MatchThe opposition lowdown: Arsenal

The Reds welcome Mikel Arteta's outfit to L4 in the Premier League and here, we take a closer look at the Gunners before the contest…

Key men

The league leaders have three men in double digits for goals this season, having spread their attacking threat across the front line.

Gabriel Martinelli (13), Bukayo Saka (12) and midfielder Martin Odegaard (10) are among those to have been prominent figures on the scoresheet so far this term, while returning forward Gabriel Jesus has also struck seven times.

Saka is offering a key role in laying on assists too, having provided on 10 occasions to date. January signing Leandro Trossard has also made his presence felt immediately by recording seven assists alongside captain Odegaard.

In the opposite box, goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has notched 12 clean sheets in his 29 Premier League games this season.

Recent form

Arsenal have won each of their last seven Premier League fixtures, with the past two being back-to-back 4-1 home victories, against Crystal Palace and Leeds United.

Style of play

James Benge, London-based CBS soccer correspondent

"Arteta's Arsenal love to dominate possession and squeeze the field, pushing everyone right into the opposition's half if they can and creating overloads in the wide areas.

"From there the intricate interplay of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard et al unleashes players into the penalty area, where teammates are ready for cutbacks and rebounds. When Arsenal players are in the mood they can be a blizzard of intermixing parts that rob opposition defenders of their usual reference points.

"In theory we'd label their system a 4-3-3 that morphs into a 2-3-5 (when Ben White really pushes on it can even be a 2-2-6) in attack, but it is not as simple as full-backs overlapping, inside forwards tucking in etc.

"Oleksandr Zinchenko, the nominal left-back, is Arsenal's tempo-setter in midfield whilst if Gabriel Jesus or Leandro Trossard are given the start at centre-forward they will tend to drift left to dovetail with Gabriel Martinelli, Granit Xhaka darting into the box instead. When it all clicks it's a joy to watch… and an almighty headache to defend against."

Previous meetings

Liverpool and Arsenal have met on one previous occasion this season.

The Reds were beaten 3-2 in the capital in October's reverse contest, with Darwin Nunez and Roberto Firmino getting on the scoresheet.

In this fixture last season at Anfield, Liverpool claimed a 4-0 victory with Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah and Takumi Minamino all finding the back of the net.

What they said

Jürgen Klopp

"It's obvious it's a different team, clear. Mikel is building this team for a few years now and obviously the outcome is pretty impressive. The way they play is fun to watch, to be honest, it's super-lively, really good football, top players on the pitch, good match plans. Good. It's not exactly what you can say about us in the moment, so that shows you what the situation is. But at least for a while we can mention, again, it's Anfield. So, we are at home and still have to show reaction after reaction after reaction – we have to – and improvement. That's what we will absolutely try on Sunday."

Mikel Arteta

"We know we're going to have to be at our very best to win the game and certainly better than we were there, especially the second half, last year when we just opened up and allowed Liverpool to attack open spaces in a really comfortable way. So, we're going to have to be better than last year, that's for sure."

• Get 10% off everything* at the LFC Store app with code EASTER10 for a limited time only. *T&Cs apply