Arsenal host Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, knowing that a win would certainly send out a statement to their top four rivals.
The Gunners currently sit fourth, a point ahead of Man Utd and three ahead of sixth-placed West Ham, while also having three games in hand.
Mikel Arteta’s team has been one of the most consistent in Europe, since their embarrassing start to the Premier League campaign, when they lost three games in a row.
5+ – Arsenal (5) vs Liverpool (8) on Wednesday night will be the first Premier League match between two sides on 5+ game winning runs in the competition since Liverpool 4-4 Arsenal in April 2009. Throwback. pic.twitter.com/6r2oA2ZDCt
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 13, 2022
Liverpool manager Klopp has clearly been impressed with Arsenal’s upturn in form. The German tactician said, “They have a clear structure, clear idea, properly tuned, possession-based, young, full of talent and joy.
“If you go through the line-up there’s an experienced striker and then three very exciting young boys and then a bit more experience in the double six and then a pretty inexperienced backline and a young goalkeeper.”
The former Dortmund boss continued, “Other teams will not like it because it’s another big name back on track but that’s how it looks. There are similarities [to us], you can say it like this, they’re a massive club and qualification for European football in the last few years is not exactly how they wanted it.”
Arsenal are most in-form team in the whole of Europe at this moment in time…
Up next? Liverpool…
BRING. IT. ON. #afc pic.twitter.com/I5VUqmg3Mz
— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) March 15, 2022
“If they get Champions League this year, it will feel as good [as it did] for us the first time. A step in the right direction, an exciting team.”
A manager praising the team he’s about to face is a common tradition in football. But nobody can belittle the progress the North London outfit have made, since the latter years of Arsene Wenger’s era.
Arteta has finally got them playing a certain way. A way that is attracting the eyeballs of rival football fans. A way that is inspiring the Arsenal fans.
Maybe, just maybe, Arsenal have an appropriate adjective that describes them that seems nice to hear. And it’s not awful, mentally weak or naïve. It’s exciting.
Last 10 games is a nice guide to recent form, but the small data set, which could be seen as cherry picking, does not tell us about overall progression.
I prefer to look at our last 50 league games. Which puts us in 3rd, 6pts behind Liverpool over the same period, and with 2 games in hand. Win those two, means Arteta will have amassed the same amount of points as Klopp, AND will have one extra victory.
Win tonight and Arteta has a chance of 2nd over a very long data set. Huge growth!
you should count all Artetas games no just 50
I will do, but one also has to remember the massive problems he inherited, and that it takes time for ANY manager sort their team out, let alone all the other problems at that time at the club. It’s no wonder that since this season we’ve been even better, because its now Arteta’s team.
Is 50 league games not a long enough data set for you, to see if there has been any progression? That’s almost a season and a half!
We all say how amazing Klopp and his team are, yet Arteta is more than matching him over a long period, with way less quality players, and his team isn’t even complete! We don’t even a have a goal scoring striker!
thus proving why the “eye test” is a far more important measuring stick(lol)
I think operating with full backs against pool today will do the trick since tierney and cedric are good at crossing while saka,ode and marts make their tricky move then make a through pass to their respective wing backs then about four of our men flood their box just like ajax last night.