Arsenal vs Liverpool: Arsenal travel to Anfield on Sunday looking to maintain their strong start to the Premier League season and end a long wait for victory at Liverpool’s home ground.
A blistering start to the season has seen Mikel Arteta’s side win seven of their first eight league games, leaving them tied on points with Manchester City at the top of the table and six points ahead of Liverpool going into the game.
However, the Gunners have not beaten Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield since 2012/13. Arteta will be aware that the Reds are starting to gel under Andoni Iraola.
They have won three of their last four league games after a lacklustre start and had their first league win at home this season with their 2-0 win over Brighton.
Arsenal face Liverpool side finding its attacking rhythm
After replacing Arne Slot over the summer, Iraola brought his impressive three-year spell at Bournemouth to Anfield. However, Liverpool have struggled to adjust to the new manager, losing 3 of their first 4 league games.
But they have recently improved and are looking to play a much faster style of football. As Adrian Clarke notes, they are pressing more, not sitting back as much and wanting to attack quickly when they win the ball.
They have been the most direct attackers in the Premier League. They have pace to spare within their attack, with players like Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo providing a threat in advanced areas.
Isak comes into the game in good form after finding the back of the net six times in his first eight league games. He has scored in three successive games in the Premier League for the first time since joining the club.
Florian Wirtz will also play a key role in Liverpool’s attacking play. The German has been consistently creating chances for the team playing behind Isak in a 4-2-3-1 system. He has created nine chances against Brentford.
Arsenal will need to limit the space available to Liverpool’s forward players. Allowing Isak and Gakpo to combine freely could make an already difficult away fixture even harder.
Arteta receives positive Arsenal injury news
Arsenal have had some positive news on their squad ahead of their Merseyside trip. Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori are both back in training.
Christos Tzolis has also trained after missing October. Noni Madueke has also not been ruled out by Arteta ahead of Sunday’s match after he missed the Fleetwood game.
They also have their own fitness issues to contend with. Iraola confirmed that Dominik Szoboszlai and Victor Munoz are both available after suffering injuries earlier in the month.
Jeramie Frimpong will be missing due to a hamstring issue but should be back after the international break. Hugo Ekitike, Geovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley are all still sidelined with longer-term injuries.
The presence of Rice will be key for Arsenal. He has been one of the best progressive midfielders in the Premier League, along with their captain, Martin Odegaard.
Arsenal aim to end lengthy Anfield winless run
Despite losing just one of their last eight Premier League clashes against Liverpool, Arsenal are not as strong on the road.
The Gunners have not won any league games in their last 13 trips to Anfield. They have drawn five and lost eight. Their last win was a 2-0 victory back in the 2012/13 season.
They have also never gone 14 games unbeaten away from home in the league. That would be a great achievement.
However, there is good reason to believe they can do it. They have only conceded five clean sheets in the league this season. They have faced the least number of shots on target and the fewest expected goals.
Liverpool have also been on a strong run defensively with four clean sheets in their last six league games, so Arsenal must make their chances count.
A win would provide another key result against a direct rival, improving their position at the top of the Premier League table and finally putting an end to one of the clubs’ longest-running away day woes.
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