The pundits have been having their say about tonight’s massive Premier League match between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium
When Liverpool supporters looked at the fixture list when it was first published in June, no doubt they had tonight’s trip to the Emirates to take on Arsenal down as a crucial clash in the race for the title. Sadly, however, that has not proved to be the case.
The defending champions make the journey to north London sitting some 14 points off table-topping Arsenal, whose lead over second-placed Manchester City and third-placed Aston Villa could widen to eight points with victory tonight.
But even if fourth-placed Liverpool do make it a double over Gunners, having won August’s reverse fixture 1-0 thanks to a stunning Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick, it is highly unlikely they would be able to rein the leaders in, even with 17 games to play.
READ MORE: Arne Slot highlights the one major difference between Liverpool and Arsenal – ‘Can safely say’
The Reds, despite being unbeaten in the Premier League in eight matches and nine in all competitions, will be viewed as the underdogs for the big game. But can they remind the nation why they are the title holders?
The pundits have been having their say…
Chris Sutton
The former Blackburn Rovers striker, writing in his BBC Sport columnsaid: “Liverpool badly missed Hugo Ekitike in their draw against Fulham, and put in another lacklustre display. Arne Slot’s side are nine games unbeaten now, so their recent results have been all right on paper.
“It’s their performances that are the problem, though. When you see them with your own eyes, they are miles off where they were when they won the title last season, and are nowhere near where Arsenal are at now either.
“When Liverpool beat them at Anfield in August, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was criticised for being too cautious, as he often is in big games like this. It has to be different this time. This Liverpool team have been leaking goals all season, so Gunners fans are not going to accept Arteta sitting back.
“I doubt Arteta will do it this time, because Arsenal are at home and Liverpool are there for the taking. In fact, there should be zero negativity in the way they are set up. It’s just over six years since Arteta took charge, and this is not the time for him to be cautious.
“The Gunners should go for it, because they are on a different level to Liverpool, and they may as well be in a different league.
“No-one thinks Slot’s side are going to win the Premier League anymore, even though they are fourth, and they don’t look capable of flexing their muscles and going on a long winning run, either.
“That is not going to happen. This is a bang-average Liverpool team this season, and Arsenal should be able to exploit all of their weaknesses. It should be pretty comfortable for the league leaders too.
“They are carrying Viktor Gyokeres a bit, because he has just not fired for them up front, but it does not seem to matter, they are winning anyway. Declan Rice is just majestic in the middle of the park, he is just phenomenal, and they have got lots of different ways of scoring goals.”
Prediction: Arsenal 2 Liverpool 0
Paul Merson
The two-time title-winning Arsenal hero told Sportskeeda: “If you’re Arsenal, it’s a brilliant time to be playing Liverpool. Should Arsenal win at the Emirates, Liverpool are completely out of the title race! Something is just not right at Liverpool and I can’t see them getting a result here.
“I don’t understand why Arne Slot decided to take Cody Gakpo off after he scored against Fulham. If Gakpo was on the pitch, he picks up Harrison Reed before that incredible late goal. It was such a bad decision from the Liverpool manager.
“Hugo Ekitike must play this game if he’s fit. Arsenal are solid at the back and Liverpool need Ekitike up against them defenders. I would also play Federico Chiesa because of his energy. Liverpool won’t have much of the ball in this game, so Chiesa will be useful on the break.
“Florian Wirtz is also starting to show his quality. When Liverpool took him off against Fulham, we saw how their attacking department suffered. I rate him and I expect him to become a key player for Liverpool in the future.
“It’s weird but I’d be more shocked if Liverpool won at Arsenal than Wolves or Leeds winning their games away from home this gameweek. Arsenal’s B team can cause 99 per cent of the sides in this league a problem. That’s how good they are as a squad.”Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool
Harry Redknapp
Writing for BetVictorthe former Tottenham Hotspur boss said: “The big one. Arsenal had a tricky period, but they look right back to their best and have extended their lead at the top. I think they’ll take some stopping this season, they just don’t look like dropping points, particularly at home.
“More dropped points for Liverpool and I don’t really think they deserved much more than a point at Fulham. They just seem to lack a dynamism in attack, which is surprising to me given how much quality they have. This feels like a big game for their season. Could they spark into life and blow the title race wide open? I’m not sure.
“We’ve seen better teams than Liverpool go to Arsenal this season and really struggle.”
Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool
