Arsenal’s first game after the international break went according to plan with Gabriel Jesus marking his return to the Premier League starting line-up by netting a brace in the 4-1 win over Leeds United.
Perhaps more importantly, despite Mikel Arteta’s rather worrying admission about Benjamin White’s fitness, no fresh injury concerns were reported after the game as the right-back – also on the scoresheet – came through unscathed along with Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard.
But there’s no letting up for the Gunners as the business end of the season continues on Sunday as they travel to Merseyside to face Liverpool in a fixture that will have massive implications in the Premier League title race as well as the battle for Champions League qualification.
For the second straight game week, Arsenal are in action after title rivals Manchester City. So considering the lead at the top of the table will be cut down to five points – should the Cityzens beat Southampton – before kick-off at Anfield, the pressure will increase on Arteta’s side.
However, the north London outfit don’t have a great record in this particular fixture and the incentive for leaving Anfield with all three points in the Premier League for the first time since the 2012/13 season is taking a giant step towards being crowned champions, according to Gary Neville that is.
So, as Arteta mulls over who to select in a bid to end Arsenal’s Anfield hoodoo, football.london has taken a look at what changes the Spanish tactician could be contemplating from the side that started the 4-1 win over Leeds, especially after having a full week to prepare.
Saka return.
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Mikel Arteta’s big dilemma for the Liverpool game is who starts in attack. Gabriel Martinelli up against Trent Alexander-Arnold promises to be a key battle and one would expect Bukayo Saka to return to the starting line-up after being named amongst the substitutes last weekend.
“He wasn’t able to train yesterday as he wasn’t well but today he feels a little bit better, so we’ve put Gabby [Jesus] in,” the Spaniard said when explaining his team selection. “He brings a lot of energy, quality, movement & chaos. He’s a player we’ve been missing & it’s good to have him back.”
Although whilst Saka was replaced by Jesus against Leeds, it remains to be seen if Arteta reverses that decision at Anfield as he faces a difficult decision with regard to who leads the line as January signing Leandro Trossard has already scored away at Liverpool this season and is certainly in contention.
Saliba and Nketiah hope
Two of the five absent first-team Arsenal stars against Leeds were William Saliba and Eddie Nketiah because of injury. The former is dealing with a back problem that also saw him miss the win over Crystal Palace before the international break but there is hope he will feature again this season.
“Yeah I am very hopeful and he is as well,” Arteta told reporters. “Back injuries are a bit tricky and how they evolve with the load that you put in certain areas. Let’s push it and see how he copes with that. He’s so willing to be back in the team.”
As for Nketiah, he’s been unavailable since the 4-0 win over Everton a month due to an ankle injury and it remains to be seen if he’s in a position to earn a recall to the matchday squad for the Liverpool game. For both players, there could be an update on their recoveries later in the week.
Arteta ditches Anfield plan
One change that Arteta will surely make isn’t actually to the starting line-up, but rather how he prepares his side to cope with the Anfield atmosphere.
For context, an episode of Amazon Prime’s All or Nothing: Arsenal TV mini-series covered the Spaniard’s somewhat unusual method ahead of the corresponding fixture last season as he played Liverpool’s famous ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ anthem through the speakers on the training pitch.
As explained by Aaron Ramsdale, Arteta opted for this strategy to prepare his players for a hostile atmosphere at Anfield, but it’s safe to say the plan backfired as the Gunners were beaten 4-0 – with the manager losing his cool on the touchline with Jurgen Klopp – and for that reason, the speakers aren’t expected to make another appearance any time soon.
“I’ve never experienced the speakers before. I don’t think they’ll be coming back out,” Ramsdale toldfootball.london. “We could all see what the method was, you know, it was one of those stadiums which if it gets on top of you it can be too much. But yeah, his team talks are definitely different.
“I think he keeps it fresh because like you say sometimes he’s writing, sometimes he talks, sometimes he lets some of the lads talk. Keeps you engaged and he lets you into his life as well too. There’s new things we’ve found out about him over the past year that you would never find out unless he wrote a book or something. Before games, I do feel very engaged with what he’s saying.”
source: football.london
