By OkayGoal
Liverpool vs Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday is the champions’ first test since the Fleetwood humiliation, and they arrive with Bukayo Saka and William Saliba injured, Max Dowman suspended and Eberechi Eze as their only fully fit senior winger.
Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool are in a far happier place. They are unbeaten since the 3-0 home defeat to Manchester City on 11 October, beat Brentford and Brighton in the league, and got past Chelsea on penalties in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
The table still favours the visitors. Arsenal sit second on 21 points, level with leaders Manchester City and behind only on goal difference, while Liverpool are fourth on 15. Win on Sunday and Iraola’s side cut that gap to three points. Lose, and they are nine behind the champions before November has really started.
Liverpool vs Arsenal kickoff
Date: Sunday, 1 November 2026
Kick-off: 4.30pm GMT
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
Competition: Premier League, gameweek 9
Liverpool vs Arsenal match officials
Andy Madley is the referee, assisted by Nick Hopton and Tim Wood. Tom Bramall is the fourth official, while Stuart Attwell is on VAR duty with James Bell as his assistant.
Liverpool vs Arsenal team news
Liverpool team news
The big worry was Florian Wirtz, who twisted his ankle in the 2-0 win over Brighton and went off just after the hour. Iraola said at the time that it “doesn’t look very big”, and the German has since answered the question himself: he came off the bench for the last half hour against Chelsea and scored his penalty in the shootout.
Jeremie Frimpong is out. He suffered a new muscle injury within minutes of coming on at Brentford, and Iraola said at his pre-Villarreal press conference: “It’s going to be difficult, I think, before the [November international] break. We will try but it’s going to be difficult to have him.” That means Ronald Araujo stays at right-back, a role we looked at in our analysis of Liverpool’s right-back problem. The Barcelona loanee was man of the match against Chelsea, with 10 clearances.
Dominik Szoboszlai (hamstring) remains a doubt, with Iraola urging patience, and Victor Munoz (knee) is touch and go. Hugo Ekitike is out until late December with an Achilles problem, so Alexander Isak leads the line. Iraola faces the media at 1.30pm GMT on Friday, which should bring the final word on Szoboszlai.
Iraola made seven changes in midweek, keeping only Araujo, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo, so Wirtz, Isak, Bradley Barcola and Alexis Mac Allister, who played half an hour or less, should be fresh for Sunday, along with left-back Milos Kerkez.
Arsenal team news
Mikel Arteta’s problems are on the flanks. Saka is facing six to eight weeks out with the quad injury he suffered at Bayern Munich, and Saliba is not expected back from his back injury until after the international break.
Noni Madueke missed the cup tie at Fleetwood with an ankle problem and Christos Tzolis is in the final stages of his recovery from a hamstring injury. Sky Sports say Eze is the only fit senior wide option unless one of them recovers, with Kai Havertz or youngster Ceadach O’Neill the alternatives.
Dowman would have been in contention, but the FA rejected Arsenal’s appeal against his red card on Thursday, so the 16-year-old serves a three-match domestic ban starting at Anfield. He is still available for the Champions League trip to Slavia Prague on Wednesday.
Declan Rice was holding his hamstring late in the 2-0 win over Everton, though there is nothing to suggest a major problem. Riccardo Calafiori went straight down the tunnel after that game, and Arteta described it as “very small”.
Can Arsenal end 14 years of Anfield hurt?
Arsenal’s league form matches anyone’s: seven wins from eight, only five goals conceded, and four wins from their last five, the latest a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest and a 2-0 win over Everton, with Ezri Konsa scoring his first Arsenal goal and Gabriel Magalhaes heading the other.
Then came Tuesday. Arteta made nine changes at Fleetwood, the League Two side won 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, and Arsenal became the first reigning Premier League champions knocked out of the League Cup by a fourth-tier club. Arteta said afterwards: “When we create the volume of shots and chances we did, you have to score three, four or five. You capitalise on it. If you don’t, there are no margins, and that’s the reality.”
