The time has finally come. A time for me and two of my best friends (both Liverpool fans) to begin our biannual tradition of not speaking and being sworn enemies during the weekend. Why you ask? It's Arsenal vs Liverpool of course! Funny thing, Liverpool and Arsenal aren't really even traditional rivals. Sure, they're both two of the dominant forces in English football but they aren't rivals in any respect other than the fact that they frequent the Top 4 of the table. In recent seasons, this hasn't exactly been the case. Arsenal has been the better of the two over the past few seasons but hardly an elite team. Liverpool has gone through a lean period but have had a renaissance this season, bursting out of the gate. Arsenal has done the same and occupy the top of the table with Liverpool biting at their heels. So without any further ado, lets do a quick comparison of the two teams. Lets finally settle who's better, Liverpool or Arsenal (with as little bias as I can do). We'll break it down into several parts: history, current day squads, and managers.
History
Liverpool:
18 English First Division Titles
7 FA Cups
8 League Cups
5 European Cups
Arsenal:
13 English First Division Titles
10 FA Cups
2 League Cups
0 European Cups
So, setting the guidelines here, lets simply count the trophies that actually matter to English clubs (Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Champions League). Throughout the history of English football there have historically been two dominant teams: Liverpool and Arsenal. Manchester United lurked in the background but were hardly the domestic power they are now until Sir Alex Ferguson showed up in the 80's. In fact, one can actually coincide Liverpool's lack of Premier League titles since 1990 with Man U's rise to dominance. That's beside the point however. Liverpool easily wins the trophy debate in the fact that they've won a sizeable amount of each significant trophy available to English sides. Especially in that they've won 5 European titles while Arsenal has only reached a lone final in 2006 that they lost to Barcelona. However, Arsenal's merits domestically can't be faulted. 10 FA Cups is an absolutely brilliant achievement and no other English side has gone through a season unbeaten like Arsenal did in 2003-2004. One can argue that that side was the best team that ever graced an English pitch. Arsenal however, have never had the period of extended dominance that Liverpool had under Bill Shankly or the Bob Paisley years (in which Liverpool won 20 honours in 9 years). Liverpool's history is a bright one, with their European successes being the major thing that separates them from Arsenal. The 2005 Champions League Final which they won over AC Milan has to be considered the greatest final in that competition ever. Arsenal's history is blighted by the fact that they haven't won a trophy since their last FA Cup victory in 2005. Liverpool's most recent trophy was a 2012 victory over Cardiff City in the League Cup. In a matchup of history, Liverpool will beat Arsenal every time.
Advantage: Liverpool
Strikers
Liverpool: Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge
Arsenal: Olivier Giroud and Nicklas Bendtner
Clearly, Liverpool has the major advantage here. Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez have been in fantastic form. Suarez, despite only playing four games in the league has 4 goals and an assist. While Suarez was on his 10-game biting ban, Englishman Daniel Sturridge picked up the slack big time with 8 goals through his first 9 games. Liverpool's biggest strength are their two currently world class forwards since they have literally put the team on their back for the first two months of the campaign. Arsenal meanwhile would love to have such a luxury on their side. Earlier this month I wrote an article about how much Olivier Giroud has improved as a player. Despite playing a world class level for the first 9 games of the season (plus Champions League and Cup games) he's still vastly underrated. Giroud has been an absolute monster for Arsenal this season. Unfortunately, he's the lone man at the top of Arsenal's formation and does a lot of their attacking heavy lifting. Arsenal's next best attacking option is the always entertaining but never productive Nicklas Bendtner who put in an abomination of the display yesterday against Chelsea. So simple math here, Arsenal has one in-form world class player, Liverpool has two.
Advantage: Liverpool
Midfield
Liverpool: Steven Gerrard, Philippe Coutinho, Jordan Henderson, Lucas Leiva, Victor Moses
Arsenal: Mesut Özil, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta
This is taking into account everyone who is healthy, since Arsenal is missing Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Mathieu Flamini. Even so, Arsenal's midfield ranks as one of England's best if not one of the best units in Europe. The addition of Mesut Özil has turned Arsenal into a creative force. The dream of uniting Santi Cazorla, Özil, and Wilshere in the same team has yielded mixed results so far but thats mostly down to Cazorla trying to regain fitness more than issues between the two. Arsenal's midfield is always prone to events of attacking brilliance (the tiki-taka goal vs Norwich stands out) and is the best quality of this year's team. Meanwhile, Aaron Ramsey has emerged as an attacking threat seemingly out of nowhere. However, because of Flamini's injury the team lacks a true defensive midfielder. Arteta does a solid improvisation but he lacks Flamini's grit. Liverpool has also been able to assemble a strong midfield as well due to Jordan Henderson's improved form and the attacking flair of Victor Moses. They also possess the always class Stevan Gerrard who can still channel his younger self and score a screamer when the time calls for it. The biggest threat on the field is Liverpool's own diminutive wizard, Coutinho. Nobody doubts that the attacking trinity of Coutinho, Sturridge, and Suarez has nearly limitless potential and will be the source of most of Arsenal's worry during the game. On a strictly talent basis however, Arsenal has the better midfield.
