Who: Arsenal vs Liverpool
What: English Premier League
Where: Emirates Stadium in London, United Kingdom
When: Thursday, January 8, at 8pm (20:00 GMT).
How to follow: We will have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.
Table-topping Arsenal entertain defending champions Liverpool in a mouth-watering offering in the English Premier League on Thursday, with glory on offer for the former but pride heavily at stake for the latter.
The Gunners are searching for their first league title since 2003, while the Reds are licking their wounds from a season that has almost inexplicably imploded following their runaway success last term.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the match in which a home win is fully expected, but nothing can ever be taken for granted in the Premier League.
How have Arsenal fared in the Premier League this season?
The Gunners have stormed to top spot as manager Mikel Arteta looks to go one better than three consecutive second-placed finishes in the English top flight.
Only one defeat in 21 matches to begin the season – the loss coming at Liverpool – has marked Arsenal as the team to stop on all fronts. Free-scoring in front of the goal and miserly at the back, Arteta appears to have finally cracked the code.
How do things stand in the Premier League title race?
The gap with second-placed Manchester City is six points, ahead of Pep Guardiola’s side welcoming Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
Aston Villa are level on points with City, and travel to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, but their 4-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal on December 30 was regarded as a serious dent to their title ambitions.
What has gone wrong for Liverpool in the Premier League this season?
The Reds enjoyed a stunning start to the new campaign, which made their demise this season all the more alarming. Slot’s side won their opening five league matches as part of a seven-game winning run in all competitions.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot insists his reigning champions can still do “special things” this season.
“It is nine games unbeaten but we have definitely had two draws too many,” Slot told a pre-match news conference on Wednesday.
A great deal of the focus for the Reds’ slide, which saw them lose the following four Premier League games on the bounce after their fine start, has focused on the fallout with their iconic forward Mohamed Salah.
Slot has insisted the club have moved on since Salah’s departure for international duty with Egypt at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, but questions remain across the park.
“We haven’t had the consistency but we’ve already beaten some very good teams, so that tells you the talent is definitely there but the consistency isn’t,” he said.
Only 41 goals were conceded by Liverpool last season, but 28 have already been let in during their 20 games so far this season.
The massive summer spending spree, which was headlined by Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz as marquee signings, has seemingly unsettled the balance of a side that stormed to the title last season.
The talent of both, and the rest brought in, is quite clear, but whether Slot can gel them into a side capable of salvaging this season and beyond remains to be seen.
The manager believes his side are still in the reckoning in the league.
“There’s a lot of importance on this match because we still have a lot to play for in the Premier League,” said Slot.
What happened the last time Arsenal played Liverpool?
Liverpool secured a 1-0 win against Arsenal in an early-season encounter between the sides in the Premier League on August 31 at Anfield.
Dominik Szoboszlai scored the only goal of the game with an explosive free-kick in the 83rd minute of an otherwise tight match.
What happened in the corresponding game between Arsenal and Liverpool last season?
The sides could not be separated in last season’s Premier League match at Emirates Stadium, although Liverpool had to twice come from behind – including a late Mohamed Salah leveller – to snare a 2-2 draw.
Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino had given the Gunners the lead twice in the first half with Virgil van Dijk netting in between.
The Reds, however, had to nervously wait until the 81st minute for Salah to secure a point.
When did Arsenal last beat Liverpool?
Arsenal’s last win against Liverpool came three seasons ago, courtesy of a 3-1 victory at Emirates Stadium in February 2024.
A fiery match saw nine yellow cards shown and Reds defender Ibrahima Konate sent off in the 88th minute when his side were still searching for an equaliser.
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli scored in either half to twice give the Gunners the lead, either side of Gabriel Magalhaes’s own goal.
Leandro Trossard rounded off the scoring in the 90th minute.
Stat attack – Arsenal
The Gunners are on a seven-game winning streak, during which they have netted 13 goals and conceded only six – two of which came in the win against Brighton in their last game.
The north Londoners are the only team to retain an unbeaten home record in the Premier League at this stage, winning nine of their 10 matches at Emirates Stadium. The Gunners have fired in 26 goals in front of their own fans in the league this season, and conceded only five.
Bukayo Saka, such a huge part of the Gunners’ form of recent seasons, is aiming to become the first Arsenal player to score in four straight league home games against Liverpool.
Stat attack – Liverpool
Liverpool are unbeaten in nine matches, winning five, but have drawn their last two – both in the league.
The Reds have kept only one clean sheet in their last seven league matches – a 2-0 home victory against Brighton and the 0-0 draw at Leeds two games ago.
Eight goals have been shipped in that time, with 12 scored.
Four of their six defeats this season have come on the road – where they have also won four and drawn two – with 18 goals conceded on their travels and only 17 scored.
Even bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers have not shipped so many goals away from home.
Arsenal vs Liverpool – stat attack
Liverpool are unbeaten in three matches against Arsenal, winning the last match and drawing twice.
That victory for the Reds, however, ended a six-match winless run in the league, during which the Gunners won twice.
The last victory for the Reds prior to that stretch was the last time the Merseysiders won at Emirates Stadium, back in March 2022, with goals from Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota.
The Gunners have won two of the three league meetings in London since then.
Head-to-head
This is the 246th meeting between the sides, with Liverpool winning 95 of the matches and Arsenal emerging victorious on 81 occasions.
Arsenal team news
Max Dowman and Cristhian Mosquera miss out, with both struggling with ankle problems, while Riccardo Calafiori is a doubt due to an unspecified injury.
Kai Havertz was rested from the squad that was named for the win at Bournemouth and may have to make do with a place on the bench at best as his recovery from a previous injury is managed.
Predicted Arsenal starting lineup
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard
Liverpool team news
Salah remains at AFCON with Egypt, while Isak is a long-term absentee with a leg injury.
Fellow forward Hugo Ekitike missed the draw with Fulham due to a muscle problem and remains a doubt.
Florian Wirtz is nursing a hamstring problem but is expected to continue to play through the issue.
Giovanni Leoni and Wataru Endo remain longer-term absentees.
Predicted Liverpool starting lineup
Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Jones; Gakpo
Arsenal and Liverpool form guides
- Arsenal: W-W-W-W-W
- Liverpool: W-W-W-D-D