Arsenal vs. Liverpool
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Kick off: 4pm
The standout fixture from the opening weekend of the 2016-17 Premier League season sees Arsenal welcome Liverpool to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday (today).
A new campaign ahead, but a sense of same old for Arsenal supporters.
Yet again the Gunners have followed up a largely underwhelming campaign, which inevitably ended on somewhat of a high, by not really doing a great deal to address the overriding problems.
While the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have certainly added another dimension to this squad in recent windows, and indeed continue to do so, the two key areas that are crying out for more depth – central defence and up front – continue to be overlooked by Arsene Wenger.
The Frenchman is now into the final year of his latest contract at the Emirates Stadium, and it remains to be seen whether the man who so often frustrates the club’s fanbase will be trusted with another three-year cycle to continue managing this talented side.
As is so often the case, Arsenal boast one of the finest groups in the division – made even stronger by the signing of Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach – but only once in the last decade have they finished higher than third place in the table.
One way or another, this will likely be a pivotal campaign in the history of Arsenal Football Club, as Wenger is given possibly one final chance to get things right.
Qualifying for the Champions League just to exit at the first knockout-stage hurdle can no longer qualify as success.
As for Liverpool, the bedding-in period now over, boss Jurgen Klopp has been given a chance to make this Liverpool side his own with the arrival of six new players during the summer window; the £58 million attacking pairing of Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum among them.
Klopp certainly prefers making names out of players at his disposal rather than bringing in ready-made talent, too, as witnessed during his seven years at Borussia Dortmund when shaping a title-winning squad that also came mighty close to winning the Champions League.
Klopp will be desperate to end his final hoodoo this coming season and a large part of any success the Reds do go on to enjoy over the next nine months will largely be down to their attack line, which has proved to be stronger than any other in the Premier League so far this calendar year.
Arsenal possible starting lineup: Cech, Bellerin, Holding, Chambers, Monreal, Cazorla, Xhaka, Chamberlain, Ramsey, Walcott, Sanchez.
Liverpool possible starting lineup: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Moreno, Lallana, Can, Henderson, Mane, Firmino, Coutinho.