Our football pundit previews the clash between Arsenal and Liverpool which takes place on Friday 22 December 2017 evening.
Liverpool have scored at least three goals in their last four meetings against Arsenal. Wenger, who rarely abandons his attacking brand of football, will need to warn his players to be cautious of how they attack their opponents.Klopp has turned the Reds into one of the most dangerous teams in football going forward and Mohamed Salah, who has already hurt the Gunners this season, is in the form of his life.
Liverpool completed the league double over their opponents last season for the first time since the 1999/2000 campaign. They’ll be confident they can do it again this season. Wenger’s side, however, will be out to avenge their 4-0 loss suffered in August. The Reds are fourth in the Premier League table with 34 points, one above the Gunners who sit in fifth place.
Arsenal vs Liverpool | Friday 22 December | Emirates Stadium | 21:45
To Win Match
Arsenal 27/20 | Draw 26/10 | Liverpool 17/10
Arsenal
Arsenal reclaimed their spot in the Champions League places after Mesut Ozil’s wonderful first-half volley secured a 1-0 victory over Newcastle at the Emirates. Prior to that result, the Gunners had drawn back-to-back games on the road against Southampton and West Ham, before suffering a 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester United. Wenger’s side will be desperate for victory over the Reds, which will see them leapfrog them into fourth place in the Premier League table.
The problem for Arsenal is that they’ve failed to beat Liverpool in their last five meetings. In those games, they suffered three defeats and shipped 14 goals in the last four. The reverse fixture in August remains a painful memory for the Gunners as they were annihilated 4-0 in what turned out to be Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s final appearance before moving to Anfield.
The Gunners will be hoping to get their revenge at the Emirates. They’ve won 13 of their last 14 home games, keeping 10 clean sheets. However, it’s going to very tough to shut out the Liverpool’s attack.
Mesut Ozil has been playing fantastically well for Wenger’s side in recent weeks, looking a lot like the player he was at Real Madrid. He seems to be enjoying his football again and is even working hard off the ball. The German playmaker has been guilty in the past of not showing up in the big games, but his team need him at his best to have any chance of victory here.
Liverpool
Mohamed Salah and Philippe Coutinho inspired Liverpool to a 4-0 victory at Bournemouth as the Reds powered back into the Premier League’s top four. The Reds rebounded from back-to-back draws at Anfield – to Everton, then West Brom – with another big away victory, having already won 5-1 at Brighton this month.
Salah is the first Liverpool player since Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge in 2013-14 to hit the 20-goal mark in all competitions, and he has done it in only 26 matches. He is also the first Liverpool player to get to 20 goals in a season by December since Ian Rush in 1986.
Coutinho was also at his best for the Reds as he moved into double figures for the campaign despite only playing his first game of the season in mid-September because of injury. The so-called “Fab Four” attacking unit – Salah, Coutinho, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino – are playing very well together and it will be incredibly difficult to stop them from running havoc.
