This Saturday the early kick off sees 1st versus 4th as leaders Arsenal travel to Anfield to take on a strong Liverpool side. The first fixture between these two teams this season was a 2-0 win for Arsenal at the Emirates, where a midfield led by a brilliant performance from Aaron Ramsey dominated in the comprehensive victory. This time around though, with Arsenal suffering a few injuries and Liverpool welcoming back Joe Allen into the fold, it is unclear as to who will win the crucial battle in the middle of the park.
Arsenal’s midfield has been at the forefront of their success this season. A thin forward line has been masked by the goalscoring abilities of midfield players like Ramsey and Theo Walcott. But with Ramsey out for a couple of weeks, the Liverpool game a bit too soon for Jack Wilshere, and Abou Diaby out for the foreseeable future, how will Arsenal line-up at Anfield? In the centre of midfield I expect to see Mikel Arteta and Alex Oxlade – Chamberlain. When the pair lined up together against Crystal Palace their team kept a clean sheet. In this game, the Ox played to perfection, finding a happy medium as he was able to defend while also scoring both goals. Arteta did a lot of the dirty work and performed his role well, as he normally does.
In the attacking midfield for Arsenal I predict that Arsenal will go with Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil. Cazorla has been on form recently and put in another great performance against Palace. He capped off his performance with a great assist for one of the Ox’s two goals. Lining up next to him in the attacking midfield position will be Ozil. Arsenal’s most expensive signing of all time, Ozil seems to drift in and out of games but has been the motivation that sparked Arsenal’s season. He also has the vision and the magic to change a game with one pass and for this he will not be left off the pitch.
Next is the Liverpool midfield. The view on Liverpool’s midfield from the public has been the opposite of Arsenal’s midfield; it has sparked criticism for being too exposed and weak, especially in big matches. Now with Steven Gerrard playing in the “regista” role for Liverpool due to injuries and Joe Allen returning, Liverpool’s midfield is sure to get a shake-up. Firstly and the hardest to predict will be the defensive midfield role. Allen returned to the team as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with West Brom. Gerrard played the defensive midfield role very well against West Brom and he should line-up there instead of the Welshman, who will most likely make an appearance from the bench.
The next question is who will play just in front of Gerrard, but in my mind there is only one man for this job. Jordan Henderson has arguably been Liverpool’s most improved player of the season and the centre of midfield role is perfect for him. He can run all day and starting in the middle of the park allows him to operate from box to box. In all honesty, I feel sorry for the lad. He deserves a rest but with Liverpool’s lack of options and Hendo’s improvement the club needs him more than ever. In such a big game, he hss to get the nod to start.
Lastly is the attacking midfield role. Brendan Rodgers seems to not favour Luis Alberto, although he has not been given enough of a chance in my opinion. For this reason, the position gets handed to Philipe Coutinho. The Brazilian’s last two matches have been contrasting. Against Everton he controlled play and showed maturity as he assisted Daniel Sturridge in the derby win. Then he came into the West Brom game and was disappointing, highlighting the inconsistency that he has shown this season. But as I said before, the Liverpool manager seems to favour Coutinho, making him the obvious choice to play the attacking mid position for Liverpool on Saturday.
So which midfield wins? Arsenal’s midfield is very attack-minded, and they will have to be at their best travelling to the fortress that Liverpool have turned Anfield into. Liverpool on the other hand have two more defensive minded players and will look almost exclusively to their star forwards for goals. So taking all of this into consideration, Liverpool are the favourites. But it must also be said that Arsenal’s backline has proven far better than Liverpool’s this year, which could help separate their well-matched midfields.
Regardless of the outcome, the battle of heavyweights this Saturday should produce a great game, albeit a nervy one, for the Liverpool and Arsenal faithful.
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