Two of the most entertaining sides in England, Liverpool and Arsenal, go head to head on Saturday in yet another glamorous Premier League weekend.
Both teams have perfect records so far this season, winning both their games but will face each other early in the season, promising yet another goal-fest.
The two sides are happy to outscore their opponents and though this has not been a ploy that has suited Arsenal, Unai Emery will believe that his new-look Arsenal side have what it takes to steal points from their trip to Anfield this weekend.
The Gunners have not beaten Liverpool in any of their last eight clashes, and have lost in each of their last three trips to Merseyside.
Here are three reasons why Liverpool could continue their dominance over the London club:
Recent record at Anfield
There is a reason why Liverpool are undefeated at Anfield in the league for more than two seasons now. The cauldron that his their home ground seems to lift the players out of precarious positions and certainly gives them the edge in tough games.
The Reds like to start on the front foot and if they get an early goal, Anfield only gets louder. Arsenal could very well have a couple of players in their squad who will see this atmosphere for the first time, while players who have visited previously are yet to overcome it.
Even the best of performances from Arsenal might not be enough on a night where they could practically be playing against 12 men.
Arsenal’s leaky defence
While Arsenal’s attack is one of the best in the league and their midfield is balanced, their backline is still not up there with the best in the league.
David Luiz and Sokratis are not the quickest of centre-back pairings, and Klopp will certainly have his wingers test this attribute. Nacho Monreal is also susceptible while Ainsley Maitland-Niles could be exposed.
The lack of quality in the backline will force Emery to use a less aggressive approach in this game, which could play into Liverpool’s hands. The Reds have looked a bit open at the back this season, but if Arsenal sit back and look to protect their goal, Liverpool are more than capable of playing through them and scoring goals.
So Arsenal’s weaknesses at the back could be their undoing for another year at Anfield.
Chemistry
While Liverpool did not add any marquee names in the summer, Arsenal look a completely different outfit with all their summer signings in the starting XI.
Nicolas Pepe, who is yet to start a game, and Dani Ceballos, who was impressive in the last game against Burnley, are both new to the Premier League and new to Liverpool’s style of play.
David Luiz has new faces around him, but his experience could help the visitors this weekend. But in stark contrast, Liverpool will probably play a similar XI to what they did in the same fixture last season.
Players in Red know each other well, know each other’s weaknesses well and have played together more often than the Arsenal XI. This could make all the difference in games where there is very little to separate the two teams.
Incisive journalism, not.
To give one reason that the players on each side know each other better than the players on one side is sloppy.
Nonsense.
Unlike the 5 year old who wrote this article I was at the Anfield game last season when, admittedly, my boys got slaughtered. It will be a different story come Saturday.
One reason why they will: Ceballos