Arsenal v Liverpool stats & key players: Klopp favourite to hurt Slot’s Reds? | OneFootball

Liverpool will look to stay top of the Premier League table when they travel to face Arsenal this weekend.

Arne Slot’s side are one point clear at the top of the table having won seven of their eight games so far. Nottingham Forest are the only side to have beat Liverpool this season, but the Reds have bounced back with four successive victories. It’s also the first time Liverpool have won 11 of their first 12 games of a single season. Who needs Jurgen Klopp?

On the other side of this game, Arsenal are looking to bounce back. Although they did win in the Champions League in midweek, the Gunners must recover from dropped points in the Premier League. A 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth last weekend was Arsenal’s first loss of the season, seeing them fall four points behind Liverpool.

So, will they bounce back? Or will Liverpool consolidate their early lead over Arsenal and stay top of the table?

Liverpool to score at least two goals

Arsenal have got defensive problems going into the weekend, missing a few players. The biggest absentee will be William Saliba.

The Frenchman was shown a straight red card against Bournemouth for denying a goalscoring opportunity, bringing down Evanilson in the first half. Saliba has been a key man for Arsenal, having played every minute in the Premier League since the start of last season.

Since making his Premier League debut a year earlier, Saliba has missed just 11 Premier League games for Arsenal. The Gunners have averaged 1.6 goals conceded per game without Saliba in the team. At the same time, Arsenal have conceded at least two goals in three of their past four Premier League matches.

Arsenal will be without the suspended William Saliba for this game, a player who had played every single minute in the Premier League for the Gunners since the start of last season, prior to his red card against Bournemouth. Since making his debut in the competition (August 5 2022), he’s missed just 11 Premier League matches, with Arsenal having a 74% win rate and conceding on average 0.8 goals per game with him in the team compared to a 45% win rate and 1.6 goals conceded per game without him.

Arsenal to drop more points

Sticking with the Saliba absence, Arsenal have also won just 45% of their Premier League matches in which the Frenchman hasn’t featured since his debut. The absence came at the end of the 2022-23 season, which saw Arsenal miss out on the Premier League title.

During that 11-game run, Arsenal won five, drew three and lost three in the Premier League. They were beaten by Manchester City and drew with Liverpool, which is understandable, but also dropped points against Southampton and Nottingham Forest. The latter was a 1-0 defeat that ended their title hopes.

Then there’s the fact that Liverpool have won all six away games across all competitions under Arne Slot this season. It’s the first time in the club’s history that they have won their first six away games of a single campaign.

But that doesn’t mean Liverpool will win. Arsenal are unbeaten in their past 10 home games across all competitions since a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa at the Emirates in April.

Gabriel Martinelli to hurt Liverpool again

With Bukayo Saka’s involvement a doubt due to injury, Gabriel Martinelli’s chances of starting will increase. The Brazilian has started five of Arsenal’s eight Premier League games this season, but has had to come off the bench in the past two.

Martinelli has still been directly involved in four goals this season, scoring two and providing two assists in the league. Only Saka and Kai Havertz have been directly involved in more goals for Arsenal.

And the Brazilian is facing his favourite opponent. Martinelli has been directly involved in seven goals against Liverpool across all competitions, scoring five and providing two assists. This is his best record against any club for Arsenal.

A reminder that Jurgen Klopp once called Martinelli the “talent of the century” in 2019.

“He’s really unbelievable. So young, looks so mature already, is a proper threat. Yeah, he looks like a really decent player,” he add at a later date.

“But I didn’t want to put any backpack [pressure] on his back with this thing [his earlier remarks] but I just really like good football players and obviously he’s a very good one.”

Kai Havertz to continue streak

Another Arsenal man likely to get among the goals this weekend is Kai Havertz. The German has scored four goals for Arsenal in the league this season, playing as their starting centre forward. It’s a role he took some getting used to since joining Arsenal, but they’re reaping the reward.

And Havertz is very much about the home comforts. All seven Havertz’s goals for club and country this season have come at home. He hasn’t scored away from home Since netting in a 3-2 win over Tottenham in April.

Including last season, Havertz has now scored in each of his past five Premier League appearances at the Emirates. Only one Arsenal player has scored in more consecutive home Premier League games. That man is Thierry Henry, who scored in six successive home league games between March and August 2000, and seven games between May and October 2004.

Both of those streaks did come at Highbury. So Havertz would be the first to achieve the feat at the Emirates.

A calm affair

Arsenal may have had three red cards this season, but the Gunners aren’t too bad when it comes to yellows. Mikel Arteta’s men have averaged 2.25 yellow cards per game in the Premier League this season, with only four teams receiving fewer.

Liverpool have also received just 2.25 yellow cards per game in the league. The two sides are at similar levels for fouls too. Arsenal have committed 12.13 fouls per game compared to Liverpool’s 11.88 in the league this season.

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