Paul Merson has warned that Liverpool could be ‘ripped to shreds’ by Arsenal if they play Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara in midfield.
In what is the Premier League outing of the weekend, the Gunners host Jurgen Klopp’s troops at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
There’s no doubt that Arsenal are the form team going into the occasion, with Liverpool only winning two of their seven league matches so far this season – and even one of those required a last-gasp winner from Fabio Carvalho to down Newcastle United.
The Reds are in a major funk and Merson can easily see Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka bossing the opposition’s midfield if the German manager selects Henderson and the Spanish maestro.
He told Sportskeeda: “Liverpool played four forwards against Rangers and dominated the game as they secured a 2-0 win at Anfield. Against Arsenal, though, I think they’ll get ripped to shreds 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.”
Last season, Henderson and Thiago, along with Fabinho in the defensive role, was comfortably the Reds’ best-possible combination of midfielders, one that helped them almost win four competitions.
But Merson is right in saying that this time around, it does come across as a little lightweight and Partey and Xhaka could possibly dominate them.
However, writing off Liverpool is a massive mistake so even if Klopp does elect to play the duo, few would be surprised if they still managed to return to Merseyside with a season-turning victory.
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