David James has explained what Liverpool must do if they’re to beat Arsenal at Anfield tomorrow.
The Gunners, who are currently a point clear of Jurgen Klopp’s side at the top of the Premier League, travel to Merseyside searching for their first win this side of Stanley Park since 2012.
The Gunners were not in action during the week and are therefore likely to benefit from the extra recovery time while Liverpool defeated West Ham 5-1 at L4 on Wednesday night.
David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale are continuing to battle it out to become Mikel Arteta’s number one between the sticks and ex-Red James claims the former doesn’t fill him with confidence.
He told instantcasino.com (via Express): “Arsenal have got a goalkeeper in David Raya who, from what I’ve seen, isn’t fully confident. If he’s not confident, then the Arsenal defence won’t be confident.
“His positioning is definitely questionable from my perspective, and if I’m Liverpool I’d be shooting from silly positions. With Raya’s positioning, there’s the opportunity to score from places that you normally would not, and with the ability of Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, they can definitely nick a 1-0 win.
”Unfortunately for Aaron Ramsdale, he’s had three or four games in the past couple of months. This is the tough thing about being the number two goalkeeper – you’re looking at your manager thinking, ‘I know you don’t fancy me’, and you have to take on a different role in the squad.”
The north London-based outfit have won 12 of their opening 17 league games this term and will travel to Anfield full of confidence.
The Gunners have a number of exceptional players who will look to harm Klopp’s men on the counter attack but James has singled out one player who Liverpool must keep quiet if they’re to earn all three points.
“The key for Liverpool winning is keeping Martin Odegaard quiet. He’s such a wonderful player to watch – he takes up brilliant positions and makes defenders and midfielders question where they’re supposed to be.
“When top sides like City last season kept him quiet, it prevented Arsenal from playing properly and going through the gears. It doesn’t necessarily make for the most attractive of matches, but I don’t think Liverpool need to be pleasing people with aesthetics at the moment.
“A scrappy, horrible 1-0 win is all they would need.”
Arsenal will also be worrying about a number of our players, however.
Mo Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo found the back of the net against the Hammers while Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott thrived when handed a chance from the start by our German tactician.
We appear all set for a thrilling encounter tomorrow evening but let’s hope we can get the win which will see us sit top of the table for Christmas.
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