Arsenal make the trip north this afternoon to take on rivals Liverpool at Anfield in one of this season’s most crucial fixtures. With Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur already dropping points this weekend, the magnitude of today’s encounter has been elevated even further.

A win for Arsenal today will put them three points behind Manchester United and six points behind leaders Chelsea, with a game in hand on both teams. Liverpool, meanwhile, have been struggling so far this season and sit in seventh position in the league, two points adrift of sixth-placed Manchester City and thirteen points behind Carlo Ancelotti’s pacesetters.

Arsenal will be without a host of first-teamers heading into today’s encounter. Long-term absentees Nicklas Bendtner, Robin van Persie, Johan Djourou, Kieran Gibbs, and Gael Clichy remain out, while Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Eboue are also sidelined. Midfielder Abou Diaby and striker Eduardo are a chance to make their respective returns from injury, however only the selection fo Diaby remains likely.

Taking all that into account, I think we will most probably line-up like this:

Nasri – Arshavin – Walcott
Denilson – Song – Fabregas
Traore – Gallas – Vermaelen – Sagna
Almunia

The only possible change to that line-up, in my eyes, is that of Theo Walcott’s position. Walcott may possibly be used off the bench as he has proven to be a successful impact player in the past and also because he’s on his way back from injury, and in his place will either be Carlos Vela or Abou Diaby. I wouldn’t back Diaby to start since the Frenchman has been out for so long, and although Carlos Vela can do a job as a wide forward,  he hasn’t been in the best of form of late.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will have a lot on the line today, as a negative result for the Spaniard may see his job in doubt. The Scousers failed to progress out of the Champions League group stage, and despite being unbeaten in four league games, have only won three of their last 14 matches in all competitions.

It’s fairly obvious who the danger men will be for Liverpool in today’s clash. The exceptionally talented Fernando Torres loves to score against Arsenal, and has so far netted ten league goals this season. The pace and dynamism of the Spanish forward means that Thomas Vermaelen and William Gallas will hardly be given a breather. Steven Gerrard is another obvious danger man, and I’m sure you’re all aware of what the talismanic midfielder can do.

Even when you take those two into consideration, Liverpool have hardly impressed this season. They are under-performing and will no doubt have a lot to prove today, however I think Arsenal are the better side despite their current injury woes and sketchy form. It will be a close encounter and it could definitely go either way. I think the winning team will nick the win by the one goal.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 13th, 2009 at 4:50 AM and is filed under Arsenal, Match Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.