Gooner Daily

Arsenal host Liverpool in the marquee clash of the FA Cup Third Round and Mikel Arteta would be hoping to end the slump that has seen his side lose two Premier League games on the bounce despite being on top at Christmas.

The last time Arsenal and Liverpool met in the Premier League, spoils were shared as the Gunners opened the scoring with a bullet header from Gabriel but Liverpool equalized after Mo Salah made mince meat of Oleksandr Zinchenko before blasting the ball past David Raya. Thankfully, Salah has departed Liverpool after a virtuoso performance against Newcastle, but it’s unlikely that Zinchenko would be available for selection, based on the comments from Arteta’s pre-match presser,

“He (Zinchenko) is progressing well. We have another training session tomorrow and we will evaluate whether he is available or not to play and start the game.”

This game might come too soon for Zinchenko, with Jakub Kiwior set to deputize, but the Ukrainian defender is likely to play in the home game against Crystal Palace in a fortnight. Arsenal will certainly be without Thomas Partey, that is still recuperating from his muscular injury suffered in October,

 “It was about common sense. He has a long-term injury and he really wanted to push his rehab. He really wanted to be with the national team but he is still far from training with the team and it didn’t make a lot of sense for him to be involved.

“Hopefully it’s weeks [until he’s fit again]. How many weeks it will be will depend a little bit on how long the next step of training with the team will take him, but he’s progressing well.”

The other long-term absentees are Fabio Vieira and Jurrien Timber who remain out for the foreseeable future.

Liverpool also have some challenges to contend with in terms of squad availability. Mo Salah and Wataru Endo departed early in the week to fulfill international duty commitments, while Kostas Tsimikas was the latest enforced injury layoff following that freak collision with his gaffer, Jurgen Klopp, that saw him fracture his collar bone.

Liverpool also have the likes of Andrew Robertson, Joel Matip, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ben Doak, Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara still out injured.

Arsenal will be donning their all-white kit at home for the first time, with the other two outings for this special kit used in away matches to Nottingham Forest and Oxford United in previous FA Cup campaigns. Wearing this kit is part of the club’s ‘No More Red’ campaign that helps fight knife crime and youth violence on the streets of London.

While Arsenal’s league form has been tumultuous recently, their FA Cup pedigree – particularly at home – is exceptional. Arsenal has lost just three of their last 49 FA Cup home games (W36 D10), losing 1-0 against Blackburn Rovers in 2012-13, 2-1 against Watford in 2015-16 and 3-1 against Man Utd in 2018-19. They are also the record holders of the competition, with Mikel Arteta’s win in 2020 being the club’s 14th.

Arsenal and Liverpool Predicted Lineups

Arsenal: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli

Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez; Gravenberch, Jones, Mac Allister; Jota, Gakpo, Nunez.

Injury / Suspension Updates

Arsenal: Jurrien Timber (knee), Thomas Partey (thigh), Fabio Vieira (groin), Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf), Mohamed Elneny, Takehiro Tomiyasu (international duty)

Liverpool: Kostas Tsimikas, Andrew Robertson (shoulder), Joel Matip, Ben Doak (knee), Dominik Szoboszlai (hamstring), Stefan Bajcetic (calf), Thiago Alcantara (hip), Mohamed Salah, Wataru Endo (international duty)

Form Guide

Arsenal Form

• Last Five Games: D W D L L
• Last Result: Fulham 2-1 Arsenal (Jimenez 29′, Reid 59′ | Saka 5′)
• Leading Goalscorer: Bukayo Saka (9)

Liverpoo;

• Last Five Games: D W D W W
• Last Result: Liverpool 4-2 Newcastle (Salah 49′, 86′, Jones 74′, Gakpo 78′ | Isak 54′, Botman 81′)
• Leading Goalscorer: Mohamed Salah (18)

Gooner Daily predicts a 2 – 1 win.

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