draw at the Emirates, it was a game marred by a wrongly disallowed goal from Ramsey, where Arsenal eased into the game as it progressed.
Match facts
– Liverpool hold the home advantage going into this fixture, winning 53 of the recorded 98 matches played between these two at Anfield.
– These type of fixtures have resulted in goals galore, with three of the last five matches played between the two having, at least, four goals in them.
– The last five meetings have also been quite inconclusive, with those last five entailing two draws, two wins and a loss for the Gunners.
– Mesut Özil has created 57% of Arsenal’s 33 goals in the Premier League this season (16 assists, 3 goals).
– No other player has provided more assists than Mesut Özil (20) in Europe’s top five leagues in 2015.
– Olivier Giroud has a minutes per goal ratio of 168.4 in the Premier League, bettering Didier Drogba’s ratio of 168.8.
– The Frenchman had the fourth most goals in the calendar year of 2015 in the league (18).
Team news
Both teams have lengthy injury lists going into this one. Thankfully, Arsenal haven’t picked up any injuries in recent weeks, so the list in the treatment room remains as Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Danny Welbeck, Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin.
Meanwhile, an injury list full of strained hamstrings and other muscular injuries – as a result of Klopp’s intense pressing system – has taken storm at Melwood. Joe Gomez, Dejan Lovren, Martin Skrtel, Jon Flanagan, Jordan Rossiter, Jordan Henderson, Jordon Ibe, Philippe Coutinho, Danny Ings, Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge are all out, shattering close to all hope the team’s players will have. It may very well be that Jurgen Klopp is in for a rough night in front of the Kop.
Predicted XIs
Liverpool (4-3-3): Mignolet; Clyne, Toure, Sakho, Moreno; Lucas, Can, Milner; Firmino, Benteke, Lallana.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Flamini; Campbell, Ozil, Walcott; Giroud.
