Let’s wipe that August 0-0 from memory and keep our fingers crossed for the usual classic that comes when Liverpool play Arsenal.
Prior to the early season stalemate, the sides exchanged 33 goals in their previous 10 meetings in all competitions.
But what will happen when Jurgen Klopp’s eighth-placed Gegenpressers host Arsene Wenger’s table-topping Gunners?
The hamstrung Reds need to start picking up points if they are to position themselves for a run at a Champions League place while Arsenal will try to hold off on their annual implosion.
We’ve ignored injuries, suspensions and Dejan Lovren as we thought ‘what would a combined XI of Liverpool and Arsenal look like?’
This is what we came up with.
In goal, there was no real contest as Simon Mignolet has looked as reliable as clockwork (if the clocks in question were the melted iterations from Salvador Dali’s bonkers brainbox). Petr Cech is the much more dependable and consistent goalkeeper, having kept nine clean sheets this season, two more than Mignolet. He also doesn’t freak out when a cross comes into the box while the same can’t be said for the Belgian.
There was some debate in the office for right back. Our preference for Hector Bellerin is no slight on the talents of Nathaniel Clyne but Bellerin has arguably matured into the best right back in the Premier League. The Spaniard’s boots are often smouldering at full time so quickly does he go about his business on the right flank of the Emirates. He’s exciting going forward, relentless in defence and he creates more chances than most wingers.
Laurent Koscielny was a no-brainer in the heart of our back four and for all his beautiful defending, we’ve decided to partner him with the brawn of Martin Skrtel. Skrtel might not be the strongest centre-half in the world but he’s aggressive and doesn’t shy away from a tackle. We’re comfortable with this partnership but, in all honesty, neither man is going to go down in history as an all-time great central defender.
On the left, Kieran Gibbs gets the shout as he’s just less rash than Alberto Moreno. We want our left-back to be a left-back, as stupidly obvious as that sounds. Moreno fancies himself as more of a winger and he blazes the ball over the bar too often for our liking. Gibbs does the simple things brilliantly and he’s never caught out of position. Monreal will likely turn into a better left-back than Gibbs but we’d need to see another six months of the Spaniard before confidently giving him a starting place.
Protecting the back four, Francis Coquelin is really the only option and, before he got injured, was one of Arsenal’s stand-out players. All he needed was to be shown a little bit of faith and he flourished. The Frenchman would get into any Premier League team…maybe not Leicester.
Playing slightly ahead of Coquelin is the duo of Philippe Coutinho and Aaron Ramsey. On his day, Coutinho is unplayable and can be the difference between one point and three points for the Reds. He’s undoubtedly the best playmaker at Jurgen Klopp’s disposal.
Ramsey just beat Santi Cazorla to a starting place because he’s the more well-rounded technician. Cazorla is much more of an attacking threat but he’s such a similar player to Coutinho that we felt we needed a midfielder who’s at least a little bit strong in the tackle so the Welshman got the nod.
Our front three would be a daunting task for any Premier League defence to stifle and it sees the seldom seen Daniel Sturridge supported by the insanely entertaining Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
During his rare appearances on the pitch, Sturridge is one of the best strikers in the league. He’s got everything you want from a front man – speed, first touch, strength, hold-up ability – and he’s got that special kind of finish that leads you to expect him to find the net every time he shoots.
Ozil’s inclusion needs no justification. He could well be the best player in England and can pick passes that most players can’t even see.
And Alexis Sanchez, like Coutinho, is a game-changer. Lethal from a dead ball, able to beat his man more often than not and has the knuckle-ball knack down to a tee.
Bench: Mignolet, Clyne, Sakho, Henderson, Cazorla, Walcott, Giroud.
