Are Liverpool Ready To Face Arsenal On The Opening Day?

The premier league kicks off on the 13^th of August and the new season promises a lot of excitement and anticipation. Liverpool starts off their campaign on Sunday (14^th) with a tough match away against Arsenal. This season comes with a lot of hopes for the Liverpool fans as it will be the first full season with Klopp as the manager. Also, the fact that there is no European football can prove to be a blessing in disguise for the squad as they can focus better on the premiere league. However, looking at how the transfer season has been for the Reds, there have been one or two questions which arose as to whether they are prepared as a team or not.

A look at Liverpool

The current Liverpool line-up is majorly of players who have been with the club for quite some time now. The new entrants are few and they have already got a chance to play with the existing members of the team. The attacking zone looks pretty secure with Jurgen Klopp looking comfortable with the way they have performed in the pre-season friendlies. Also, the new players seem to have adapted in a nice way to the tactics of Klopp.

Talking about the midfield, Emre Can is not looking as sharp as he was in the last season and him along with Henderson or Wijnaldum will have to improve upon their game and give the manager a reason to smile. Another major problem that must surely be a worry for Klopp is the Liverpool defence. The Reds are clearly struggling to find a quality left back and also need options for the central defence with Sakho out injured. The transfer season is not over yet but Klopp will need to bring at least a left back if not anyone else.

A look at Arsenal

The Gunners also look the same side as last season with not many additions in the transfer period so far. But they did manage to get the services of Xhaka in central midfield. Arsenal tried a lot to get Jamie Vardy on board but that deal did not work out. Also, Giroud’s participation in the fixture is in doubt and in this scenario, Wenger is most likely to start with Sanchez up-front along with Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey and Walcott in attacking midfield. Not the best of line-ups but manageable at the moment. The midfield looks stronger with the addition of Xhaka but it is difficult to predict how his partnership with Coquelin will go in midfield. With Paulista and Mertesacker injured, the Gunners will also have defensive woes like their opponents and Wenger will have to rely on Koscielny heavily.