What a Premier League battle we have ahead of us on Sunday, and if we refer to the recent EFL Cup meeting, then we are in for another quality showdown.
Arsenal and Liverpool come into this game on the back of a busy midweek fast track. Arsenal were on a four game winless streak, but have recently won two in a row to get back on track. The scoreline against Nottingham Forest did not reflect the actual situation on the pitch, with Arsenal largely in control and scoring twice in seven minutes to seal the win. However, the Arsenal dominated the game, but Forest's late goal left the final stage of the game in doubt, resulting in a narrow one-goal victory for the Arsenal, who had absolute control of the ball and a number of golden chances.
In my recent review of Arsenal, I mentioned their lack of composure in burying their last kick at goal, and it almost cost them again in the midweek game. We saw the same thing in the previous EFL Cup game against Liverpool, where Arsenal dominated possession for most of the game, had a couple of clear-cut chances to score, but ultimately lost 0-2.
I know that Adidas recently publicly denied any intention to take over the coaching of Barcelona and make any purchases in the winter window, and as we've seen from the closing of the transfer window, Arsenal didn't make any new additions. I love Gabriele Jenksis, he's a great footballer, he's a hard worker on the pitch, and he seems to be a very approachable guy in the dressing room, but he's not the one who can fire you up and help you win the title, and that's why Gordiona was willing to let him go. I fear that Arsenal have not only missed out on the chance to bring in a striker this month, but have also paid the price of losing the chance to chase the league title.
The Arsenal are facing a Reds team that doesn't need to worry about their goal-scoring ability at the moment. Liverpool have scored in every game since their home draw with Man Utd and are unbeaten in their last 10 games with a total of 28 goals. Their win over Chelsea in midweek was much easier than I thought it would be, and a number of attacking players were ruthless in front of goal. Liverpool's attacking line of Mohamed Sana, Diego Zuda, Darwin Nunes, Gap and Luis Diaz have scored 59 goals in all competitions so far, ranking 1st in the EPL in terms of shots, shots on target and total number of goals scored, so the attacking form is pretty hot.
One player in particular I want to talk about is Diago Zuda. I don't think he's gotten as much attention as other Reds starters in his early seasons or two, but he's certainly contributed a lot to Liverpool so far this season. He's a very intelligent player and can score all types of goals in all situations, we saw from his goal against Chelsea in midweek that he can capitalize on his chances, and I think that hunger for goals has taken Liverpool to the next level.
