Arsenal can utilize Man City blueprint to punish Liverpool weakness Klopp is struggling to fix
Arsenal has the ideal blueprint for exploiting Liverpool’s greatest weakness prior to today’s pivotal Premier League match at Anfield. The Gunners are looking to maintain their lead over Manchester City at the top of the table, while Liverpool need a result to keep their flimsy hopes of finishing in the top four alive.
Liverpool’s record against Arsenal at Anfield should make them the favorites for the match, but Jurgen Klopp’s squad has struggled all season to gain momentum. In contrast, Arsenal have won seven consecutive league games dating back to their 3-1 loss to City in February.
Five of these victories have come against teams fighting relegation, but Mikel Arteta’s side have scored 23 goals during this run. In order to keep City at bay in the title race, they will need to be ruthless against Liverpool today.
Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla scored to give Arsene Wenger’s team all three points at Anfield. It had been more than a decade since Arsenal had won at Anfield. Arteta was still playing in the midfield for Arsenal at the time, and he is now tasked with ending the club’s winless streak on Merseyside.
And they’ve arguably never had a better opportunity to take all three points from Anfield, with City’s recent victory over Liverpool serving as the perfect example. Before imploding at the start of the second half, Klopp’s team was in a strong position to win.
Clearly, confidence is a major issue for Liverpool’s players at the moment, as they appeared to drop their heads following Kevin De Bruyne’s goal. More concerning for Liverpool was the ease with which City controlled play in the final third and penetrated their defensive unit.
Trent Alexander-Arnold endured a difficult day defending against the in-form Jack Grealish, and Andy Robertson fared no better on the opposite flank. Even the normally dependable Virgil van Dijk appeared subpar as Julian Alvarez repeatedly appeared from nowhere.
All season long, Klopp has struggled to rectify this issue in an effort to restore his defense to its previous rock-solid form. And Arsenal has the firepower to add to Klopp’s underperforming Liverpool squad’s woes.
Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka will undoubtedly wreak havoc on Liverpool’s fullbacks, whereas Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard will be hoping for space. Liverpool has performed much better at Anfield than they have on the road, but Arsenal has no reason to fear this Liverpool squad, which is vulnerable.
Arsenal can utilize Man City blueprint to punish Liverpool weakness Klopp is struggling to fix
