LONDON :Late summer blockbuster, early title skirmish, clash of the big spenders – call it what you will but Sunday’s showdown between Premier League champions Liverpool and Arsenal could shape the narrative for the long months ahead.
Autumn is still a way off and both sides will have 35 games more to play after the dust settles at Anfield but the chance to land an early psychological upper-cut on a main title rival will be forefront in the minds of Arne Slot and Mikel Arteta.
Both sides have taken maximum points from their opening two games but the manner in which they have achieved that makes Sunday’s meeting all the more intriguing.
Liverpool have banged in seven goals in two games but their new recruits have had mixed starts and defensively they have looked unusually vulnerable with four goals conceded.
Hugo Ekitike has hit the ground running, scoring in the wins against Bournemouth and Monday’s rip-roaring and rather fortuitous 3-2 victory at Newcastle United.
But 116 million pounds ($157 million) signing Florian Wirtz is still adjusting to the sheer pace and physicality of England’s top flight while new left back Milos Kerkez has struggled.
In contrast Arsenal have been water-tight at the back, enjoying two clean sheets and their new-look forward line spearheaded by Viktor Gyokeres sparked into life in the 5-0 thrashing of Leeds United last week.
Arsenal’s lack of heavy-metal firepower has been identified as the reason they have finished second in a succession of two-horse Premier League title races and a fair chunk of the 250 million pounds invested in the summer has been to address that.
The capture of Sweden international Gyokeres, together with last week’s audacious swoop for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze have given manager Arteta a plethora of attacking options.
So much so that injuries to Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard, which would normally be met with doom and gloom, do not feel as damaging, even ahead of a trip to Anfield where Liverpool have not lost a league game for almost a year.
Gyokores, the true ‘number nine’ that Arsenal fans have been calling for, scored a brace in the win against Leeds and will be out to make a statement against a Liverpool defence that looked fragile against 10-man Newcastle.
“He’s that old-fashioned striker, the way he runs,” former Manchester United captain and Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane said when running the rule over the former Sporting player who cost Arsenal an initial 55 million pounds.
“It’s not pretty to look at. But come the end of the season, I bet you’re going, he’s got us 20 goals.”
Both league games between the sides ended in 2-2 draws last season – the first one at The Emirates in October when Arsenal twice led and the second in May when Arsenal’s players gave the title winners a guard of honour at Anfield.
That will have stung Arsenal’s squad and while the season is still in its infancy, getting ahead early in the title race could be crucial to their hopes of finishing top for the first time for more than two decades.
Tottenham Hotspur, the only other side to win both their opening games, will seek to maintain their perfect start under new manager Thomas Frank at home to Bournemouth on Saturday.
Manchester City, beaten 2-0 at home by Tottenham, travel to Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday while Chelsea are up against local rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The season is less than three weeks old but Manchester United’s plight is already an underlying theme.
Winless so far in the Premier League, they suffered a humiliating League Cup defeat at fourth-tier Grimsby Town on Wednesday and the pressure on manager Ruben Amorim to get a result at home to promoted Burnley on Saturday is enormous.
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