Arsenal last beat Liverpool at their iconic home stadium more than ten years ago. Current head coach of Arsenal Mikel Arteta played for the London club when Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield in September 2012.
– Beautiful memories. It’s an amazing stadium to play in. The matches there are a unique experience for every player and coach, Arteta recalled and expressed the mood at the press conference before Sunday’s match.
Wins at Anfield have eluded Arsenal, as the club was in a state of confusion for several years due to coach and player changes. Liverpool, on the other hand, rose back to the top of European football as the last decade progressed.
This season, the roles have changed. Arsenal has collected 72 points in 29 matches in the series. The balance is wild, because, for example, in a tough last season, Manchester City had 70 points after the same number of matches, and Liverpool had one less.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s scoring average this season is clearly the worst head coach Jurgen Klopp’s in the era. The team has collected only 1.54 points per game. Arsenal’s GPA is 2.48. On Sunday, two teams fighting for different things will meet.
Incense rains down on the head coach
Before last season’s match, Arteta decided to play Liverpool’s traditional supporter’s anthem during training. You’ll Never Walk Alone blared from the speakers on the practice field as the players trained.
– We prepare for each match in a different way. We prepare for the environment, we prepare mentally and we prepare for different scenarios. That day we decided to do that, Arteta justified his decision at the time under Sunday’s struggle.
At that time, the result was not favorable for Arsenal. Liverpool broke the fragile defense of the Londoners to pieces with goals 4–0. There were still places for additional hits. Arteta knows that on Sunday the team must be more balanced.
– We have to be at our very best to win. Especially better than we were in last season’s meeting in the second half. We allowed Liverpool to attack open spaces too easily.
This season, Arteta’s methods have been bitten. The coach and his process at Arsenal have been praised all over Europe. Klopp was the last to cheer on his colleague before the weekend.
– Mikel has been building the team for a few years, and the end result is obviously quite impressive. The way they play is fun to watch, the German coach said.
The attacking game led by Arsenal’s young players has charmed with its versatility and efficiency. When you add up the scored goals and assists, as many as six Arsenal players reach a balance of at least ten “power points”. This is not the case with any other Premier League team.
The soul of the team’s attacking play, the Norwegian Martin Odegaard has scored ten goals and assisted seven. A midfielder doesn’t just shine with his so-called traditional stats. Among other things, he has given the second most successful passes in the offensive third in the series.
– Odegaard knows what he is doing with the ball before it comes to him. He is probably the only player on the pitch who can see the solution, the former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson analyze UK site for Sky Sports (you’re moving to another service).
Will Liverpool’s problems continue?
In October, Arsenal won the first league match of the season at home 3–2. Before that, the team had failed to score in six consecutive matches against Klopp’s Liverpool.
There have been more goals per game against Liverpool this season than in any of Klopp’s previous full seasons in charge of the club. The defensive line has been criticized in harsh terms. For example, star topper, previously even considered the best place in the world to play, Virgil van Dijk has gotten a kick out of his moves in both the national and club teams.
– He makes a noise, but doesn’t say anything. He is not clear. A good captain thinks out loud and makes it clear what’s going on, a player legend Marco van Basten downloaded during the previous national team window (you switch to another service).
Sports website The Athletic brought in his article (you will go to another service) to highlight how the cornerstone of Liverpool’s game, which has based its defense on a high and active press for years, has leaked this season. The team has had so-called high steals this season only 3.9 times per game. For example, in the 2019–2020 championship season, the number was 5.5.
Even in slower attacks by the opponent, the defensive line is rattling, and, for example, weak in the defensive direction Trent Alexander-Arnoldgets into even bigger problems when the team doesn’t manage to steal the ball near the opponent’s goal like before.
Odegaard and the speedy wingers by Gabriel Martinelli mixed Bukayo Sakan the Arsenal attack led by In Sunday’s game, the stakes and gaming expectations are high.
Manchester City narrowed Arsenal’s league lead to five points yesterday. Liverpool is in eighth place and already 13 points away from the fourth place that qualifies for the Champions League. A win would keep the team’s hopes of a European berth still tenuously alive.
For Arsenal, every victory is a step closer to the long-awaited championship. However, victories at Anfield have been few and far between.