Arsenal face a huge Premier League test on Sunday as they will welcome Liverpool to the Emirates Stadium.
Last time out in the Premier League, Arsenal slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Bournemouth, bringing their unbeaten start to the season to an end.
Mikel Arteta’s side were able to get back to winning ways on Tuesday evening, but the Gunners were far from convincing in their 1-0 win against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Arsenal lacked creativity in each of these outings, with Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka both injured.
The North London club invited pressure from their opponents in these games as well. They surrendered territory all too easily, and founds themselves sitting deep and seeking to soak up pressure.
This led to boring, and ultimately ineffective, football, as Arsenal were deservedly beaten by the Cherries and they required a huge amount of luck to overcome Shakhtar Donetsk.
Alan Shearer calls out Arsenal form ahead of Liverpool
Former England and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer was certainly left uninspired by the Gunners’ display on Tuesday evening.
After the final whistle had confirmed Arsenal’s narrow success, Shearer gave his thoughts on the hosts’ performance whilst speaking on Amazon Prime Video Sport.
Shearer said: “When you’re picking the bones out of the performance, it wasn’t really a good one. They got the goal in the first half. Little bit of luck, and we thought they’d go on to get two or three. To be fair to Shakhtar, they stuck together… They gave Arsenal a scare.”
The Gunners will need to be much better when they take on Liverpool on Sunday.
Arsenal certainly need to be at their best if they are to emerge with anything positive from this showdown with the Reds.
Arne Slot’s side are currently flying and sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table. However, Arteta is supremely confident that his Arsenal side will match them.
What Arsenal must do vs Liverpool
The Gunners certainly have the quality within their ranks to overcome the Merseyside outfit, as long as they can rediscover their spark.
Arteta must be bold with his tactics. The Spanish coach needs to trust his players to play on the front foot and take the game to the other team.
However, Arsenal cannot afford to throw caution to the wind entirely, and there will be pressure on the likes of Declan Rice and Thomas Partey to lend additional support to the back four, due to William Saliba’s suspension.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