Liverpool have won four, drawn three and lost one, scoring 11 and conceding eight, but the mood has changed. They won 2-1 at Brentford, beat Villarreal in the Champions League, brushed Brighton aside 2-0 and then edged Chelsea, as we covered in our report on Liverpool’s eight-round shootout win over Chelsea.
| Team | Pos | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 2nd | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | +8 | 21 |
| Liverpool | 4th | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | +3 | 15 |
History is firmly on Liverpool’s side at Anfield. Arsenal’s last league win there came on 2 September 2012, and they have gone 13 visits without one since. The last meeting at Anfield ended 1-0 to Liverpool in August 2025, and across 68 Premier League meetings Liverpool lead 26 wins to 18, with 24 draws.
Two old friends, two very different weeks
Iraola and Arteta are childhood friends, and their weeks could hardly have gone more differently. Iraola is still early in his Liverpool tenure and is finally getting a tune out of his side. Even his cup draw had a personal edge, with a quarter-final at home to his former club Bournemouth. “The only team I don’t want is Bournemouth. For me, it’s special,” he said on Wednesday night.
Arteta’s job is not in question. Arsenal announced on 7 October that he had signed a new deal until 2030, after he delivered the club’s first league title in 22 years and a Champions League final last season. But Fleetwood has raised fresh questions about the depth behind his first XI, and a bad afternoon at Anfield would turn a cup embarrassment into a proper wobble.
Liverpool vs Arsenal pre-match tactical analysis
Both sides are expected to set up in a 4-2-3-1, which puts three attacking midfielders against two holding players at each end. Wirtz in the pocket behind Rice and Bruno Guimaraes is Liverpool’s best route through, and if Guimaraes steps out to follow him, Gakpo or Barcola can drift into the space he leaves.
Arsenal have the mirror image. Martin Odegaard, Eze and Madueke against Gravenberch and Mac Allister means a pass that splits the Liverpool pivot finds the Norwegian facing goal, and Van Dijk and Jeremy Jacquet will have to decide whether to step up and leave Havertz alone.
The flanks matter too. Without Saka, Arsenal’s right side is less of a threat, and Kerkez has more freedom to push on. On the other side, Araujo is a centre-back playing at right-back against Eze, who loves to cut inside.
Liverpool vs Arsenal key players
Alexander Isak
Isak scored the winner at Brentford and found the net again against Brighton, so he arrives in form. With Ekitike out, the Swede is Liverpool’s only senior centre-forward, and his duel with Gabriel and Konsa could decide the afternoon.
Florian Wirtz
Wirtz is the man who moves this Liverpool side. Iraola has played him behind the striker, and if he is sharp enough to start, he is the player most likely to drag Rice out of position.
Eberechi Eze
With the wingers dropping like flies, Eze carries more of Arsenal’s creative load than ever. His battle with Araujo is the one Arsenal will target.
Declan Rice
Rice rescued a point at Bayern and is the heartbeat of Arteta’s midfield. If his hamstring is fine, he is the shield in front of a defence missing Saliba. If not, Arsenal have a serious problem in the middle of the park.
Liverpool vs Arsenal predicted lineups
Liverpool predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Barcola, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak
Arsenal predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Raya; Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Rice, Guimaraes; Madueke, Odegaard, Eze; Havertz
If Madueke does not make it, Havertz could move wide with Viktor Gyökeres up front. Calafiori could also come in at left-back for Myles Lewis-Skelly if he is cleared, while Ben White is the alternative to Jurrien Timber at right-back.
Liverpool vs Arsenal prediction: Anfield keeps its grip
Arsenal have the better squad on paper and the better league record, and their defence has conceded just five in eight. But they are walking into Anfield with a patched-up front line, a bruised ego from Highbury and a 14-year wait for a league win at this ground.
Liverpool have momentum, Wirtz back and a home crowd that has found its voice again. I can see the champions grinding out a draw, but not much more than that.
Prediction: Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal