Arsenal host Liverpool at the Emirates in one of the marquee fixtures of the Premier League calendar. The Gunners watched Manchester City and Aston Villa drop points this week, so they have a chance to extend their lead atop the table to eight points. This is the type of match that the players relish. The Emirates will be rocking. There’s a pre-match, stadium-wide fan activation planned. Let’s enjoy this one.
Liverpool, despite their wobbles, are in fourth place in the table. They started the season
well enough, winning several matches with late goals. They looked to have that same magic, the ability to find a way to win through prolific, chaotic attack. See e.g. Dominik Szoboszlai’s worldie free kick to beat Arsenal at Anfield. The wins weren’t convincing, though. They’ve struggled since their early success, leaking goals at the back and looking uncharacteristically lethargic going forward.
There have been recent signs of life from the Liverpool attack. Florian Wirtz, in particular, is warming up and finding the scoresheet. They’re still conceding goals at an alarming rate. They have the worst set piece defense in the Premier League. Today, that comes up against Arsenal’s PL-best set piece attack.
My head is telling me this could be another cagey match between the two sides. Arne Slot and Liverpool respect Arsenal and will set up to not get overrun. My heart is telling me Arsenal are going to overrun Liverpool. The Gunners smashed Aston Villa, meting out some well-deserved payback. I think they’ll do the same to the Reds today. I think Arsenal have (another) point to prove, and you don’t want to be in the way of this side when they’re out to make their point.
The Gunners will be without Riccardo Calafiori, who is still missing time with his mysterious injury. There hasn’t been much talk about the nature of his issue nor how long he’ll be out. Cristhian Mosquera and Max Dowman are both out for several more weeks.
Liverpool are without Mo Salah, who is away at AFCON. Alexander Isak is out for a couple months after needing surgery to repair a fractured fibula. Wataru Endo is a long-term absentee as well. Hugo Ekitike misses out with a minor hamstring problem.
Arsenal – Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Ødegaard, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres
Liverpool – Alisson, Kerkez, van Dijk, Konate, Bradley, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Frimpong, Gakpo
WHO: Arsenal vs Liverpool
WHERE: The Emirates
WHEN: Thursday, January 8th 12:00 pm PT | 3:00 pm ET | 8:00pm GMT
HOW TO WATCH: Streaming on the Peacock app
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