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Liverpool and Arsenal played the first two games of the 2017/18 Premier League season and these games saw a combined 13 goals! Both teams conceded three goals each in their first game of the league season and thus showed the whole world that their defence is shambolic as it was last season.
The two teams also fought it out till the last match of the previous season to decide who gets the final Champions League spot and Liverpool eventually clinched it. The Reds have now beaten Hoffenheim in their playoff match and secured a spot in the group stage.
Despite the defensive woes Liverpool have, they are one of the fiercest attacking teams in the league and are known to do well against teams that play open expansive football like Arsenal do. This was evident last season as the Reds beat Arsenal 3-1 and 4-3 in last season’s home and away fixtures respectively.
The Reds are high on confidence after their scintillating performance against Hoffenheim while Arsenal are still nursing the wounds of yet another defeat against Stoke. As things stand, Liverpool will annihilate Arsenal and here are five reasons why.
Liverpool's pace
The addition of Sadio Mane’s pace to Liverpool’s attack last season added a new dimension to the attack and the Gunners experienced that first-hand on the opening day of the 2016/17 season when Mane scored a sensational individual goal.
Klopp has added more pace and directness to his side this summer with the recruitment of Mohamed Salah.
Liverpool’s front three of Mane, Salah and Roberto Firmino is destructive as the Brazilian drops deep and creates space for the pacey wingers to run into and wreak havoc.
Four games into the season, both Salah and Mane have found the back of the net twice. The ability of both these players to make intelligent runs and their eye for goal will be a huge threat for Arsenal to deal with.
In addition to the African wingers, Liverpool also have two really quick and offensive minded full-backs in Alberto Moreno and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
If Arsene Wenger watched Liverpool’s match against Hoffenheim at Anfield, then he would have observed that the two full-backs love to dash forward, make overlapping runs and get into the box.
Mesut Ozil could prove a weakness
Following Arsenal’s defeat to Stoke City in the previous match, Steven Gerrard called Mesut Ozil a liability.
"I just worry about his reaction and body language - when the ball is turned over he offers his team-mates zero. Away from home, he's a liability - he just doesn't do enough.”
Although Gerrard’s criticism sounds a little too harsh, it is certainly warranted.
It is no secret that Ozil is not the hardest working player when his team is not in possession and against a team like Liverpool which works equally hard with and without the ball, Ozil could be a liability.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool is renowned for their high-intensity pressing game high up the pitch and Ozil has often struggled against such an offensive press. His performances against Liverpool are a testament to the same.
Last season, during the game at Anfield, Ozil struggled to cope with Liverpool’s press as he was not offered time on the ball to do his magic. Adam Lallana had fun knocking the ball of Ozil’s feet in that match.
Even before Klopp’s arrival, the situation was similar. Remember the famous 5-1 win for Liverpool against Arsenal in 2014 when the Reds went 4-0 up within the first 20 minutes? In that game, Philippe Coutinho disposed Ozil near the halfway line and fed Daniel Sturridge with an amazing through ball that resulted in a goal.
Anfield atmosphere
Although this might sound cliched and boring, it would be a grave mistake to underestimate the impact of playing at Anfield when the crowd is in full power.
Don’t believe me? Ask Hoffenheim manager Julian Nagelsman. Before the second leg of the UEFA Champions League playoff match, Nagelsman made these comments.
I don't really make a difference between home or away matches, so I don't really care [where the game is played]. I am not overly in awe of this club. We are good enough not to have to hide here.
Liverpool were 3-0 up within 20 minutes at Anfield and went on to win the match 4-2 and the tie 6-3 on aggregate.
Post match, Nagelsman made these comments.
The first couple of minutes were already very challenging. They got a free-kick on the edge of the area, we made two or three poor tackles, the crowd could sense that and really got behind Liverpool and you know that's how atmosphere builds here.
We were running around like headless chickens. The team showed a bit too emotion and we left too many gaps.
The Anfield faithful will ensure that they make it as difficult as possible for the visitors and Arsenal players have to make sure that they are not intimidated by the crowd. This is not easy as Arsenal players are often put under the scanner for their mental grit.
Klopp's record against big 6
Last season, Liverpool earned the title ‘Robinhood’ after their brilliant performance against the top clubs and some shocking defeats against teams in the bottom end of the table.
The Reds dropped five points against relegated Hull City and Sunderland in addition to losing a game each against Crystal Palace, Swansea City and Burnley who finished 14th, 15th and 16th respectively.
In stark contrast, they went undefeated against the Top 6 with 5 wins and 5 draws in 10 matches. Their 20 points against the Top 6 was the best in the league. Also, the only defeat Liverpool had against a team in the Top 10 was against 9th placed Bournemouth.
Robinhood indeed!
Klopp’s record against the big teams in his entire tenure as Liverpool manager is fantastic. Against Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs combined in all competitions, Klopp has played 22 games and has lost just two games. The first was a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United in a game which Liverpool thoroughly dominated but failed to take their chances and the second was on penalties in the final of the Capital One Cup.
Against Arsenal, Liverpool have played thrice under Klopp, winning two and drawing once. In those three games, Liverpool scored 10 goals! Also, Arsenal were the only Top 6 side against which Liverpool did a double last season.
If records and form are anything to go by, then Arsenal fans have plenty to fret about.
Arsenal's formation
Towards the tail-end of last season, Arsene Wenger opted to use a 3-4-3 formation and it worked well for him as the Gunners went on to beat Chelsea and lift the FA Cup.
This season, Wenger chose to stick with the system that worked for him but in just two Premier League games, Arsenal have already conceded 4 goals.
If Wenger opts to use the same system against Liverpool, then it could be suicidal.
Hoffenheim used the same formation against Liverpool and Sadio Mane exploited the space between the wingbacks and the central defenders very well. For Arsenal, this could be a huge issue if Chamberlain plays as the wingback because Mane or Salah will have very little trouble bringing to fore his defensive vulnerability.
The other issue is that Wenger has persisted with Monreal in a three man defence and his inexperience playing as a centre-back could make things easier for Liverpool. Not every Spanish full-back is Cesar Azpilicueta.
In such a formation, Arsenal will also be outnumbered in midfield as they will have two central midfielders against Liverpool’s three. Even for a team like Hoffenheim which uses a more intense pressing game than Arsenal, they had no answer to the pressing and closing down of Liverpool’s midfield three.
