Arsenal vs Liverpool: Predicted starting XI: The debut we’ve waited for

Arsenal have options as they move forward towards Anfield, but here is how they’d best shape up as they face the test of Liverpool.

Arsenal have six points out of six to start the new season and the only team that can say the same is our opponent for the Saturday showdown, Liverpool. Though Liverpool looked very mortal against Southampton, and despite this match being at Anfield and thus arguably the toughest match of the year, there has to be some optimism that the perfect Gunners can tackle the perfect Reds and rank in at the top of the table after three weeks.

It’s going to take one hell of an effort, but as we will get to in the starting XI, the pieces are all available for Unai Emery to play with, meaning that he can start his best attack. He can start his best midfield. And his best defense… well, we don’t really know what that is yet anyway.

As for injury concerns, the Gunners will still be without Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding, both of whom are progressing towards health. Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka are two other question marks after missing Burnley, but they figure to be available.

And Kieran Tierney remains out, likely now until October at the earliest, which really sucks. But life goes on, and so to does the Premier League. Clearly the Gunners aren’t all that bothered by it.

The makeup of this games tends to hint that there are going to be lots of goal scoring chances. These are two teams that love to attack, and while Liverpool may have the more impressive defensive personnel, it’s not like they are perfect either. Not least of all when put up against the kind of attack that Unai Emery can deploy.

Let’s talk formation. Frankly, a strong midfield is key to this match, being able to control, or at least kind of control, the flow of the match and not fall in to the chaos that we saw against Burnley. So I’m bidding on a 4-3-3 with a stronger midfield three as opposed to the 4-2-3-1 that Emery has been using.

And, that said, let’s get into the predicted starting XI. We start in goal.

Keeper

Bernd Leno is going to start. That won’t change any time soon.