MANCHESTER, England: The match at Emirates Stadium on Sunday should prove informative about the prospects of both Arsenal and Liverpool.
For Premier League leader Arsenal, it’s the latest test of their ability to mount a credible title challenge against the only team that have managed to disrupt Manchester City’s dominance over the past five years.
For Liverpool, tentatively finding form after such a turbulent start to the season, it’s a chance to provide a platform on which to build Jurgen Klopp’s recovery plan.
The stakes are much higher for the team from Merseyside — not least because City lie in wait a week later.
Further dropped points ahead of the visit of Erling Haaland and Co. to Anfield would leave Klopp on the verge of crisis in a season when the title already looks beyond Liverpool.
The German has been cautious in his commentary this week — even after the confidence-boosting win over Rangers in the Champions League on Tuesday.
“I can’t wait for the moment when I can read newspapers again because I didn’t read them for weeks,” Klopp joked. “The criticism is completely fine. We are not over the moon about our situation. But we played some really good games — it’s not like it’s 10 years ago, it’s not too long ago.”
Liverpool have only lost once in the league this season but already trail Arsenal by 11 points.
The only wins have come in the 9-0 demolition of Bournemouth and via an injury-time strike against Newcastle.
Last week’s 3-3 draw at home against Brighton typified the raggedness of a team that were on course for an unprecedented quadruple going into the final weeks of last season. The loss of Sadio Mane, who joined Bayern Munich in the offseason, has had an impact, with replacement Darwin Nunez taking time to settle.
Injuries in midfield have left Liverpool looking light in that department, while Virgil van Dijk’s usual authority in defense has been lacking. In five of seven games in the league, Liverpool has conceded first to underline the vulnerability at the back.
How van Dijk handles Haaland will be fascinating — but before that he will have to try to curtail a former City striker who is enjoying a resurgence at Arsenal.
Gabriel Jesus looked to be a bargain when signed for $50 million in the offseason and he has been a key component for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta this term, scoring five times in eight appearances.
The Brazil international was on target again as Arsenal defeated Tottenham 3-1 in last week’s north London derby.
Seven wins from eight matches has confounded expectations and even left City in Arsenal’s wake.
The one loss — to Manchester United — has not derailed momentum, while victory against Tottenham answered a lot of questions about the team’s ability to cope with the pressure at the top.
Even in the face of Liverpool’s struggles, another win on Sunday would perhaps be even more impressive as evidence of Arsenal’s readiness to replace last year’s runner-up as the new challenge to City.
TAKING A KNEE
The Premier League will reaffirm its commitment to fighting racism and discrimination with players taking a knee before the next two sets of matches.
All games between Oct. 8 and Oct. 16 will be dedicated to the “No Room For Racism” initiative.
Ahead of the start of the season, club captains collectively agreed to stop taking a knee before every match and instead select certain points in the calendar to make a statement.
Boxing Day, the final day of the season and the FA Cup and EFL Cup finals will also see players make the gesture.
Arsenal looking to pile more pressure on Liverpool
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Arsenal looking to pile more pressure on Liverpool
- For Premier League leader Arsenal, it's the latest test of their ability to mount a credible title challenge
- For Liverpool, it's a chance to provide a platform on which to build Jurgen Klopp’s recovery plan
Supersub strikes again as Sesko gives Man United win at Everton
- The defeat was a blow to Everton’s hopes of a place in next year’s European competitions and left it languishing in ninth, behind Brentford and Bournemouth
LIVERPOOL, England: Manchester United supersub Benjamin Sesko scored 13 minutes after entering the field to give his side a 1-0 win over Everton in the Premier League on Monday.
It was the third time in four games that Sesko has scored after coming off the bench and secured points for United.
“I believe in me and so do the other players as well,” Sesko told Sky Sports. “They know what they are going to get when I arrive in the game. It’s up to me to deliver of course.”
His goal with 19 minutes remaining finished off the slickest move of an otherwise stodgy game.
Bryan Mbeumo controlled Matheus Cunha’s superb long ball and played a perfectly weighted pass to the feet of Sesko, who steered the ball past Jordan Pickford with aplomb.
“It was a great finish,” United interim coach Michael Carrick said. “It was a ruthless finish. I liked the way he put it away with real confidence. It was great play from Cunha and Mbeumo to set it up and we are dangerous on the break.”
Until then defenses had been on top and the lack of attacking fluency was not helped by a heavy pitch that appeared to slow down both teams.
The result took fourth-placed United three points clear of Chelsea and Liverpool. United was three behind Aston Villa.
It also extended Carrick’s unbeaten run to six games since he replaced Ruben Amorim on Jan. 13.
The defeat was a blow to Everton’s hopes of a place in next year’s European competitions and left it languishing in ninth, behind Brentford and Bournemouth and eight points adrift of Chelsea and Liverpool.
David Moyes’ men have gone seven games without a win at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“Generally we did very well in lots of bits,” Moyes said. “We got done on the counterattack and they ran away and got the goal that was there. We put in a great effort to get the goal but lacked the quality to make it count.”
