I’ve lost count of the number of times that I’ve written about what a huge game the next game is so I think I’m going to have to come up with a new adjective for this one – gargantuan! This is an absolutely gargantuan game!!!
Following the Premier League results last night, Arsenal have the chance to open up an 8-point gap on both Aston Villa and Manchester City, but it’s the current Premier League Champions that stand in their way, so Arsenal know what a tough test this will be.
Arsenal’s home form has been excellent so far this season and they will be looking to make The Emirates a real cauldron tonight and building on that record from the first half of the season. Liverpool’s form has been patchy of late and they are missing a couple of key players. However, we saw what a struggle it was at Anfield during this season so Arsenal cannot be underestimating Liverpool even for a second, as they still have so many players that could hurt us both collectively and individually.
When Arsenal have been given the opportunity to take advantage of rivals dropping points so far this season, they’ve usually taken it….that MUST continue tonight.
Areas of encouragement
Arsenal have been a strong run since that awful defeat at Villa Park and have got near enough their first choice eleven fit (for the bench at least) so they couldn’t come into this one much better than they are right now.
Arsenal’s attack has also start to click into gear a bit lately, as they were quite clinical (by Arsenal’s standards!!) against Bournemouth, which is great to see.
If that’s not enough, I’d say Declan Rice is in the form of his life right now and looks to be on a one-man mission to deliver trophies to Arsenal this season, so that in itself, is a massive area of encouragement. We are so lucky to have him!
Areas of concern
Bit of a strange one, but I’m a little worried about the weather! The forecast for around kick off looks pretty horrendous and although the Arsenal players should be used to playing in rain, any form of strong weather (heavy rain, strong winds, snow etc.) only seems to even the playing field, and I don’t think that’s what Arsenal want when they’re in the form they are and playing at home.
I’m also really concerned about Liverpool’s so-called struggles lately, as despite a few unfortunate results, I think they’ve started to look a bit better in the past few weeks and they are going to be giving it everything at The Emirates tonight, to remind everyone why they are the current Champions.
What I’d love to see
Standard response – early goal! Give the fans something to really shout about. Get that atmosphere going from the start. Would also love to see the clinical Arsenal show up again and make what the chances that they manage to carve out count. Liverpool are a tough nut to crack so I don’t think we’re going to be carving them up at will. Viktor Gyokeres – if there was even a game to announce yourself to the world, this is it. I’d love to see him get a goal tonight. Ideally a few!! 😊
What I’d hate to see
The teams that have come to The Emirates and have caused us problems have been the ones where they slow the game down, pretend to be hurt, give a way lots of little free kicks. First off I’d hate to see that, but I think we’re definitely going to!! Secondly, I’d hate to see Arsenal get drawn into it and start getting frustrated and play into their hands. Rise above it, lift the tempo when we’re on the ball and then put the ball in the back of the net. That’s the best way to sort that lot out!!
Key battle
I think every battle is going to be key to be honest. Anyone who is tasked with shackling Declan Rice is going to be a key battle, I’d say the same with Martin Odegaard and Ryan Gravenberch, another key one.
The one I’m going for though is Piero Hincapie against Jeremie Frimpong. Frimpong hasn’t played as much as he would hope this season and what I have seen off him, I really don’t think you can call him a full-back!! He’s much more attacking than that. In the past few games, he’s actually lined up on the right wing and looked really dangerous, really lively and pacy. That’s the sort of thing that Liverpool will look to stretch the game and hit us on the break/in the transition, so how Hincapie deals with the Dutchman is going to be vital to Arsenal retaining control of this match.
I’ve not been amazed by Hincapie at full back, he’s done okay aside from the odd moment here and there, but what I really hope that this battle is something that he’s used to following the two players playing together for the past two years at Bayer Leverkusen. It can work two ways, but Hincapie should at least know what to expect when they line up against each other tonight.
Lineup and Team News
Squad wise it should be relatively the same as last time out, with none of the injured players returning just yet. Kai Havertz was rested (of sorts) against Bournemouth, as Arsenal look to ease the German back in gently, but I think this is a game that you want him on the bench for, so I think he’ll come back in for Christian Norgaard, among the other substitutes. Ethan Nwaneri will likely miss out again, although he should be back in the squad at the weekend against Portsmouth in the FA Cup.
In terms of the starting lineup, I think it mostly picks itself. Riccardo Calafiori is still not back yet, so Hincapie will continue at left back, alongside the other usual faces of David Raya, Jurrien Timber, William Saliba and Gabriel.
Likewise in midfield, I’d be amazed if Mikel Arteta split up the midfield so Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Captain, Martin Odegaard, will continue in the engine room.
Up top is where there is a bit of debate. On the left, this feels like more of a Leandro Trossard game than a Gabriel Martinelli one, so the Belgian should come back into the starting lineup, after dropping to the bench against Bournemouth. Similarly, Bukayo Saka will come back into the team as it’s Bukayo Saka and we really need to win tonight. Saka has a decent record against Liverpool so Arteta will be hoping that continues tonight.
Finally, the position up top. This is where it gets really interesting. Personally, I think Viktor Gyokeres’ all-round game has improved a lot in the past few games, and he probably deserves to keep his place at the tip of the attack. That said, Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are known to be very physical and that is a fight that I just don’t think he can win. I’d therefore be very tempted to throw a curve ball at Liverpool and start Gabriel Jesus, as the nippy, twinkle toed attacker, rather than playing to Liverpool’s strengths. I’d don’t think Arteta will though so I’ve gone for Gyokeres.
Predicted lineup:
Raya
Timber
Saliba
Gabriel
Hincapie
Zubimendi
Rice
Odegaard
Saka
Gyokeres
Trossard
Substitutes:
Arrizabalaga
Lewis-Skelly
White
Merino
Eze
Havertz
Jesus
Madueke
Martinelli
PREDICTION
Win. Do it by any means, just win. I’m going for 2-0 to The Arsenal.