Matchday nine of the Premier League season features a box office match between two of the Premier League’s top three last season as Arsenal will host Liverpool on Saturday.
The Emirates Stadium will be the battlefield for this colossal match as both sides continue their march for the title. These are the two teams most fans believe will have the quality to push Manchester City all the way this season and this match may be an indicator showing who is the more capable team in doing so.
Last season, the Gunners showed that they have become a team that is ready to challenge for the Premier League title on a more consistent basis and their points tally as well as their play throughout the season showed that much.
The Arsenal squad is a very talented squad that has been constructed with a core young talent with elite quality who can challenge at the top of the Premier League for the next decade. As long as the Gunners continue to be smart about their dealings in the transfer window, Mike Arteta’s men will remain in and around the top of the League.
The 89 points they won last season, have their most points tally since the Invincibles season in 2003/2004 where they finished with 90 points. The Gunners also broke the club records for the most points won and most goals scored in a season in their League history.
All of that is in the past now, as these great achievements still weren’t enough to topple the giant that is Manchester City. The aim now for Arsenal will be to get even better than they were last season.
At the start of the season, Mikel Arteta said: “We know the demands in the league and the competition we are facing,” he began, “so all the work we’re doing is to find ways to get better and to see where the margins can be for our improvement.”
“That pain [from last season] is still there and I think it has to remain there, but after analysing the whole season with all the staff, the team has done a lot and probably in any other context we would have won the Premier League and that’s a big jump. But it’s not enough.”
“The stats show a high level of quality and a high level of consistency. You’re talking about the defensive side, the attacking side, about set pieces and that’s positive because that tells you that the team are starting to dominate many areas that are necessary to win major trophies, so we are heading in the right direction for sure,”
Liverpool on the other hand is still adjusting to life under Arne Slot. The pressure to succeed immediately for the Dutch Manager is immense as the Reds are in a different part of their cycle compared to their opponents.
Of course, they have some young talent but the core of the squad contains players like Mohammed Salah who is 32 years old, Virgil Van Dijk who is 33, Andrew Robertson who is 30 and Allison Becker who is 31. Trent Alexander- Arnold is the youngest of the bunch at 26 years old but the Englishman has attracted the interest of Real Madrid and has a year left in his current deal.
This season may be the last year that these players play together and next season will see Liverpool undergo a rebuild of some sort. They already have great young talent in the books at the moment but they will need to replace some of the veterans that were a symbol of the Jurgen Klopp era.
The challenge for Slot is not a small one but he is not afraid of the task of being Klopp’s replacement and the face of the new era at Anfield.
Like Arsenal, the goal for Liverpool will be to be even better than last season if they are to have any chance of winning the title. Slot pointed this out as the main objective for this season and he believes the team can achieve this goal.
“I have all the confidence in this because of the players, that we can add a few things where we hopefully can get a bit more points than 82, which is necessary with the likes of Arsenal and City, to end up hopefully a bit higher than we did this season.”
A win at Arsenal will not be easy as the last time they visited the Emirates ended with them suffering a 3-1 loss. Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard were the scorers for Liverpool in that match, an own goal by Gabriel was the only time Liverpool put the ball in the net.
Match Tickets
Arsenal vs Liverpool tickets Albion are up for sale on websites across the internet. As usual, a sold-out crowd is expected at the Emirates Stadium for their biggest home game of the season so far. Liverpool fans will also make their way to London in good numbers to support their team.
The game will be played at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, 26th of October at PM. Fans in and around the United Kingdom where Sky Sports’ coverage reaches will be able to enjoy the game at that time.
The Premier League is broadcast to 212 total provinces in the world, which means that fans outside the United Kingdom have to tune in to one of the league’s broadcast partners in their province for the game.
Team news
The Gunners will be heading into this fixture with a clean bill of health and their squad will be at full complement for the visit of Liverpool on Saturday.
The Reds will be hoping there are no injury setbacks for them either, as they will have their full squad available for the match.
Lineups
Arsenal will play their strongest lineup to come away with all three points against Liverpool with William Saliba and Gabriel keeping their place at the heart of the defence. New signing, Richard Calafiori will start at left back ahead of Jurrien Timber for this match as well.
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Havertz, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Jesus.
Liverpool will play with their strongest 11 with Cody Gakpo and Mohammed Salah starting either side of Darwin Nunez at centre forward.
Liverpool: Allison; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Szobozlai, Endo, Mac Allister, Salah, Gakpo, Nunez.
Prediction
This is a game Arsenal will be confident of winning due to not only the recent history between the two sides but also the fact that the Gunners are so formidable at home. It will be an entertaining fixture with chances on both ends but the Gunners will ultimately have the cutting edge to come away with a big three points.
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
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