Laura Woods: Arsenal can’t afford to lose to Liverpool if they want to stay in the title race
Liverpool are City’s biggest title rivals
I watched Liverpool in Europe on Wednesday, and while they didn’t blow RB Leipzig away, it was a good game for Darwin Nunez’s confidence. Scoring a goal and proving a handful throughout the match, they need him to be at his best against Arsenal if he replaces Diogo Jota again.
Liverpool look organised, less chaotic and more controlled under Arne Slot. He has a brilliant team too and their defence is once again immense. I think it’ll be the defence that would carry them to a title.
Jurgen Klopp left them in a really good place with some very promising youngsters coming through and a few experienced old heads that know how to see out the league. I absolutely afforded them a season of transition, but I’ve been so impressed, I think they’re Manchester City’s closest challengers now.
Arsenal can’t afford to lose
I think it’s a bigger game for Arsenal. If they lose they’ll risk losing touch with the title race. Yes, even this early on!
Liverpool haven’t lost in eight games and this is still a very tough fixture at the Emirates. The pressure isn’t mounting in the same way as it is for Arsenal.
Arsenal’s disciplinary record a worry
I do worry for Arsenal, with injuries and suspensions. No Ricardo Calafiori, no Martin Odegaard, no Jurien Timber and no William Saliba. I tell you what, it’s pretty infuriating being an Arsenal fan at the moment!
What’s even more infuriating is feeling like a broken record and mentioning that the next day Tosin Adarabioyo only got booked for a foul just like Saliba’s on Diogo Jota. Yes, we Arsenal fans moan, but we should also all be wanting to see consistency in the league with decisions like this because next week it’ll be your team.
Taking a bit of responsibility, though, Arsenal need to stop getting themselves into these situations. We’re literally leaking points and throwing away games. We don’t look the part at all!
Vinicius Jr looks nailed on for Ballon d’Or
Yes, I think Vinicius Jr will win the Ballon d’Or. I would love to see a player like Rodri get it, his contribution to that City side and to Spain is immeasurable, but I think Vinicius Jr is in the more exciting position and deserves it.
Last season, he scored in the final and won the Champions League, won La Liga, scored 24 goals and got 11 assists in 39 appearances for Real Madrid.
Wolves have been unlucky with VAR, but all teams feel like that
I read an article which stated that ‘according to VAR expert Dale Johnson, Wolves would have a 13-goal positive swing in goal difference without VAR interventions since its introduction in 2019/20’ - the largest negative impact on any Premier League team.
So I can understand why Gary O’Neil feels like they’re being treated differently, but there’s not much evidence to back up the rest of the claim.
We used to say home teams got preferential treatment because the crowd influences the referee more and I also think sometimes in football the old saying “swings and roundabouts” applies.
It can feel like VAR is solely against you but, just ask an Arsenal fan, Gary - the bigger clubs feel like that too!