“We finished second last season and we have all the desire to improve as a team, so we know that we have to jump forward and continue to improve”, said Wenger in the pre-match press conference, according to the official club website.
Advertisement
Arsene Wenger has claimed that Arsenal will be able to cope with Liverpool in their first Premier League game of the season despite not having a senior centre-back available for selection.
It is an all too familiar tune that Arsenal are struck down with injuries, but it comes as a surprise they are facing problems already in round one.
Calum Chambers is set to partner Nacho Monreal in central defence while new signing Rob Holding is also in contention.
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson is back and he’s offered his predicted scores for this weekend’s big games between Arsenal and Liverpool and Chelsea and West Ham.
With Gabriel and Mertesacker sidelined due to injury and Laurent Koscielny not match fit yet after his prolonged holiday following Euro 2016, Wenger will turn to young defender Rob Holding for Sunday’s match against Liverpool.
“Most of the time, the injuries happen in the same sector”.
“Sometimes it works marvellously very quickly, sometimes it takes time”.
Yet, more so than his Arsenal counterpart, there is reason for Klopp to be ready to hit the ground running this season. For a manger who is so focused on instilling the required fitness and understanding of his high-octane counter-pressing philosophy, that time could be crucial.
The Frenchman has often been slammed for his transfer policy and his refusal to pay the top money needed to buy quality players, which many feel has stopped the Gunners from challenging for the title in recent years. While he hasn’t secured every target he would have liked, it is apparent that there is a clear plan about Liverpool’s transfer business, something that certainly couldn’t always be said. “They still have two years contract, so there’s no urgency as well”, he said.
Jurgen Klopp leads Liverpool into his first full campaign at the club, and having bolstered his squad with six new players this summer, plus Marko Grujic in January, there are high expectations to better last season’s eighth placed finish.
Advertisement
Arsenal v Liverpool has seen more hat-tricks than any other fixture in Premier League history (five).
