Arsenal host undefeated Liverpool at the Emirates on Monday night.
Arsenal’s third game of the 2015/16 Premier League campaign sees Arsene Wenger’s men host a Liverpool side boasting a 100% start to the season.
The Gunners restored a bit of belief last weekend as they downed Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park following an opening day defeat at home to fellow Londoners West Ham United.
While question marks remain over Arsenal’s title aspirations, a big performance against the Reds will lighten the mood further in North London but Wenger must be aware of the upcoming dangers.
Back five:
Wenger’s first task is dealing with the evident threat of new Liverpool signing Christian Benteke, both from set-piece situations and his power and pace through the middle in open play.
With Gabriel Paulista and Calum Chambers options, the Gunners boss would be wise to stick to the trusty duo of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker given their understanding and experience.
Mertesacker’s height and aerial ability is going to be important, but so are the fullbacks who must be ready to deal with the pace and intensity the visitors conjure up on the counterattack.
Midfield trio:
While Arsenal tend to play Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla as a midfield two with three attacking midfielders further forward, in doing so against the Reds they could find themselves outnumbered.
Brendan Rodgers is likely to pick a midfield trio of Emre Can, James Milner and Philippe Coutinho, a nice blend of skill, strength and physicality in order to wrestle control in the middle.
Wenger can still opt for three so-called attacking midfielders, but he should consider dropping Mesut Ozil deeper and stopping Can and Milner from dictating play out of possession.
The German international has often been criticised for his performance in the big-game clashes, and to get the best out of him the hosts need to get him on the ball as much as possible.
Attacking trio:
Alexis Sanchez is a no-brainer considering he’s 100% fit, while Theo Walcott should come in for Aaron Ramsey in order to give the hosts more pace out wide and a different type of threat.
Walcott didn’t featured at Palace, but on the bigger Emirates pitch he could prove vital in stretching the visitors and testing Nathaniel Clyne’s defensive capabilities when getting a run on him.
Olivier Giroud netted his first goal of the campaign last weekend and considering his link-up play with Sanchez and Ozil is so important, there seems little reason to drop him from the starting XI on Monday.
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