No wins for Arsenal at Anfield since 2012
The Gunners won't need reminding that they haven't won a match at Anfield since 2012 (13 away games), when Mikel Arteta was still on the playing staff, nor have they beaten Liverpool at home or away since early 2024.
Arsenal have never gone 14 league games without a win at the famous old ground, and the last time they didn't win 13 games in a row at Anfield (between 1975/76 and 1987/88), they broke the run with that famous Michael Thomas goal to win them the 1988/89 title.
It's also worth pointing out that Liverpool have won just one of their last eight PL matches against the North Londoners (D5 L2), which came last season courtesy of Dominik Szoboszlai’s howitzer of a free-kick.
After having been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Fleetwood Town in arguably the competition's biggest-ever upset in midweek, there'll be an expectation from Arteta and the travelling supporters that an immediate response is a given.
The Reds were also taken to penalties by Chelsea in their cup tie, but emerged triumphant and will be paired with Andoni Iraola's old employers, Bournemouth, in the next round.
No friendship between Iraola and Arteta for 90 minutes
Wins against the Cherries, Brentford and Brighton in the Premier League have ensured that after a relatively slow start, the Reds are starting to come good under their Basque coach.
Iraola and Arteta are old friends who started their playing careers at the same youth team in the Basque Country, Antiguoko Kirol Elkartea, but friendship will take a back seat in this one.
Both teams have only lost one league game each in 2026/27, and Liverpool have only won four of their other seven games, whilst Arsenal have won all seven of theirs.
The visitors have also only conceded five goals, which is the best defensive record in the division, and one of the focal points of the match on Sunday is largely going to be centred around how well Gabriel Magalhaes deals with an ever-improving Alexander Isak.
Isak & Gabriel primed for key battle
So far this season, the Swedish international has bagged six goals in all competitions, and his 695 minutes played is significantly less than some of his colleagues.
Against Arsenal to date, Isak has scored two goals in five appearances, but has missed four more games against them because of injury.
A shot conversion rate this season of 33.33% is better than any of his Liverpool colleagues, whilst 25 total shots are only two less than Florian Wirtz.
Not necessarily known for his aerial prowess, Isak's four headed opportunities are more than his teammates have managed, and up against Gabriel, that particular battle could make for an interesting watch.
The Swede certainly has the pace to beat his marker and get in behind him, but he could have more success aerially than across the ground, given that Gabriel has lost 31 of his 54 headed duels, but has contested 105 on the ground, which puts him only behind Kai Havertz in this regard (107).
What's also interesting is that the Brazilian has lost nine of his 14 attempted tackles this season, though his 37 headed clearances and 67 other clearances are by far the most out of any Arsenal player in 26/27.
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Can Arsenal trouble Van Dijk?
At the opposite end, it would be a huge surprise if Arteta were to start with Viktor Gyokeres, though the Swede's physical way of playing could give Virgil Van Dijk a far more uncomfortable afternoon than if Havertz gets the nod.
That said, he's won only four of 14 aerial battles, and eight of 35 ground one-on-ones, with a 22.86% success rate being the worst return in the Arsenal squad. Gyokeres hasn't scored in the league this season, has had just five total shots, and only provided one assist.
Bukayo Saka remains injured, which will limit the Gunners' attacking presence, so it's even more imperative that whoever gets the nod to play up against Van Dijk has the tools to do the job.
Oddly enough, the Dutchman has only attempted nine total tackles this season, but importantly, he has won six of them.
67 clearances and 43 headed clearances are best-in-class for Liverpool, as is his 72.58% success rate in one-on-ones - 45 won from 62 attempted. Aerially, 33 duels won from 43 attempted tells its own story.
The one area where Van Dijk does struggle is when up against a forward with pace. Havertz is hardly the quickest, but is almost certainly faster than Gyokeres, so Arteta may find rich pickings if he can ensure that enough pressure is put on the Liverpool captain early in the game to force a pattern to emerge.
Once the visitors understand that they've got Van Dijk beaten, moving him out of position to put those balls in behind should become second nature.
With five draws in the last 10 meetings, too, it's likely to be another game that's too close to call.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high-profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
