Defeat to Liverpool could end Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes | OneFootball

Marred by a growing injury crisis, Premier League title hopefuls Arsenal entertain Liverpool in a potentially season-defining fixture on Sunday afternoon.

Following back-to-back runner-up finishes behind Manchester City, it felt like this could be the Gunners’ long-awaited campaign after Jurgen Klopp left Anfield in the summer.

However, new manager Arne Slot has done a sterling job on Merseyside, steering the Reds to the summit with seven wins from his first eight league matches in charge.

By contrast, Mikel Arteta’s men have succumbed to their ill-tempered nature, losing points in three Premier League games.

Each of Arsenal’s three winless top-flight outings this season saw them suffer a numerical disadvantage in the first half, most recently in a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth last weekend.

William Saliba was responsible for Arsenal’s 18th red card in the Premier League since Arteta’s appointment in December 2019, and no team has come close to that negative feat in that sequence.

As a result of their disciplinary issues, the hosts head into proceedings trailing their high-flying visitors by four points, rendering this encounter a must-win affair.

Writing is on the wall

As if Martin Odegaard’s long-term absence with injury wasn’t concerning enough, Arsenal lost their defensive stalwart at the worst possible moment for Arteta.

Saliba had played every minute of the Gunner’s Premier League matches over the last two campaigns before being sent off at the Vitality Stadium.

The 23-year-old has missed only 11 top-flight games since making his debut on August 5, 2022, illustrating his importance to Arteta’s set-up.

Ominously for the home fans, the numbers don’t lie.

Arsenal’s win rate soars to 74 percent when Saliba plays, with the Gunners conceding an average of 0.8 goals per game. In contrast, their win rate drops to 45%, and they concede 1.6 goals without him.

Saliba’s absence takes on a new level of significance when you consider Arsenal have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 17 league meetings with Liverpool.

If the Gunners can halt that woeful run without Saliba and claim three points in the process, it would be a statement win and an ultimate confidence booster for Arteta’s side

Silver lining

In addition to Odegaard and Saliba, Arsenal could take the field without standout winger Bukayo Saka, who skipped a narrow 1-0 win against Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek Champions League action.

That’s a pity because he was on the scoresheet the last two times the Gunners faced Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium, netting three of his side’s six goals between those two matches.

In doing so, Saka helped Arsenal win back-to-back home league encounters against the Reds, putting them on the brink of a three-game winning H2H home run for the first time since 2006.

Encouragingly for Arteta, those two victories form part of the London side’s four-match unbeaten streak against the Merseyside giants in the Premier League (W2, D2).

During that promising stretch, Arteta eclipsed Arsenal’s dismal seven-point tally across their 14 previous top-flight clashes against the Reds (W1, D4, L9).

Time for stars to step up

With Saka’s availability in the balance, Arteta will likely need a new hero on Sunday.

Gabriel Martinelli could be part of the solution, considering he found the net in both aforementioned home league triumphs against Liverpool.

However, the Brazilian has been slow out of the blocks this season, with Kai Havertz soaking up the limelight as the Gunners’ attacking talisman.

The free-scoring German has been on the scoreboard in Arsenal’s last five home matches in the Premier League.

If he can maintain that form this weekend, Havertz will become the first Gunners player to score in six successive top-flight home games since Thierry Henry in 2004.

Sunday will also be a landmark occasion for Declan Rice, who will be making his 250th appearance in the Premier League.

It would make the 25-year-old the sixth-youngest player to hit that milestone, and what better way to celebrate this achievement than by leading his team to victory against direct title rivals?

Make or break

Liverpool’s potential win would open up a seven-point gap between the sides.

Although we’re still early in the season, Slot’s men are already in an unforgiving mood, meaning such a significant distance would probably rule Arsenal out of the title race in October.

And it’s more than just the numbers because losing at home to the current pacesetters would clip Arsenal’s wings ahead of two mouth-watering league games against Newcastle United and Chelsea.

Defeat is not an option for Arteta’s charges if they’re to stay alive in the title race while winning in the face of adversity would likely be a turning point after a disappointing outing in Bournemouth.