LONDON — Injury-hit Arsenal has little room for error when English Premier League leaders Liverpool visits the Emirates on Sunday despite losing just once so far this season.
Arsenal will look to rebound after a shock loss to Bournemouth, while Liverpool aims to strengthen their position at the top of the table.
Arsenal has won their last two home matches against Liverpool and will seek to extend that streak.
They last managed a longer unbeaten home run against the Reds between 2004 and 2006. Gabriel Martinelli, who has been prolific against Liverpool, will be crucial for the Gunners’ attack.
The Gunners shock 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth last week leaves them four points behind the Reds and three adrift of second-placed City.
Arsenal could be without three of their most important players with William Saliba suspended; Martin Odegaard sidelined by an ankle injury and Bukayo Saka a doubt due to a hamstring problem.
Defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber could also be missing and Mikel Arteta has called on the Arsenal fans to be the 12th man on Sunday.
“The place has to be rocking here against Liverpool to give us all the possible energy that they can,” he said according to AFP.
Liverpool comes into the match having scored in 17 consecutive league meetings with Arsenal, dating back to 2015.
Liverpool, with 11 wins from 12 matches in all competitions, is flying under their new manager but victory against Arsenal would be the clearest statement yet that they are genuine title contenders.
With a chance to record their second-best start to the EPL season, Liverpool’s solid defense—conceding only three goals so far—will be key to their title push, Reuters reported.
Defeat at Bournemouth last weekend was Arsenal’s first in any competition since April and not only did they drop three points but they also lost key defender William Saliba for the Liverpool clash after his red card.
Arsenal responded with a laboured 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League but even that came at a cost with defender Riccardo Calafiori hobbling off 20 minutes from time with an injury.
The Italian could be missing along with the suspended Saliba plus injured trio Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber for the visit of a Liverpool side who have begun the post Juergen Klopp era in outstanding fashion.
Liverpool’s 1-0 victory against RB Leipzig means new manager Arne Slot has won 11 of his first 12 games in charge and all six away from home — both club records.
Defeat would leave Arsenal seven points adrift of Slot’s side and potentially six behind Manchester City.
That might not have Arteta hitting the panic button but allowing their two biggest title rivals such an early head start would leave the Londoners with precious little wriggle room in the months ahead.
Following Arsenal’s scrappy win over Donetsk, Arteta promised his team would be ‘flying’ on Sunday after four days’ preparation but Liverpool, despite one day less to recover after their trip to Germany, will arrive brimming with confidence.
“Arteta has done an amazing job in the last few years and we have to be on top of our game to get a result,” Slot said.
The Dutchman is enjoying the best start by any Liverpool manager and the key appears to be minimum tinkering with Klopp’s formula, though there does seem a more pragmatic element to their style seen in last weekend’s gritty 2-1 win over Chelsea.
That was deemed Slot’s biggest test to date and he passed it with flying colours. Victory at Arsenal in the late game on Saturday would represent another massive result.
Champions Manchester City will most likely be top by then as it would be a huge shock if they do not beat a Southampton side still reeling from last week’s 3-2 home defeat by fellow strugglers Leicester City, having led 2-0.
Fourth-placed Aston Villa made it three wins from three in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday and will be on cloud nine as they prepare to welcome Bournemouth on Saturday when victory would lift them to 20 points, a point behind Liverpool.
“We have to keep the level increasing,” manager Unai Emery said after 2-0 home win against Bologna.
Besides Arsenal’s heavyweight clash with Liverpool, three other games take place in the capital on Sunday with the most intriguing between West Ham United and Manchester United.
Hammers manager Julen Lopetegui has endured a tough start to his reign and a 4-1 hammering at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend did not go down well with the fans.
That defeat left West Ham in 15th spot, three points behind Manchester United whose 2-1 victory over Brentford last weekend gave under-fire manager Erik ten Hag some respite.
However, Dutchman Ten Hag needs more than the odd victory to escape the endless cycle of crisis in which he seems to have existed for most of his time at Old Trafford.
For the first time in English top-flight history, four clubs remain without a win from their opening eight games of a season.
It is difficult to predict a win for any of the three sides in the relegation zone this weekend – bottom team Wolves face Brighton away while Southampton travel to Manchester City and Crystal Palace host Tottenham.
Winless Ipswich, fourth from bottom, could put some distance between themselves and the drop zone if they beat Brentford.
It is a particularly sharp fall from grace for Palace, who finished 10th last season after a storming end to the campaign.
The toothless London side has scored just five goals so far this season – the lowest tally in the league – and manager Oliver Glasner admits they are short of confidence.
Speaking after Monday’s 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest, he said: “I don’t think it’s a tactical problem, it’s a mentality problem, it’s a lack of confidence and so this is what we have to change.”
Everton and West Ham already have a four-point cushion over the bottom four, who can ill afford to be cut adrift in a mini-league to avoid the drop.
