Arsenal and Liverpool go head to head in the Premier League this weekend and most pundits have their money on the Reds picking up a win at the Emirates.
The Gunners are ninth on the league table and have almost no chance of getting back into the top-four by the end of this season. Liverpool, on the other hand, are just five points behind fourth placed Chelsea so a win at the Emirates will keep their keep dreams of a Champions League spot alive.
Arsenal have very little pressure going into this match which is why according to pundit Paul Merson, Mikel Arteta will be more worried about their Europa League endeavour rather than picking up all three points this weekend.
‘It’s a huge game for Jurgen Klopp and his side in the race for Champions League football next season,’ Merson told Sky Sports.
‘On the other hand, I don’t think it’s as big a game for Arsenal. They play Slavia Prague next week in the Europa League and it’s hard to see them having much interest in the game against Liverpool at all.
‘I’d expect at least five of the players who are going to be playing next Thursday to not play in this game. It’s tough when the players have been all around the world and you’ve got to get them to hit the ground running straight away in the Premier League.
‘It could work to Arsenal’s advantage though with the focus sure to be on the Europa League. They’ve got time to get the players back, re-charge their batteries after a gruelling international schedule and then get them ready for next Thursday.
‘They haven’t really got to rush them all back in for Saturday night’s game, like Liverpool have to.’
It’s more or less impossible for Arsenal to claw down a nine point gap to be able to finish in the top-four so winning the Europa League seems to be the best bet for them to get back into the UCL.
The Gunners take on Slavia Prague next week in the quarter-finals of the UEL and like Merson, many people think Arteta might even rest some big name players vs Liverpool just to keep them fresh for the midweek game.
The manager though has ruled out such possibilities, giving utmost priority to Saturday’s game: “The immediate priority is Liverpool. We know that if we want to climb the table and have a chance to be in Europe next season through the Premier League, we need some consistency now in the last nine games.
“We need to get on a run of winning matches and the only way to do it is to start against Liverpool. We don’t have any margin and we have to win that game.”
Arsenal will not be too concerned even if they pick up only a draw this weekend and this very attitude might just the players to play with a lot of freedom and also allow the manager to experiment a bit with his tactics.
On the other hand, Klopp has a lot riding on the outcome of this match and the Liverpool boss will be extra careful when selection his side. To make matters worse, the Anfield outfit have to take on Real Madrid in the Champions League just three days later.
