By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) – Arsenal’s serene start to the season has hit stormy waters in the past week and Mikel Arteta’s side know they can ill-afford to lose at home to Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday.
Defeat at Bournemouth last weekend was Arsenal’s first in any competition since April and not only did they drop three points but they also lost key defender William Saliba for the Liverpool clash after his red card.
Arsenal responded with a laboured 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday in the Champions League but even that came at a cost with defender Riccardo Calafiori hobbling off 20 minutes from time with an injury.
The Italian could be missing along with the suspended Saliba plus injured trio Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber for the visit of a Liverpool side who have begun the post Juergen Klopp era in outstanding fashion.
Liverpool’s 1-0 victory against RB Leipzig on Wednesday means new manager Arne Slot has won 11 of his first 12 games in charge and all six away from home — both club records.
Defeat would leave Arsenal seven points adrift of Slot’s side and potentially six behind Manchester City, who host second-bottom Southampton on Saturday.
That might not have Arteta hitting the panic button but allowing their two biggest title rivals such an early head start would leave the Londoners with precious little wriggle room in the months ahead.
Following Arsenal’s scrappy win over Donetsk, Arteta promised his team would be ‘flying’ on Sunday after four days’ preparation but Liverpool, despite one day less to recover after their trip to Germany, will arrive brimming with confidence.
“Arteta has done an amazing job in the last few years and we have to be on top of our game to get a result,” Slot said.
BEST START
The Dutchman is enjoying the best start by any Liverpool manager and the key appears to be minimum tinkering with Klopp’s formula, though there does seem a more pragmatic element to their style seen in last weekend’s gritty 2-1 win over Chelsea.
That was deemed Slot’s biggest test to date and he passed it with flying colours. Victory at Arsenal in the late game on Saturday would represent another massive result.
Champions Manchester City will most likely be top by then as it would be a huge shock if they do not beat a Southampton side still reeling from last week’s 3-2 home defeat by fellow strugglers Leicester City, having led 2-0.
Fourth-placed Aston Villa made it three wins from three in the Champions League on Tuesday and will be on cloud nine as they prepare to welcome Bournemouth on Saturday when victory would lift them to 20 points, a point behind Liverpool.
“We have to keep the level increasing,” manager Unai Emery said after Tuesday’s 2-0 home win against Bologna.
Besides Arsenal’s heavyweight clash with Liverpool, three other games take place in the capital on Sunday with the most intriguing between West Ham United and Manchester United.
Hammers manager Julen Lopetegui has endured a tough start to his reign and a 4-1 hammering at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend did not go down well with the fans.
That defeat left West Ham in 15th spot, three points behind Manchester United whose 2-1 victory over Brentford last weekend gave under-fire manager Erik ten Hag some respite.
However, Dutchman Ten Hag needs more than the odd victory to escape the endless cycle of crisis in which he seems to have existed for most of his time at Old Trafford.
The weekend programme kicks off on Friday with the east-Midlands derby as Leicester manager Steve Cooper welcomes his resurgent former club Nottingham Forest who would move into fifth place, for a few hours at least, with a win.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
