Ian Wright has told Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal that if they are serious about securing Champions League football this season and pushing Manchester City, then they have to beat Liverpool on Sunday.
The former striker added that Liverpool can be ‘got at’ because of Jurgen Klopp side’s previous defensive issues in the Premier League.
Whilst Klopp watched his team secure a much-needed three points and clean sheet against Rangers in the Champions League on Tuesday night, the weekend game will be very different.
The Reds had Arsenal’s number last term, but this side, now sitting at the top of the Premier League table, are a different animal to the one that missed out on the top-four in 2021/22.
In years gone by, Liverpool’s aggressive, fast-paced and all-action attack has been a problem for the Gunners.
But this is the time to end it all, even though Wright is aware that Liverpool’s offensive players can ‘hurt’ his former club, as he told Premier League Productions (03/10/22 at 2:35 pm).
“Liverpool is going to be a big test,” said Wright. “We are playing against Liverpool, we saw what happened against Manchester United, a couple of mistakes and they beat them, that’s how small the margins are.
“Liverpool defensively you can see, they can be got at, but can you sustain it against that team? Because Liverpool have got the players that can offensively hurt you.
“You are at home, you should be beating this Liverpool side in the form they are in and that’s how you should approach the game.
“What I saw from Liverpool, this is the time to play them, so Arsenal, with the way they are playing, everybody is buzzing, there are no injuries really. This is the kind of game, where they have got to go, at home and beat Liverpool. If we are serious about where we want to be, and that’s top four and pushing Manchester City as far as we can.”
A TEST OF ARSENAL’S DEFENCE
From an attacking sense, Arsenal fans should be able to cause Liverpool problems because they will have too many questions for them.
But, despite the Merseyside outfit performing poorly since the start of the season, their attack can still cause some serious issues too.
Mo Salah, Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino, and the full-backs, will perhaps ask the biggest questions of Arsenal’s season so far.
Whilst Tottenham have a serious and fearless front three, compared to Liverpool, they aren’t as attack-minded as a team as those from Merseyside.
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