Paul Merson has explained why Arsenal are the favorites heading into this weekend’s big Premier League clash with Liverpool at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta’s side are top of the table at the moment and have won seven of their first eight games, losing only to Manchester United so far.
Meanwhile, the Anfield side have just 10 points out of a possible 21 but picked up a much-needed victory over Rangers in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Jurgen Klopp opted to play four strikers against the Glasgow-based side with just two central midfielders in the starting XI, but Merson believes Liverpool will “go to pieces” if they similarly settle in the capital on Sunday.
“This is a tougher game for Arsenal than Tottenham and I say this because the fans and the players were naturally excited about the derby,” Merson told sportskeeda. “If Arsenal win against Liverpool and manage to stay close to Manchester City in the coming months, they could well be contenders for the Premier League title this season. They need to keep their players fit, but Mikel Arteta will believe the Gunners have reason to believe they can go the distance.
“Liverpool played Rangers in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday and won quite comfortably, while Arsenal are in UEFA Europa League action later today. The Reds will get a little more rest heading into the much-anticipated Premier League clash, but in current form Arsenal are probably the favorites as things stand.
“Liverpool played four strikers against Rangers and dominated the game by securing a 2-0 win at Anfield. However, against Arsenal, I think they will be torn apart if they play Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara against the likes of Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard, as the Gunners trio have been in sublime form this season.
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Despite Klopp recently changing his trusty 4-3-3 formation to create more space on the flank for attackers, Bobby Firmino had to settle for a bench space against the Ibrox side and was joined by fellow Brazilian Fabinho. .
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The former scored twice in the Reds’ previous league game against Brighton and Merson believes the two Brazil internationals will return to the starting XI for the clash in the Emirates and admits he is not as sure of winning three points against Liverpool as he is. I was for last weekend. North London derby clash with Spurs.
“Roberto Firmino could return to the team for this one, while Fabinho could be placed in midfield to give them more protection away from home.
“I only like Arsenal, but I don’t have as much confidence as against Tottenham. There was no way Arsenal would lose that game, I’m not so sure with this one as it represents a different test for the top of the table.
“This is a massive game for the Gunners and could be one of the biggest tests of Arteta’s management career thus far.”
The loss would see us drop 14 points behind the Gunners before our clash with Manchester City the following weekend.
However, confidence should be high amongst the group after our loss to Rangers, and we certainly believe we have the ability to bring all three points back to Merseyside.
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