Arsenal take on Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday in what will be the most glamorous FA Cup third-round tie of the weekend.
The Gunners have gone off the boil in recent weeks, picking up just four points from a possible 12 during the busy festive period in the Premier League. They won against Brighton and picked a point against Liverpool at Anfield but failed to build on those performances, losing back-to-back London derbies against West Ham United and Fulham.
The Reds, on the contrary, head into this magical FA Cup clash in great form. They eliminated West Ham from the Carabao Cup quarter-finals before beating Burnley at Turf Moor. After sharing the spoils with Arsenal, Jurgen Klopp’s side smashed Newcastle United 4-2 at home on New Year’s Day.
As both teams will be raring to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup, let us take a look at the key battles that could define the outcome of this game.
#Alexis Mac Allister vs Martin Odegaard
Wataru Endo won’t be available to Liverpool at the weekend due to his Asian Cup commitments with Japan, opening the door for Alexis Mac Allister to make his first start after recently recovering from injury. The Argentinean World Cup winner came off the bench in Liverpool’s 4-2 win over Newcastle on Monday night but is likely to be thrown straight into the mix at the Emirates Stadium.
Mac Allister will be responsible for controlling the tempo of play and building up attacks from a deeper role for Liverpool. He also must protect the backline from Arsenal forwards and creative midfielder Martin Odegaard.
The Arsenal skipper will largely loiter around the final third, trying to unlock the well-drilled Liverpool backline with his link-up play, guile and movement. So, the onus will be on Mac Allister’s shoulders to curb Odegaard’s runs between the lines and thereby prevent him from getting into scoring positions.
#Cody Gakpo vs William Saliba
Mohamed Salah’s unavailability due to AFCON commitments with Egypt should see a shake-up in the Liverpool attack on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp could decide to push Harvey Elliot up into the right wing to fill in for Salah, while Cody Gakpo may get a chance to lead the line after Darwin Nunez’s wastefulness in front of goal against Newcastle.
Gakpo is a clever attacker who likes to drop deeper to link up play and get his teammates into the game. It can be highlighted that the Netherlands international is a brilliant finisher, as his ability to position himself in the final third is commendable. Hence, William Saliba will have to be defensively alert and robust if he hopes to keep Gakpo under wraps.
Arsenal’s defensive rock, Saliba is one of the first names on Mikel Arteta’s teamsheet. The Frenchman has enjoyed a solid season until the Fulham game last weekend where he struggled at times to cope with their threat and was lucky not to be sent off.
Saliba will want to put in a much better performance when Liverpool visit the Emirates Stadium, and if he can tame Gakpo and stop him from getting into threatening positions, the visitors’ attacking threat could witness a big decline.
#Bukayo Saka vs Joe Gomez
Arsenal have struggled in the final third this term, with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah both failing to find the back of the net regularly. Their wide players haven’t exactly been at their best either as both Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka have found it difficult to produce the goods consistently.
Despite managing 13 goal involvements in 19 appearances—including a goal in the 2-1 away defeat to Fulham—Saka has been nowhere near his sublime best for some time now. Yet, he will be the Gunners’ biggest threat going forward against Liverpool in the FA Cup third-round tie.
Joe Gomez has deputised well at left-back in the injury absences of Kostas Tsimikas and Andy Robertson, and he will head into this feisty fixture in high spirits after keeping out Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon first and then Miguel Almiron on Monday. However, Saka will provide a different test altogether which Gomez must ace to help his side keep a clean sheet.
