A reckoning is underway at Anfield.
Liverpool, newly crowned Premier League champions, host a battered yet unbowed Arsenal—still reeling from their Champions League heartbreak.
Arne Slot rolls out firepower. Alisson returns in goal. Van Dijk and Konaté shore up the centre. Robertson and Bradley patrol the flanks—Trent Alexander-Arnold, perhaps with a foot already out the door, watches from the bench as reported by Football Talk.
Midfield sees Gravenberch and Jones attempt control, while Szoboszlai starts in a bid to offer the edge Liverpool lacked at Stamford Bridge. Up front, it’s Gakpo over Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota—Salah and Diaz flank him.
But Arsenal, second in the table, arrive with blood in their mouths.
David Raya is back in goal. Ben White replaces Timber on the right. Saliba anchors the backline beside Kiwior. Myles Lewis-Skelly starts again at left-back.
Declan Rice is out. A blow? Yes. But not the end.
Thomas Partey steps in. Mikel Merino drops deep to balance the chaos. Odegaard leads once more.
Up front, it’s the trio of pain: Saka. Martinelli. And Trossard—Arteta’s unexpected answer to Liverpool’s pressing game.
And here lies the twist: Arsenal are no longer pretending. They’re after legacy.
A win at Anfield doesn’t just preserve second—it sends a message.
Line-ups:
Liverpool: Alisson; Bradley, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
Subs: Kelleher, Endo, Nunez, Mac Allister, Elliott, Jota, Tsimikas, Alexander-Arnold, Quansah
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Merino, Odegaard; Saka, Martinelli, Trossard
Subs: Neto, Tierney, Timber, Zinchenko, Calafiori, Butler-Oyedeji, Henry-Francis, Nwaneri, Sterling