Premier League: Midweek Capital Clash Could Be Crucial

Arsenal vs Liverpool

Who wants fourth place in the Premier League?

It’s a question that has been pondered a lot of late as all of the chasers for that position have been consistent in one thing: their inconsistency.

Yet with 12 league matches remaining, one team now has a distinct advantage.

Arsenal not only hold fourth place, but they also have games in hand on all the sides chasing them (Man United, West Ham, Wolves and Spurs).

So, can Mikel Arteta’s team now show some real consistency and claim the final Champions League spot up for grabs (the top three look pretty secure)?

Standing in their way are the epitome of consistency, second-placed Liverpool, who are bidding for title glory and need the points themselves.

Talking Points

Both teams come into this encounter after their own weekend of Premier League 2022 highlights.

Liverpool overcame a potentially tricky test at Brighton with a 2-0 win which closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to three points and was their eighth league win in a row.

Arsenal, meanwhile, sealed victory by the same scoreline at home to Leicester City to ease to a fifth consecutive Premier League win.

Both Arteta and his Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp should have near enough full strength squads to choose from for the latest head-to-head – their fourth in as many months.

Arteta came under stern criticism at the start of the season as his young side lost their opening three encounters to, momentarily, slip to the bottom of the table.

Yet despite being a youthful side and bidding farewell to their former captain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, in January, their form has improved in recent weeks.

Mohamed Salah is ready to lead Liverpool when they go against Arsenal for a midweek Premier League match — Liverpool star Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring a goal during a Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion

By contrast, Liverpool have had no such worries. They have only lost two league games all season and Klopp possesses what he calls the best squad he has ever had in management.

As Tumaini Carayol of The Guardian wrote this weekend: “With every game and new victory under their belts, Arsenal’s young, joyful squad seem to unlock another new level of confidence. Against Leicester, they were sublime, with Martin Ødegaard and Thomas Partey dominating the midfield and creating a platform for their teammates to overwhelm Leicester with their fluid, quick and precise passing combinations.

“Arsenal have now won five games in a row, they returned to fourth place in the league and by the end of the game fans were punctuating every slick one-touch pass with cries of ‘olé!’ After spending much of Mikel Arteta’s time as manager working to create a new identity, they are doing so while also being one of the most watchable teams in the league.”

That may be so, but if that description is to bear real fruit and be sustained, they have to start holding their own against the top teams.

Wednesday will be the perfect barometer to judge.

UEFA – Champions League

Manchester United

Atletico Madrid

CLICK HERE

TO SEE UPDATED ODDS

History

There is quite a history between these two English greats.

After dominating the English football landscape for 15 years in the 1970s and the 1980s, it was actually Arsenal who triggered the start of Liverpool’s decline with an unforgettable title-clinching victory at Anfield – one of two in three years in the late 80s/early 1990s.

Yet Klopp has largely had the edge in this fixture since he was appointed Liverpool boss in October 2015, including four wins in the last six. That includes the corresponding fixture last season as the Merseysiders recorded a 3-0 success.

That reverse was in the League Cup last season – at the fourth round stage – when the Gunners triumphed 5-4 on spot-kicks after a goalless draw.

Overall, Liverpool have 93 wins compared to Arsenal’s 81 victories and 62 draws.

This is their fourth meeting this season and Liverpool won the league encounter in November with plenty to spare, courtesy of goals from Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota, Mo Salah and Takumi Minamino.

Of course, they also won at the Emirates in January in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final en route to winning the tournament a fortnight ago.