Mikel Arteta has been preparing his players this week for a major Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday amid their title battle with Manchester City. The Gunners have a healthy eight-point lead over Pep Guardiola's side, but the race for the Premier League crown could take a seismic shift this weekend with Manchester City taking on bottom side Southampton.
A defeat to Liverpool would not be enough to knock Arsenal off the top, however, with City's game in hand to come and a home clash against Arteta's side, the reigning champions could be back in the driving seat if results go their way. Beating Arsenal in their league meeting earlier this season saw City leapfrog their fellow title challengers at the top, but that position was short-lived after they dropped points the following weekend to Nottingham Forest.
Following a slight dip in form through February, which saw the Gunners go winless in three games culminating with that defeat to Man City, the north Londoners have recovered superbly. A late winner at Aston Villa started a seven-game winning streak where Arsenal have scored 23 goals in the process.
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Two consecutive 4-1 victories at Emirates Stadium in the past fortnight means Arsenal are likely full of confidence for their upcoming clash with Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp's men meanwhile, are at the opposite end of the form table having picked up just one point from their last three league games.
While Klopp could be facing a relatively straightforward team selection decision in attack, with Mohamed Salah not pictured in training, Arteta faces a major dilemma of who to select. Bukayo Saka was on the bench for the win over Leeds after suffering with illness, but a return to the starting XI is expected for the Hale End graduate on Sunday.
That means the Spaniard has likely been jumping back-and-forth over what forward quartet he plans to deploy on Merseyside. Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard will all likely be staking their claim for a starting spot in training this week and a moment involving the latter duo could have helped Trossard's chances of being named from the off.
In Arsenal's 'Inside training' video released on Friday afternoon, the Belgian showed off his silky skills with a clean nutmeg on the Gunners skipper. Jesus' brace last Saturday and Saka being welcomed back would hint that Trossard could be the player to miss out, but excellent work in training coupled with his hat-trick at Anfield for Brighton earlier in the season could see him given the nod.
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