Arsenal will face Liverpool at Anfield in what promises to be a humdinger of a clash in the Premier League on Saturday, Dec. 23. The Gunners are flying high at the moment and sitting at the top of the league table with 39 points from 17 matches.
Arsenal have won four of their last five league matches and their 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion saw them dominate the match in a resounding manner. The Gunners are ahead of the Reds by a solitary point, but seem to have the edge at the moment.
Jurgen Klopp’s men drew goalless with Manchester United last weekend despite having dominated the match for the most part. Hence, the likes of Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez will be all the more motivated against Arsenal on Saturday. Still, Arsenal seem to be the slightly better team now and should be the favourite in that match.
Arsenal’s forwards are in great form at the moment:
Scoring goals has not been a problem for the Gunners at the moment, with almost each of their forwards being in great form. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli continue to enhance their reputation as the most lethal pair of wingers in English football.
They kept tormenting Brighton’s defence with their runs down the flanks and also kept playing crosses to the penalty box. Moreover, Gabriel Jesus also found the net that day and now has seven goals from 18 matches this season.
With Martin Odegaard being his usual self and Kai Havertz also beginning to find his touch, Arsenal probably have the post potent attacking unit among all the clubs in the Premier League. With their defence also being in good shape, the Gunners have one of the most balanced sides in England at the moment.
The remainder of the year is very important for Arsenal:
Mikel Arteta had to swallow a bitter pill, as his team threw away a lead to surrender the league title to Manchester City last season. They were the table-toppers during Christmas last season, too, but came up with an underwhelming performance in the second half of the season.
Arteta will surely keep that in mind and will urge his men to be cautious in their approach. In this regard, the next couple of fixtures in December will be very crucial for them. The clash with Liverpool should be a titanic one and the team that prevails in that match will get a significant mental boost for their next fixtures.
Arsenal will then meet another potentially dangerous opposition in West Ham United and David Moyes’ side also has the ability to stop their juggernaut. Hence, the Gunners will have to be cautious against them as well.
Should they be able to win their remaining two matches in the year, the Gunners will take a significant step towards fulfilling their ambition of winning their first league title in two decades. It remains to be seen how well Arsenal are able to do justice to the talent at their disposal and stop Manchester City from extending their monopoly in English football.