Arsenal head to Anfield knowing a draw will be good enough to keep them top of the Premier League table
Paul Merson has warned Arsenal that conceding an early goal at Anfield tomorrow will spell disaster in their top of the table clash against Liverpool.
The Gunners head to Merseyside with a narrow one point advantage after last weekend’s impressive victory over Brighton saw them leapfrog the Reds who were held at home by Manchester United.
Mikel Arteta’s side haven’t won at Anfield since 2012 when an Arsenal team, managed by Arsene Wenger, secured a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla.
Arsenal came close to ending their hoodoo last season but threw away a two-goallead and dropped two points which sparked a collapse that handed the title to Manchester City.
Arteta was without William Saliba on that occasion and the France international’s return to fitness has helped solidify a defence that has underpinned another assault of the Premier League trophy.
Roberto Firmino scored Liverpool’s equaliser against Arsenal last season (Picture: Getty)
Saliba’s partnership with Gabriel will be put severely to the test by a Liverpool attack spearheaded by Mohamed Salah tomorrow and Merson fears the worst for his old team should they fail to weather the inevitable early storm.
He told Sportskeeda: ‘I think Liverpool have started games very well of late. They did that against West Ham and Manchester United. If Arsenal can get past the first 20-30 minutes and the game calms down, this could go in any direction.
‘If Liverpool score inside the first 20 minutes, they win this one. Otherwise, Arsenal will fancy themselves to get all the three points.
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‘The Gunners just need to hang in there and ride out the initial barrage.
‘Klopp has a few big selection calls to make. I think he is going to keep playing Darwin Nunez because you need to have height in the team.
‘They will need to make their set-pieces count and it’s going to be difficult against the likes of William Saliba and Gabriel without a physical presence like Nunez.
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‘Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka are going to cause a lot of trouble in the attacking third for Arsenal.
‘Martin Odegaard has been in great form and I think the battle between him and Dominik Szoboszlai could be one to keep an eye on.
Unlike Manchester United last weekend, Arsenal will have a go at Liverpool. This one could open up pretty quickly and we could be in for a treat.
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The top two go head-to-head at Anfield.