Arsenal and Liverpool are preparing to lock horns on Sunday in the biggest Premier League fixture of the weekend.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners and Arne Slot’s Reds occupy third and first place in the table respectively, and both will be desperate to finally knock Manchester City off their perch.
Arsenal were Man City’s closest challengers in the last two seasons, finishing second, while Liverpool finished third and fifth in the last two campaigns.
Liverpool’s new manager has hit the ground running after taking over from Jurgen Klopp over the summer, keeping his team firmly in the Premier League title picture.
Speaking ahead of the match, Arteta delivered his verdict on Slot, and shared what he noticed the Reds boss has already done to his team.
Mikel Arteta says Arne Slot has already put his fingerprints on Liverpool
As per football.london, Arteta was asked whether he had seen a lot from Slot.
Yes, very good,” said the Arsenal boss. “They are in a really good moment, a great run.
“You can see the touch that he’s put on them, to a team that was already very strong. You can see his fingerprints there on that team.”
Arteta was also asked where Liverpool can do the most damage, and what Arsenal need to be mindful of in the match.
“It’s a team that has been competing for nine years at the highest level,” he replied.
“They know how to compete, how to threaten you when the ball is really far, when the ball is in the outside units especially.
“They have the quality to damage you. For nine years consistently it’s been there. That means they’re really good at what they do.”
Arsenal v Liverpool team news
Arsenal are set to be without a number of key players for the Liverpool match.
William Saliba is suspended after his sending-off at Bournemouth, while Riccardo Calafiori is undergoing tests on a knee injury.
Arteta has also admitted that Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber are “very uncertain” with regards to playing against the Reds.
As for Liverpool, forward Diogo Jota has been ruled out after he suffered a rib injury in last weekend’s league win over Chelsea.
Alisson Becker and Harvey Elliott remain sidelined, while Conor Bradley and Federico Chiesa are also not yet ready to return to action.
