Arsenal Vs Liverpool: Goalscorers win games; Gunners have two

In the big games, goalscorers win games. And in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, when Arsenal host Liverpool on Saturday, they have two.

Goals change games. Few teams have experienced that effect this season like Arsenal. They went on a run of seven successive wins in the Premier League. All of which were masterminded by second-half displays that were inspired by gluts of goals at key moments.

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This sentiment, the importance of producing those individual moments, is even more pertinent when it comes to the big games. When the teams are separated by very little, the margins are tight, and whole seasons can swing based on one swipe of a left foot, one crashing header or one stretched save, having players that can provide these positive instances on a regular basis is invaluable.

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In essence, I am talking about a certain type of player: a goalscorer. Take Sergio Aguero, as an example. Aguero is an excellent footballer. He has great skill on the ball, he is strong, deceptively quick, has a neat and tidy touch and combines nicely with his midfield teammates. But the one thing that he provides that is the most valuable to his team bar none is the goals that he scores. Aguero is a goalscorer, and he does so in the biggest games.

As Liverpool prepare to come to the Emirates on Saturday evening, Arsenal will need their goalscorers to step up to the mark. They could be quiet all game; they might not be heavily involved in the play, they might not have many touches of the ball. You might even call them anonymous. But if they produce that one moment and make the net ripple, nothing else will matter. And in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, Unai Emery has two of the very best goalscorers in the country at his disposal.

Aubameyang is the joint-top goalscorer in the Premier League this season, notching seven thus far, the same tally as Chelsea’s Eden Hazard. He has scored those seven goals in just 694 minutes of action, yielding a goal scored every 99 minutes. That is a staggering rate, a clear illustration of his prolific nature.

Lacazette, meanwhile, is not lagging too far behind. He has four goals in the Premier League, scoring one every 179 minutes. And the Frenchman has proven himself capable of creating chances and scoring goals from almost nothing, unlike Aubameyang, who is a little more dependent on the service he is provided with.

But both have the capabilities to score goals at any moment in a match, even if they have been rather quiet for the duration of the match up until that point. And that is why this Arsenal team is dangerous. They may not have the consistent quality like City or even Liverpool, but they have players that can produce moments that change games.

Goalscorers win games. Even when the tide is flowing the other way. And in Lacazette and Aubameyang, Arsenal have two of the very best.