3 things Arsenal need to do to win against Liverpool

Arsenal will be travelling to Anfield to play Liverpool on Saturday, and the visitors will be looking to maintain their position at the summit of the Premier League. Here are three things that Arsenal will need to do to beat a confident Liverpool side.

1. Dominate midfield

Arsenal have one of the best midfields in the Premier League, containing the likes of Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and others. They are capable of playing some wonderful passing football, and when in full flow, it is difficult to get the ball off them. Arsenal, even though they will be away from home, will have to hog the ball in order to ensure that Liverpool have less opportunity build up attacks.

Keeping possession of the ball will also mean that Liverpool will have to work that much harder, and in the absence of Lucas, Gerrard will find it difficult to keep up with the sharp passing and swift interplay between the Arsenal midfielders. It will also open up the opportunity for them to make late runs into the box, which has been one of the most effective goal-scoring tactic this season.

2. Stop SAS

64% of Liverpool’s 58 Premier League goals have been scored by either Luis Suarez or Daniel Sturridge. Both the players are in excellent form, and have an outstanding understanding with each other, frequently making intelligent runs for the other to pick out. While this is to Liverpool’s advantage, over reliance on the duo may also be their undoing.

In the last encounter between the two sides, Arsenal managed to keep them quiet and thy effectively managed to negate Liverpool’s entire offensive game plan. This time out, it is unlikely to be very different due to lack of quality backup options available to the Reds. So, if Arsenal manage to keep SAS within check, it will go a long way towards securing the three points.

3. Exploit makeshift Liverpool backline

Liverpool will be without almost their entire first choice backline against Arsenal- Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson are nearing return from injury, Mamadou Sakho is still a couple of weeks away from full fitness while Jose Enrique is recovering from a knee surgery. This will mean that Liverpool will have to play youngster Jon Flanagan and unconvincing Aly Cissokho along with Martin Skrtel and Kolo Toure in defense.

This will present a great opportunity for Arsenal to exploit Liverpool’s backline, who are also prone to making mistakes, having committed the most number of defensive errors (28) in the league this season. Their movement will be difficult to contend with for Liverpool, and with Cissokho often caught out of position, they will have a chance to exploit the space behind him to create scoring opportunities.