Liverpool vs Arsenal: Anfield Form, Injury Concerns and Why History Matters

This is the sort of fixture that usually tells you something useful. Liverpool arrive with momentum, Arsenal arrive with numbers, and Anfield sits in the middle of it as the factor that keeps refusing to go away.

Andoni Iraola has Liverpool on a five-match winning run in all competitions. They have scored 15 goals across that stretch and, crucially, three of those wins have come at Anfield. Form matters, but context matters more. Liverpool had a patchy start to the season, now they look sharper, cleaner and more direct.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have taken eight wins from nine Premier League games. That is serious form by any standard. Their only league defeat was the 3-0 loss to Brighton before the September and October international break, and they responded properly with three straight wins over Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Everton. So there is no mystery here, this is a meeting between two sides in good shape.

Anfield record remains a problem for Arsenal

Here is the awkward part for Arsenal. They have not won a Premier League game at Anfield since September 2012. Thirteen visits have passed without a league win. They are also winless in their last four meetings with Liverpool, with three of those games ending level. For all the progress Arsenal have made, this ground has remained a bad fit.

The away record offers some encouragement, five wins in their last six Premier League matches on the road. But cup results have muddied the picture. A 2-2 Champions League draw with Bayern Munich was respectable enough. Losing to Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup was not, and it also left a mark.

Liverpool injury update before Arsenal clash

Liverpool have fitness concerns over Dominik Szoboszlai and Victor Munoz, both of whom missed Friday’s outdoor session. Iraola said: “I think they have a chance. They have a chance. But I don’t know for sure if they will be involved or not. We still have two days so I think we have a chance, yes.”

Jeremy Jacquet also missed the main session, though there appears to be no immediate alarm there. The indication is that this was individual recovery work rather than a fresh setback.

Premier League test with real weight

Arsenal have quality and consistency. Liverpool have rhythm, goals and the advantage of history at Anfield. Strip away the noise and that is what this game comes down to. If Arsenal win, they break a sequence that has dragged on for well over a decade. If Liverpool win, the sense grows that Iraola’s side have moved beyond an uncertain opening and into something much more credible.