A week a long time in politics? The shapeshifters in Westminster should spend a day in Ron Manager’s shoes. Mikel Arteta was disappointed to leave Anfield with a draw a fortnight ago. Arsenal scored after four minutes and were dominating before Mohamed Salah pegged them back on the counter.
Arteta could not have imagined then that his Christmas table toppers would spoil quicker than the turkey at home to West Ham and across London at Fulham in successive games. The surrender of Premier League hegemony were received like body shots from Sonny Liston, utterly devastating Arteta, whose post-match addresses evoked funeral orations and placed upon the FA Cup third round barnburner with Liverpool an altogether different vibe.
Though the FA Cup has lost a chunk of its lustre and historic importance, players and managers have a way of engaging should they find themselves heading down Wembley Way in May. Had Arsenal kept that title favourites energy going, Arteta could have explained any setback on Sunday as a managed defeat. Now he is trapped between the need to arrest a slide and the necessity to rejuvenate a first XI that looks spent, particularly up front.
Arteta’s Saka dilemma
Blame for the sudden collapse coalesced around an old Arsenal faultline, the lack of a reliable goal scorer. Gabriel Jesus is at best a one-in-three kind of striker. Eddie Nketiah does not merit a rating since he does not start enough games and when he does it is never on merit. Hence the fantasy transfer chatter about Ivan Toney of Brentford and Victor Boniface, whose goals have helped fire Bayer Leverkusen four points clear in the Bundesliga.
This wasn’t so much a problem when Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were purring on the wings. Arsenal’s resurgence can be attributed mostly to the maturing of both and their developing association with Martin Odegaard. The addition of Declan Rice was thought to be the defining piece of the jigsaw, and this is how it looked until the last five games, during which Arsenal have won only once and lost three times.
Opponents have begun to devise ways to halt Arsenal’s rhythm. The attacking formula utilises the vogue tactic of deploying left-footed attackers on the right and vice versa. Saka in particular profited from this approach, cutting inside onto his left foot and finding the net or the assist with impressive regularity.
A total of 14 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League pushed Arsenal to the brink of the title last season. Though he scored four more before the end of September he has managed only two in 12 since. In the last match at Fulham, Saka looked flat. Yes he poked Arsenal in front early, reacting first to a save from Martinelli’s shot, but laboured thereafter and missed an easy chance to equalise late in the match.
In a perfect world Arteta might replace both wide men, Martinelli with the reliable Leandro Trossard and Saka with Reiss Nelson. But the landscape has changed at the Emirates since the decorations came down. Arsenal face Liverpool twice in four games, the second time back at the Emirates in the Premier League next month in what is clearly the more significant fixture. As a result, Arteta’s selection on Sunday must point towards that.
Klopp’s rotary engine
Jurgen Klopp has no choice but to rotate, which might help Arteta make up his mind. There is no Salah, lost to Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, and no Wataru Endo in midfield, off to the Asian Cup with Japan. Klopp is also without Dominik Szoboszlai, injured in the victory over Newcastle.
However, Klopp is blessed with cutting-edge replacements. Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz are in a constant state of rotation anyway. Alexis Mac Allister is back to bolster the midfield alongside Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch and Harvey Elliott.
Liverpool are three points clear at the top of the table after 20 matches. On Wednesday they face Fulham in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. Even without Salah, they bring a heap of swagger to a fixture that has glowed white hot for half a century.
Weight of history
When Charlie George hit that marvellous winner against Liverpool to seal the double for Arsenal in 1971, Bill Shankly’s gathering ensemble were at the start of a remarkable period that would see them set the agenda for the next two decades. The two clubs have met five times in the FA Cup since, Arsenal winning four of them.
This meeting finds them joined by historical forces in the unequal struggle to land a blow on Manchester City. The league title has outstripped the importance of the Cup a thousand-fold since George lay full length beneath the twin towers in celebration of a momentous victory.
Neither team will mind that much if by losing on Sunday they somehow preserve their strength for what is to come. Both Klopp and Arteta would sacrifice victory for the guarantee of three points a month hence.
Knights in white satin
Perhaps fate will be on Arsenal’s side, helping highlight the club’s charitable crusade against youth violence. To that end Arsenal will turn out in an all-white kit for the first time at home, the bleaching of the traditional red elements seen as a powerful symbol of positivity and renewal. Liverpool will also ditch their red colours, wearing purple in sympathy with the initiative.
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