Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Without question the fixture of this Premier League weekend is at Anfield as Liverpool play host to Arsenal later this Evening. The result could not only have repercussions in the race for a Champions League place but also in regards to Arsene Wenger’s managerial status at the club
If Manchester United win this Lunchtime then it will heap extra pressure on these two sides as the race for 4th really begins to heat up. Without getting ahead of myself United will no doubt be favourites to beat Bournemouth at home and move into 4th for at least a few hours.
A perfect result for them would then be a draw between these two sides as that would mean Jose Mourinho’s men would finish the weekend back among the top 4. Couple a United win with defeat for either side here at Anfield later this Evening and that side will be pushed back down to 6th.
Now if that side happens to be Arsenal then it will just turn the screw further as to whether or not Arsene Wenger does end up staying on past the end of the season. This one result in isolation is not going to be responsible for a decision but another away defeat will only once again stoke up the fires for the Wenger out brigade.
It’s a tale that has taken an interesting twist with the news that Luis Enrique is to leave Barcelona at the end of the season, does that give Arsene Wenger the perfect exit come May regardless of league position if he were to then fill the Nou Camp vacancy.
That is something that will rumble on no doubt until Barcelona name Luis Enrique’s successor but this Evening the job in hand for both himself and Liverpool mangaer Jurgen Klopp is getting an all important win over one of their nearest rivals.
For Liverpool there’s the added need due to the fact that they were beaten by a resurgent Leicester on Monday night. Leicester once again sprung to life under the new tutelage of Craig Shakespeare but how much of that was done to Leicester being good and Liverpool being bad.
It probably sits somewhere between the two but it was a Liverpool performance to forget as Jamie Vardy ran Joel Matip and Lucas ragged all night earlier in the week. The decision for Klopp now is whether or not to stick with the same partnership when Arsenal come to Merseyside.
It’s just one Premier League win in five for Liverpool and should they suffer another defeat here against Arsenal then the season which promised so much is in serious danger of losing any steam that it has left. What was Heavy Metal football before Christmas is resembling something more like a Silent Disco as of late.
If you compare the two performances against Tottenham and Leicester it was like night and day. Scintillating against Tottenham but abject against Leicester on Monday, the hope will be that once again playing in front of their own fans will see them play like the former and not the latter.
Opponents Arsenal had a week off last week due to a curtailed Premier League programme with their last run out being the F.A. Cup tie away at Sutton United. A game which has almost been forgotten about because of Wayne Shaw and his pie eating antics.
Their last Premier League runout was three weeks ago when they eventually edged past Hull thanks to two Alexis Sanchez strikes. It was nowhere near vintage Arsenal but after the drubbing they took at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League it would have been very welcome.
Will this extended break be a help or a hindrance to Arsenal. For Liverpool it was certainly a hindrance after losing that momentum which was built up after putting Tottenham to the sword, 3 weeks without the intensity of a league match is a long time, will this catch Arsenal cold.
The all but Champions League dead rubber comes around on Tuesday night as they once again face Bayern and with the scoreline already pointing to an Arsenal exit it perhaps means that Wenger does not have to worry about Tuesday in mind and can give the tie with Liverpool his full focus.
If you were to ask Arsenal fans if they were prepared to chuck Tuesday in return for a win against Liverpool then I doubt many would go against that train of thought. But it’s a risky strategy as we all know there are absolutely no guarantees in football.
So what will the outcome be at Anfield later. Liverpool at home but Arsenal in the better form, that said Arsenal may be a bit rusty after such an enforced break. There is not a lot to choose between these two teams as 6th probably plays host to 5th by the time the game starts. I’ll go for a draw, a result that ends up suiting neither.
