It was a long and boring break! Premier League is finally back and we are playing an out of form Liverpool at Emirates. I won’t be surprised if we manage 3 points against them but I will take it happily if we share a point each.
This season has been a rollercoaster ride for us, we have managed to show some class when least expected (going down 3-0 against West Ham) but also managed to sh*t ourselves in otherwise easy ones (against Wolves). Today’s probably the toughest match of whatever’s left of the season and a win today will allow us to go with confidence for the rest of season.
We have some problems for today though. David Luiz is out injured, two of our best players Bukayo and ESR will be assessed before match and Xhaka is suffering an illness. Saka and ESR has become such an important part of the team that their unavailability will be devastating for any chance of winning against the pools. We have got ample coverage for Luiz and we might see a Holding + Gabrielle pairing today.
We also need Auba firing up the front. Liverpool is not going to allow us much chances and any 50-50 must be converted. I would much rather hope Laca plays upfront with ESR on right, Ode in the middle and Saka on left. However, it all comes down to player’s fitness ahead of the match and with Europa running, Arteta should be cautious not to burn any one of them to ground.
Mikel has this conundrum of what to prioritize – League or Europa. Europa gives us a chance of Champions League football if we win, but anything can go wrong over 2 legs and I’m sure he remembers Emery’s mistake when we missed it by a point in league and lost in finals in Europa. When asked about whether Europa is the priority, Arteta was clear.
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.
source : Arsenal.com
We still got a chance to qualify for Europa through League with easier matches ahead, and every team except City are inconsistent. We have got a fair chance and a good pool of players to rotate.
Let’s hope we get a win today! #COYG
What’s your prediction? Join me in the comments.
