The tension is certainly rising at Arsenal ahead of their pivotal clash with Liverpool in the Premier League this weekend.
Mikel Arteta’s side haven’t been at their best since the international break, Arsenal lost to Bournemouth and then failed to excite fans during a dull 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
Of course, it’s a tough ask to beat Liverpool at the best of times, but Arsenal are also enduring an injury crisis right now, meaning Arne Slot’s first visit to the Emirates Stadium will be even more difficult to ruin.
Arsenal hope to have Bukayo Saka back fit, but they’ll almost certainly be missing Martin Odegaard who will join the suspended William Saliba watching on from the sidelines.
That being said, Arsenal will simply be determined to keep 11 players on the pitch on Sunday, something that’s proved very difficult of late.
Roy Keane thinks Mikel Arteta got it wrong during Arsenal’s defeat to Bournemouth
Speaking on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast, Roy Keane harped back to the defeat against Bournemouth and questioned Arteta’s decision to keep his side on the front foot.
Ian Wright was extremely frustrated by those comments, given that Keane had previously criticised Arsenal for lacking ambition with 10 men, too.
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Keane said: “Well, why didn’t they sit back against Bournemouth and just like they did against City and go, we just sit and we try and pick you off with 10 men? It can be done.”
Wright replied: “Yeah, it can be done. But maybe they were listening to you saying, ‘why didn’t the Arsenal, the great Arsenal, go for it? Go for it Arsenal.”
Keane: “I didn’t say go for it, I’m saying at the right time, Ian. You’re being childish.”
Wright: “You know the thing is, I’m not being childish. The fact is, is that at the time, you was really upset about the fact that we didn’t try and do more against City, you know, a team that you’re going to get, you’re going to get hurt.”
Arsenal must turn a corner against Liverpool
Either way, Arsenal will simply be determined to avoid any more talk of red cards, simply by avoiding them for the rest of the season.
Arsenal don’t have any ‘dirty’ players in their squad, there’s no one you’d think was a red card risk.
And therefore, it’s just a question of making better decisions on the pitch, and a game of this magnitude against Liverpool is a great opportunity to turn the corner in that respect.
That being said, Paul Scholes made a controversial claim about Arsenal’s squad before facing Liverpool.
A crucial clash, and one that will certainly be a barometer of where Arteta and Slot’s projects are at right now.
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