After seeing off our north London rivals last weekend, the big games keep coming as Sunday sees us aim to win an eighth game in succession on our own patch when Liverpool visit Emirates Stadium.
That home form might prove crucial in turning around a poor recent record against the Reds. We have only won one of our last 14 Premier League matches against Jurgen Klopp’s team, but head into this encounter 11 points ahead of our opponents after their sticky start to the season.
The Merseysiders are yet to taste victory on their travels this term, but got back to winning ways at home to Rangers on Tuesday night in the Champions League as Klopp aims to get his team playing like title contenders again, having already dropped 11 points - half of their entire total last season.
Sluggish starts costing Klopp
Uncharacteristically, Liverpool have been slow out of the blocks this season - in both matches and the campaign as a whole. They have conceded first in five of their seven league games, a factor that meant it took them four attempts to register a win - albeit a 9-0 wallopping of Bournemouth.
While they followed that up with a last-gasp victory against Newcastle United, draws against Everton and Brighton left them ninth in the table going into this weekend’s fixtures. A 4-1 beating by Napoli in the Champions League also caused concern, which was allayed somewhat by the routine 2-0 win against Rangers.
One player who has impressed is Roberto Firmino, who has netted five times in six Premier League games, as many as he scored in 20 appearances last term. That’s bad news for us, as the Brazilian has scored nine goals against us, more than any other opponent.
What the managers say
Arteta on Liverpool: "Liverpool are a magnificent team. It's a fixture that everybody's looking for, against an opponent that has shown in the last five or six years the level that they have. And we have to show those opponents again that we have reached the level and we are ready to compete against them.
"I'm not here to judge what Liverpool are. I'm here to talk about what we do. I think what they've done in the last five years doesn't need any presentation – it's clear. They've been up there in every single competition for the last five years, so credit to them." - read every word of Mikel's press conference
Klopp on us: "All my respect, wow. Really, really good job. When you need some time, nobody wants to give you time and maybe not all of us deserve time, because you still have to be good to use the time – and that’s what Mikel obviously did. I have to say, really lots of respect for it.
"They had a lot of talent already in the last few years. The last line is now really well settled, they found a way how they want to defend. It’s a young team, a very exciting team, doing really well and [that] they are in the position they are [is] well deserved. Now we go there. Obviously we don’t think about the games we played against them [last season] because it makes not too much sense. We will try to cause them problems, I think that makes sense. So, I’m looking forward to it."
Team news
We will be without Emile Smith Rowe and Mohamed Elneny.
Having returned to training and being named on the bench in midweek, Ibrahima Konate could be set for his first competitive action of the season after picking up an injury in pre-season.
Andrew Robertson is likely to miss out with a knee issue, while in midfield Naby Keita, Curtis Jones and former Gunner Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will also sit this one out.
Facts and stats
Gabriel Jesus has been involved in six goals in his eight Premier League games against Liverpool (4 goals, 2 assists), with all four goals coming in home games.
Diogo Jota has six goals in eight Premier League appearances against us, including five in four for the Reds. He is averaging a goal every 67 minutes, the best ratio of any player in Premier League history to play at least 200 minutes against us.
We have lost our last four in a row against the Reds, but have never lost five league games in a row against Liverpool.
We are on a run of 13 Premier League matches without a clean sheet against Liverpool, conceding 39 goals in those games. We have only had one longer run against an opponent in the competition: 14 versus Man City (ongoing).
Liverpool have yet to win away from home in the Premier League this season, drawing twice and losing once in their three games – not since 2010/11 under Roy Hodgson have the Reds failed to win any of their first four away league games in a single campaign.
Match officials
This will be the first sighting of Michael Oliver as a referee for one of our games since we beat Wolves 1-0 back in February. We have won 20 of the previous 47 games he has officiated.
Sunday’s clash will be the eighth time he has refereed an Arsenal v Liverpool game and we have yet to win one of them, drawing three and losing four. Last season he oversaw both trips to Anfield – the goalless draw in the League Cup, as well as the 4-0 league defeat.
- Referee: Michael Oliver
- Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt
- Assistant Referee 2: Simon Bennett
- Fourth Official: Andrew Madley
- VAR: Darren England
- Additional VAR: Edward Smart
Recent encounters at the Emirates
The last time Liverpool visited N5, they won 2-0 thanks to goals from Jota and Firmino, with the Portuguese attacker netting both goals two months earlier in the same result in the League Cup.
The season before he also bagged a brace in a 3-0 win, meaning Liverpool are looking for a third-straight away win against us for the first time ever.
You have to go back to July 2020 for our last victory in this fixture, when goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Reiss Nelson punished some poor defending to hand us the three points.
Watch some classic home meetings with the Reds in our retro playlist
Breakdown Live
Nick Bright and Adrian Clarke are live from 3.30pm with celebrity guests and all the analysis you need in the build-up to kick off. St Helens' Alex Walmsley joins the team pitchside ahead of the Rugby League World Cup coming to Emirates Stadium in November.
Don’t miss any of the action afterwards, with live radio commentary of the match from Dan Roebuck and Jeremie Aliadiere.
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