Beware the spud Arsenal by Sam P
All the talk in the football media in the build up to Arsenal facing Liverpool in the Premier League tonight has been about whether the creaking and injury hit back line of the Anfield mob can stand up to the creative genius of Mesut Ozil and the scoring power of Arsenal.
And that is clearly one of the biggest things worrying the new Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, despite the fact that he suggested earlier in the week that he could have three centre backs available. If the German was really confident that the France international Mamadou Sakho would recover and that his Brazilian defensive midfielder was up to the job I wonder why he felt the need to get an emergency loan deal done for a central defender.
I think the fact that his new loan signing, Steven Caulker, is a former spud might have been a factor for Klopp, who always wants his players to giver everything. Caulker may have played just 18 Premier League games for Tottenham but he did come through their academy and was on the books of our north London rivals for four years after that.
You can guarantee that he will have some anti-Arsenal feeling ingrained in him from that time and I reckon Klopp is banking on that tonight. Caulker is a proven Premier League player as well, of course, even though he is currently on the books of the Championship club QPR.
He is also match fit and unless Sakho is completely right I do not expect Liverpool to risk him, especially with fierce rivals Man United to face at the weekend. So is this former spud the main thing standing in Arsenal’s way as we try to keep ahead in the race for the Premier League title?