Roy Keane has said that Arsenal could make a ‘huge statement’ if they manage to defeat Liverpool this afternoon.
The Gunners lead the Premier League table and come up against a Reds side who languish in eighth, although they’ve failed to win in their last nine top-flight visits to Anfield, losing by four goals on four separate occasions.
Jurgen Klopp’s side also boast a fine record at home despite their struggles this season, winning nine of their 13 league matches on their own turf and losing only once, while their last game at this venue saw them hammer Manchester United 7-0.
With Manchester City narrowing the gap on Arsenal to five points yesterday evening, Keane believes this fixture presents a huge psychological challenge for Mikel Arteta’s side, but also an opportunity to send out a significant statement to the reigning champions.
Speaking on Sky Sports‘ Super Sunday this lunchtime, the 51-year-old said of the Gunners: “If they can get a win today, it would be a huge three points for them, but it’s a big if.
“This is crunch time coming up now over the last eight or nine games, and this is a test for teams like Arsenal who’ve been outstanding. This is where the mental challenges come in.
“Coming to Liverpool, they have question marks over them. Can they deal with it? Any question that’s been thrown at Arsenal so far this season, they have dealt with it. They’ve had one or two setbacks as you’d expect, but they’ve bounced back well.
“If they can get a victory today, [it would be] a huge, huge statement.”
Liverpool fans can probably empathise with how their Arsenal counterparts may be feeling today.
In previous years when the Reds were involved in Premier League title races, certain fixtures came with a substantial psychological edge, particularly at this stage of the season.
April wins against Manchester City in 2014, Chelsea in 2019 and Everton last year felt like big mental hurdles to overcome, even if we came up narrowly short in each of those campaigns.
Another comparison could be the Anfield win over Manchester United in 2020, after which there seemed no doubt that Liverpool would go on to become champions.
You can see Keane’s comments on Sky Sports below, via @SkySportsPL on Twitter:
"This is CRUNCH time for Arsenal!"
Roy Keane says if Mikel Arteta's side beat Liverpool at Anfield today, they are favourites to win the title…👀🏆 pic.twitter.com/nF81JZYjsb
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 9, 2023