5 reasons why Arsenal will destroy Liverpool

In Sunday’s late kick-off, Arsenal will travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool in a clash of the title ‘pretenders’. On the back of a humiliating 1-0 defeat at Stoke, the Gunners will be looking to set the record straight at the expense of Liverpool. Both teams are reeling at the moment but it’s usually Arsenal who respond to adversity better than their Merseyside rivals.

If I was a betting man I’d be putting my life savings on an Arsenal win. The Gunners are the better team, they have the better players and have a better manager.

Here are 5 reasons why Arsenal will destroy Liverpool

#5 Arsenal are playing with something to prove

After having their title credentials seriously questioned at the Bet 365 Stadium, Arsenal are seriously rocking. One buy and one free transfer has not been enough to satisfy the appetite of the Arsenal fans. Now a defeat in the 2nd game of the season only regurgitates the fears the fans had at the start of the season and now they’re fuming again.

The Arsenal players now have a lot to prove as many of their detractors believe it’ll be the same old same old for the Gunners this season. They don’t look like title contenders and that defeat to Stoke only reaffirmed that. The best way to answer the critics would be to win an away match at one of their perceived title rivals.

#4 Arsenal have more fire-power than Liverpool

Liverpool are often a formidable sight when attacking in front of a home crowd at Anfield. They prefer to press on the front foot from the first minute and play at a high velocity. Such an approach would leave Arsenal with no choice but to play on the counter.

That suits the Gunners as they’re at their best when they defend in a low-block and limit their attacks to one or two passes. Arsenal have won 68% of their matches that they’ve had less than 30% possession in. On the counter attack, they are devastating and not many teams have the defence to live with them.

Alexandre Lacazette, Danny Welbeck, Mesut Özil and possibly Alexis Sanchez hitting Liverpool down the flanks on the transition would result in several goals. It’s a well-known fact that the Reds push their full-backs high up the pitch, this would leave Arsenal acres of space to exploit.

#3 Liverpool still haven’t bought a CB

All summer, Liverpool fans have been crying out for a new centre-back. The constant links with Virgil van Dijk have proved torturous for the Liverpool faithful as the Dutchman’s saga has played out for months on end. Jürgen Klopp and fans alike know that neither Dejan Lovren nor Ragnar Klavan are good enough to complement the commanding Joel Matip. The Cameroonian needs a partner of equal footing and stature, if not, his defensive contribution will prove futile as he’ll forever be making up for his incompetent partners.

Liverpool conceded 3 goals on the opening day to Watford, to put that in context, Watford were the 5th lowest goalscorers in the league last season. Add to that their star striker Troy Deeney was missing and it really was a horror show by Klopp’s men. Arsenal may not be firing on all cylinders but the Gunners’ fluid movement will prove too much for this porous Liverpool defence.

#2 Laurent Koscielny is back

Arsenal have won 60.2% of games that Laurent Koscielny has played in

In their opening two games of the season, Arsenal have conceded a combined 4 goals against Leicester City and Stoke City respectively. That’s not good enough if you want to be classed as a title contender.

However, in Arsène Wenger’s defence, he’s fielded together makeshift back threes that consist of two full-backs who clearly aren’t accustomed to the position. That all changes at Anfield as Arsenal’s best defender will be returning to the starting XI.

The Frenchman provides an air of leadership, organisation and bravado that none of the other defenders at the club can. He gives confidence to the rest of the team and allows everyone to relax into their roles.

#1 No Coutinho No Party

Liverpool are a mess right now, on and off the pitch. The club are plagued daily by unwanted attention from Barcelona, the same attention they fell succumb to in the past. After rejecting a £114m bid for Philippe Coutinho, it looks as though the Brazilian may be staying.

But his inconspicuous absence through an apparent back injury has left fans wondering whether things will ever be the same. Jürgen Klopp said himself this week that he has no idea when the Brazilian will be back from injury, thus implying there may be no injury.

Liverpool are a far better team with the 25-year old in it, he provides the link between midfield and attack. Without him, the Reds struggle to create chances and produce intricate play in the final third. Arsenal will find it a breeze to defend against an uninspired Liverpool attack with no flair or spark.