Advantage: Arsenal
The Back Line
Liverpool: Mamadou Sakho, Martin Skrtel, Kolo Toure, Daniel Agger, Jose Enrique, Aly Cissokho, Glen Johnson, Simon Mignolet (GK)
Arsenal: Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Thomas Vermaelen, Kieran Gibbs, Bacary Sagna, Nacho Monreal, Carl Jenkinson, Wojciech Szczesny (GK)
Probably the most improved area for both sides this season. Liverpool, trying to accommodate Luis Suarez into their new and improved side, has gone with three at the back several times this season. Kolo Toure has shown he still has a lot left to his game and Martin Skrtel, an afterthought at the start of the season, has forced his way back into the team. Liverpool's full backs, Enrique and Johnson, have acted as both traditional full backs and also wing backs this season, excelling at both. Arsenal's defense has improved greatly, especially at the end of last season and the beginning of this season, the abomination against Aston Villa in the season opener notwithstanding. Per Mertesacker has rebounded from a tough start to his Arsenal career to become one of the best centre halves in the Premier League, some with Laurent Koscielny. Thomas Vermaelen meanwhile has struggled since being awarded the captaincy after Robin van Persie's departure last summer. While Arsenal have only conceded the first goal of a match once this year, the fact still remains that up until last weekend they hadn't kept a single clean sheet. They're still prone to lapses in concentration and sometimes don't close down on the ball enough. These are usually moot points when they play lesser competition but against better teams, when they're not guaranteed to have as much of the ball, this becomes a bigger and sometimes fatal issue. At this point, separating Simon Mignolet and Wojciech Szczesny from each other is near impossible as both have been in fantastic form this season. Szczesny is definitely more of a risk taker than Mignolet and so far hasn't been entirely punished for that attitude. In a match like this both men will need to be in top form.
Advantage: Dead even split, both units have been in fine form to start the season. Neither back line seems better or worse than the other.
The Manager: Arsene Wenger vs Brendan Rodgers
One is an established legend at his club and can be credited for revolutionizing English football when he arrived. The other might be well on his way to that kind of status. Arsene Wenger's record speaks for itself, in his 17 years at Arsenal he has won 3 league titles and 4 FA Cups. His team has qualified for Champions League every year that he has been in charge and has never failed to make it out of the group stages of that competition. The only thing that Wenger is missing from his resume is a European title. Rodgers on the other hand has a resume that pales in comparison but one has to note that Rodgers has transformed Liverpool from mid-table to title contenders in one and a half seasons, made several incredibly shrewd signings, held on to Luis Suarez, and brought tiki-taka successfully to English football. Rodgers is an innovator with a vision, the same kind of attitude that Wenger brought to Arsenal in 1996. Wenger has had his doubters over the past few years, most of the press thinking that he's lost it since Arsenal hasn't won a trophy since 2005. It's a fair criticism, but theres still no better tactical manager in the Premier League today. Rodgers has done very well at Liverpool, especially in the transfer market. The signings of Sturridge, Coutinho, and Mignolet have galvanized the team. In the second year of his revolution the players finally seem comfortable and have bought in. The next thing Rodgers needs to do is dream big, sign a marquee player, like the way Arsenal broke the bank to sign Mesut Özil. Right now, if someone could pick one of these two to manage one game, they'd pick Wenger. Check back in a few years however and Rodgers might be the preferred option.
Advantage: Arsenal
So Have We Actually Decided Anything?
On paper, Arsenal has the better talent and have been the more convincing team with the way that they've played. However, Liverpool possesses Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez, which gives them a chance to win every game that they're in. The game will likely be played at both ends, with both teams getting lots of chances. For teams that play such attacking style, the play will be wide open. For the past few years, Arsenal and Liverpool have been in similar situations, showing they can play with the big boys but mental errors and bad luck have kept them from realizing their potential. Now both have matured and both are legitimate title contenders. This game is a benchmark for how far both sides have come and should be humongously entertaining. I think both teams are very evenly matched, there will be goals aplenty. Since the game is being played at the Emirates I see the Gunners narrowly snatching a victory. However the tie could easily swing towards Liverpool too. 2-1 likely the final score.
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