Arsenal will be looking to stake their claim for the Premier League title as they host last seasons champions Liverpool on Thursday at 8pm.
Mikel Arteta’s side are on a seven-game win streak, with their last loss coming against Aston Villa in the Premier League last month.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Liverpool
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard.
While this Arsenal team have started to leak a few more goals than they did at the start of the campaign, conceding six in their last six games, they have also managed to score 13 goals of their own.
In the reverse fixture earlier this season, Liverpool got the better of Arsenal with a 1-0 victory, one of only two losses for the Gunners this season.
Arsenal team news vs Liverpool
Arteta will be without his starting left-back, Ricardo Calafiori, who is set to miss the Liverpool clash due to a muscular injury.
Calafiori has made 20 appearances for the Gunners this season in all competitions, scoring once and providing two assists, becoming a key cog in Arteta’s well oiled machine.
Arsenal will also be without both Cristhian Mosquera and Max Dowman, who also miss out due to their own injuries.
One of the biggest decisions for Arteta will be his choice of striker, as it looks like he will have all three of Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz at his disposal.
Striker decisions
So far this season, Gyokeres has been the starting centre-forward after making a big money move in the summer, joining the Gunners for a fee of around £54.8m.
The Sweden international has made 23 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring seven goals in 1,553 minutes played.
Gyokeres thrives in larger spaces, being a relentless runner on the last line which opens spaces for other players, helping Arsenal especially against stubborn mid block sides this season.
However, both Havertz and Jesus offer a different set of skills, and many are intrigued to see how Arteta manages the minutes between his centre-forward options.
Against Liverpool, Havertz could be a good option to deal with direct balls forward and win aerial duels against the likes of Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, giving them an outlet who is better with his hold-up play.
On the other hand, Arsenal could start Jesus, looking to create overloads on the flanks and create with plenty of rotations to drag Liverpool’s defensive scheme around, which a false nine type of Jesus allows.
While Gyokeres will likely get the nod, Arteta will be happy to have these options in his back pocket, allowing him to make tactical changes and swing the game in his favour at any moment.