Liverpool v Arsenal: Thiago and Arteta look to forge new eras | OneFootball

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Joel Sanderson-Murray·28 September 2020

Liverpool v Arsenal: Thiago and Arteta look to forge new eras

Article image:Liverpool v Arsenal: Thiago and Arteta look to forge new eras

To say Anfield has been an unhappy hunting ground for Arsenal in recent years would be an understatement.

A stadium that played host to one of the biggest nights in the club’s history in 1989 has become an arena of dread and humiliation for the Gunners over the past few years..


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Arsenal have conceded three or more goals in six out of their last seven league visits to Anfield, suffering two 5-1 defeats, and a 4-0 thrown in for good measure.

It’s both bizarre and somehow phenomenal to see such a record of consistent thrashings in meetings between two of the ‘top six’ clubs in the Premier League.

However, not many will bank on a similar outcome on Monday night, despite Liverpool being the reigning Premier League champions and Arsenal coming off the back of a season where they finished eighth.

Because of Mikel Arteta.

The Arsenal manager has had an astounding effect since taking over and, whisper it quietly, this Arsenal team even have a chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

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They have beaten Liverpool (twice), Manchester City and Chelsea in their last ten games, winning the FA Cup and Community Shield along the way, and have imposed a similar formation and tactical plan in each match.

Arteta has started with a 3-4-3 in each fixture, and although that system can change in-game, the outcome has pretty much remained the same. Arsenal have become a team that is ‘hard to beat’ and, after years of being flakey in encounters with the other top sides in the Premier League, they now seem to have a blueprint for the most testing of challenges.

Disciplined behind the ball with the ability to spring a counter with the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and also capable of building play from the back and beating pressing systems, Arteta has struck gold.

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It was patient build-up against a well-oiled pressing machine that led to Aubameyang’s goal against Liverpool in the Community Shield, the second time Jürgen Klopp’s side have been on the receiving end of this ‘new Arsenal’ in recent months.

But, for all the change in north London, Liverpool are changing too, as evidenced by a big new signing made since the two clubs last met just four weeks ago.

All eyes will be on Thiago Alcântaral, who is expected to make his full debut if fit, on Monday.

The 29-year-old came off the bench at half-time in the 2-0 win over Chelsea last weekend, completing 75 passes in 45 minutes and whetting the appetite of supporters displaying his ability to pull the strings from midfield.

We’ll discover over the coming months how this Liverpool team will shape around Thiago, and Monday night could be a first glance of that.

The expectation is that the Spaniard will start in a deep-lying position with the plan to pick the lock of Arsenal’s resolute defensive shape.

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With Arsenal beginning a new era and Liverpool looking to evolve to stay on top, Monday night will be a good barometer to see where both sides are at just three games into the 2020/21 campaign.

Can Arsenal frustrate the champions of England once again and continue the progress shown under Arteta?

Questions were raised about Liverpools motivation going into this season after the jittery conclusion to the last but a win on Monday night would see them with nine points from three games having got Chelsea and Arsenal out of the way.

This might not be the goal-fest this fixture usually provides but we are sure to be in for an entertaining clash.