Arsenal vs Liverpool is always a monster game – it’s not one I have fond memories of, if I’m honest. We’ve been getting battered since the Brendan Rodgers days. Even under Arteta, bar a few freak results; it’s mostly been unhappy times.
The FA Cup presents all sorts of ethical sporting dilemmas.
Klopp wasn’t interested in cups in the early years when he was chasing league titles. Arteta hasn’t been very good in these competitions since he won it in his first season in peak covid with a banter squad.
This game is a nightmare for both teams for these reasons:
LIVERPOOL CRUNCH: They’ve played a lot of games lately and they have a semi-final against Fulham in 4 days time. The League Cup is an easier path to a trophy with Middlesborough and Chelsea in the other semi. There’s a chance Klopp might see the FA Cup as overkill as he pursues a title and Europa League glory. He has a good squad, not a deep squad. ARSENAL FATIGUE: The players are cooked. You can see that in the way they are applying themselves and how badly they took the West Ham result with that gross performance against Fulham. Arteta has to seriously consider how he sets up the team this weekend. There’s talk of Zinchenko being ready – he won’t be, because not even Mikel is mad enough to bring his injury-prone left-back back into the squad early for a cup game. We only need Zinchenko to stay fit for Palace, Forest, and the second Liverpool game ...