Arsenal host Liverpool in what ought to be an exciting Premier League battle between two teams coming off convincing 2-0 victories at the weekend. Against Leicester City, Arsenal benefitted from outstanding performances from both Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard with the former scoring his second goal for the club (almost his third, if not for a handball from Caglar Soyuncu). Arsenal have won nine of their last 11 Premier League outings, including now five in a row after the weekend results and only Liverpool and Manchester City have better records at home than the Gunners. Despite Manchester United winning against Arsenal’s North London rivals, Arsenal finished the weekend a point above United and in fourth place with three games in hand.
Although Arsenal are seemingly in prime position to claim the final Champions League qualification spot by seasons end, by all accounts the message from the Manager and players is to take every match one at a time. For fans however, that is much easier said than done. Unlike this week, the lack of cup football has seen Arsenal go seven to ten days in between fixtures and it is no surprise fans spend the time in between matches projecting European Nights at the Emirates once again.
Despite the run of form, and the favorable league table, there will no doubt be hiccups along the way that require both the manager, and fans, to respond to with nuance. Arsenal face one of their toughest opponents all season, who will be eager to close the gap to Manchester City to just one point with a win and are equally on an extended winning streak in the league.
About the Visitors
Liverpool has looked very solid in the last couple of weeks, only losing one game against Inter in the Champions League, and only shipping 4 goals since January in the league. For the same reasons, it has been hard to find some consistent weak areas of Liverpool’s defensive formation in the same way as against Leicester City.
Liverpool initially set up in a 433, that quickly moves into a 325/352 formation, with both Fullbacks push high, while a midfielder drops slightly back to orchestrate play. As play progress forward, Liverpool looks to hit a forward moving off the shoulder of a defender or a wide player able to draw some attention before trying to find a willing runner in the box.
Defensively, Liverpool likes to hurry the opposition on the ball and force them to either make a mistake or go long, giving the Liverpool defense an easy time to collect and redistribute. Should play develop, Liverpool doesn’t look to crowd their own box as much, banking on the defensive prowess of their central defenders plus one or two extras from midfield or opposite fullback, while the rest stress the ball holder to release it early.
When defending against Liverpool, Arsenal will have to shut down their wide channels early and force Liverpool to bank on long balls towards either Mané or Salah. Liverpool is a lively team going forward, but if Arsenal can keep up the heat of the metal and not give Liverpool a chance to settle in the final third, they might be able to keep them at bay.
When attacking against Liverpool, Arsenal would do well to rewatch parts of the Brighton match as well as Lukas Rupp’s rocket against them. Trent Alexander-Arnold have a habit of pushing the standby button in defense, and does leave room to exploit behind him when he moves central. If Arsenal can exploit Liverpool’s overreliance on Matip and van Dijk, they could be able to make room in behind the Fullbacks and force Liverpool to defend their own box.
All in all, this is going to be one of those benchmark games, giving us an idea of where we are from being one of the top 4 best teams in English football right now. Hopefully we come out unscathed.
What the Manager Says (courtesy Arsenal.com)
We are playing better, we have an understanding of what we want. We have the right level of confidence, belief and understanding with each other and everything clicks better and quicker.
Credit to Jurgen, the coaching staff and to the club as well for what they have created. They haven’t just created a team that can compete and be successful, They have created a huge cultural understanding of who Liverpool is today. The stadium and the atmosphere they can create, the support, the level, how they communicate. It’s a long of things, not just individuals, or the players that they have recruited and the plan that they had to reach that level. It’s a whole plan that I really value I think.
Well, that’s the pressure of playing for this club, to be the best and we’re not there yet. If the objective is that, it’s not pressure, it has to be a motivation, a challenge and a clear understanding that the purpose to play for this club is only to be the best and what we’ve done so far means absolutely nothing and I think everybody has to be encouraged and empowered by the possibility to find ways to improve and get better.
Arsenal Record vs Opponent (League only)
16W 19D 24L
Goals Scored (Season Average)
Arsenal (Home): 1.71
Liverpool (Away): 2.57
Goals Conceded (Season Average)
Arsenal (Home): 0.71
Liverpool (Away): 0.92
xG per Match (via fbref.com)
Arsenal (Home): 1.8
Liverpool (Away): 2.36
Match Officials
Referee: Andre Marriner
Assistants: Simon Long, Scott Ledger
Fourth Official: Andy Madley
VAR: John Brooks
Assistant VAR: Marc Perry
Match Facts (courtesy bbc.co.uk)
- Arsenal have won just one of the past 18 meetings in all competitions (D8 L9), beating Liverpool 2-1 at home in July 2020.
- The Gunners have failed to score in any of the last five meetings.
- Liverpool could win three consecutive away games against Arsenal for the first time.
- This will be their third meeting of 2022 after Liverpool won the two-legged EFL Cup semi-final in January
- Arsenal are looking to win six consecutive Premier League games for the first time since a run of seven under Unai Emery in 2018.
- Mikel Arteta’s side are looking for a fourth consecutive home victory in the league.
- Only Liverpool have won more points than the Gunners in the last six matches.
- Arsenal are unbeaten in all eight of their midweek Premier League home fixtures under Arteta (W5, D3).
- Alexandre Lacazette has been involved in 10 goals in 11 Premier League appearances, scoring three and setting up seven.
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