Liverpool host Arsenal on Saturday in one of the biggest matches of the Premier League season, with the winner virtually guaranteed to hold first place heading into Christmas.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal (12-2-3, 39 points) enter the with a one-point lead on Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in a tightly contested race that sees five teams entering the weekend separated by six points.
And a big reason Arteta’s Gunners kept up with eventual title-winners Manchester City last season was their results over Liverpool.
Arsenal won the home fixture 3-2 and roared out to a two-goal lead at Anfield last April before settling for a 2-2 draw. Before that, the Reds had gone unbeaten with six wins in eight previous meetings in all competitions.
As the Gunners attempt to win their first league title in 20 seasons, Arteta suggested last year’s results should give his side some confidence but aren’t predictive.
“No, every game is different,” Arteta said. “They have a really particular way of playing like Brighton had, like Villa had. And every game is prepared in a different way. The context is different, the atmosphere is something that it’s important to understand as well. But we now have the experience of what we did last year that has worked for big parts of the game.”
The Gunners had won four in a row in the league before a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa and responded to that with a 2-0 win over Brighton last weekend. Kai Havertz scored his fourth league goal and Gabriel Jesus added his third for an Arsenal attack that has seen eight players score multiple times.
Liverpool (11-1-5, 38 points) are unbeaten in their last 10 league games to climb the table, and briefly led the league before being held to a 0-0 draw by Manchester United last Sunday.
That result disrupted a perfect home record in all competitions, although Arsenal is the first team in the current top five to pay a visit to Anfield.
The Reds have scored 40 times and conceded only eight in front of their supporters. Mohamed Salah has 11 league goals and is on pace to post 19 or more for the seventh consecutive season.
Klopp is impressed by Arsenal’s accomplishments but also believes his side deserves its current place in the table.
“Mikel built exactly the team he wanted, and they are difficult to play,” Klopp said. “They are a good mix between physicality, like big, strong players, fast, good technique, very good organization. They are really well-coached, well-drilled. You can see every year they make another step.
“They really have my respect, but we want the points anyway.”
–Field Level Media