All eyes will be on the Emirates for what promises to be an exhilarating Premier League contest tomorrow afternoon, as third-placed Arsenal take on leaders Liverpool for the third time in the space of two months
Both outfits enhanced their title credentials in midweek, as the Gunners emerged victorious 2-1 in a sticky affair with Nottingham Forest, while Jurgen Klopp’s merciless crop demolished Chelsea 4-1.
An unwanted reversion to their old attacking ways briefly bedevilled Arsenal during Tuesday’s clash with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, a stadium where they had fallen to defeat in each of their previous three visits, as Mikel Arteta’s men endured over an hour of frustration against a compact Reds rearguard.
However, Forest’s diligent defensive work was ultimately undone by a pair of blunders, as erstwhile Gunners goalkeeper, Matt Turner, allowed a Gabriel Jesus strike to squirm through his legs at his near post, before World Cup winner Gonzalo Montiel cheaply gave the ball away and was powerless to prevent Bukayo Saka clinically finishing off the counter-attack.
The bulldozing Taiwo Awoniyi did set up a nail-biting finale, but the yellow-clad Arsenal clung on to record their second successive Premier League win since a much-needed winter break, having obliterated Crystal Palace 5-0 upon their return from the Dubai sun.
Arsenal’s curse-lifting victory briefly propelled the Gunners into the silver medal position in the table, but they have since been bumped back down to third spot by Manchester City – who are only ahead on goal difference but boast a game in hand, while Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa remain on the coat-tails of last year’s runners-up too.
Boasting six wins from their last seven top-flight contests at the Emirates Stadium – the one aberration being a 2-0 defeat to West Ham United – vengeance will be the special dish on the North London menu this weekend, as Arteta’s men seek to right the wrongs of an identical FA Cup loss to their Merseyside foes.
Hitting the road for the first time since Jurgen Klopp’s extraordinary exit announcement, Liverpool have commenced their legendary manager’s farewell parade with a customary glut of Anfield goals, putting five past Norwich City in the FA Cup before outclassing, outfighting and outwitting Chelsea on Wednesday night.
An electrifying display from Conor Bradley saw the fledgling right-back bank his first senior goal for the Reds while also providing assists for Dominik Szoboszlai and Diogo Jota, becoming the youngest Liverpool player in five years to set up multiple goals in one Premier League match, while Luis Diaz also got in on the Anfield act.
Christopher Nkunku’s crisp finish did present a lifeline for Chelsea, who had a right to feel hard done by after seeing two strong penalty shots waved away, but Mauricio Pochettino’s men were firmly second best throughout the contest and should have travelled home with an even worse goal difference, had Darwin Nunez not hit the woodwork an unprecedented four times.
The Uruguayan’s unwanted record mattered little in the grand scheme of things, and Liverpool, who are without defeat in 11 games in all tournaments will hold an eight-point lead over Arsenal should they come up trumps at the Emirates, where they could put the biggest dent in the Gunners’ title aspirations yet.
Klopp masterminded a smash-and-grab 2-0 FA Cup win on Arsenal’s turf only a few weeks ago, a contest where Arteta’s men were left to rue an abundance of missed chances but by leaving Anfield with a point in a 1-1 December draw, the Gunners made it three Premier League games unbeaten against the Reds ahead of tomorrow’s landmark 200th league meeting.
Earlier today, an Everton side who have dropped below a dreaded dotted line host a Tottenham Hotspur side who have climbed above a desired dotted line in today’s early Premier League kickoff at Goodison Park. The Toffees are back in the drop zone owing to a goalless draw with Fulham in midweek, while the Lilywhites came from behind to overcome Brentford 3-2 in a tetchy London derby. Sean Dyche’s travellers had more than one motivation to put Fulham to the sword at Craven Cottage on Tuesday evening, having seen their EFL Cup dreams crash and burn at the hands of Marco Silva’s men in December, but both teams had evidently left their best shooting boots in the dressing room. A total of 46 shots were fired in West London – 21 of which came from an Everton side who only enjoyed 31 per cent of the ball, but the referee’s whistle would blow without the net rippling once, thanks in no small part to Jordan Pickford’s heroics and a horror miss from Beto at the other end of the pitch. Taking a point home from a ground where Arsenal failed to one month beforehand was no mean feat for Everton, but on account of Luton Town’s phenomenal 4-0 beatdown of Brighton & Hove Albion, the Toffees now find themselves down in 18th spot ahead of today’s lunchtime battle. The points deduction bounce has now firmly worn off for Dyche’s goal-shy crop, who now have just one win to show from their last nine affairs in all tournaments – a 1-0 FA Cup beating of Crystal Palace and the stalemate with Fulham marked their fifth top-flight game on the bounce without a maximum points haul. Furthermore, each of Everton’s last three Premier League matches have seen the Toffees fail to find the back of the net as the hosts revert to their previous toothless ways, but in contrast, Tottenham’s club-record scoring streak in the top flight remains alive and well. Football, darts and UFC were the trifecta of sports linked with Spurs’ enthralling 3-2 win over capital counterparts Brentford on Wednesday evening, where Destiny Udogie, Richarlison and Brennan Johnson rendered Neal Maupay and Ivan Toney’s strikes inconsequential at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Despite overseeing the success which propelled Tottenham back into the Champions League places, Ange Postecoglou had a bone to pick with his Tottenham players at full time, criticising his team for remonstrating with the officials and displaying too much “bravado” in a heated derby. Maupay and James Maddison were at the centre of the off-the-ball drama over the former mimicking the latter’s dart-throwing celebration, leading Postecoglou to urge players to step into the UFC cage if they want to engage in skirmishes, but the Australian was left more satisfied with his side’s merciless second-half display.
Thanks to Aston Villa’s home loss to Newcastle United, Tottenham have taken the Lions’ spot in the top four of the table – albeit only by virtue of more goals scored – and they travel north having only prevailed in one of their last five Premier League away fixtures, albeit while netting 10 times in that sequence. The Lilywhites’ final pre-Christmas fixture in 2023 saw Postecoglou’s men eke out a 2-1 victory over Everton in North London, but Goodison Park has not been a happy hunting ground for Tottenham in recent memory, as the Toffees are unbeaten in five home matches against their visitors since a 6-2 pummelling in December 2018.
