Only a month ago, the third round of the FA Cup would have felt like a perfect opportunity for Mikel Arteta to rest players.
Arsenal were five points clear at the top of the Premier League after a dramatic win at Luton and also through to the last-16 of the Champions League with a game to spare.
The landscape, however, has changed, and Sunday’s clash against Liverpool is one Arteta will be desperate to win.
Arsenal’s form has dipped, with back-to-back League defeats by West Ham and Fulham raising questions about their title credentials. They are now fourth in the table and five points behind the leaders — Sunday’s opponents.
However, the Gunners could give themselves a huge psychological boost and lift morale with a win. After three games without one, it is harder to think of a better tonic for Arsenal than beating their title rivals.
A draw is not much good for Arteta, either, because a replay at Anfield over the next fortnight would disrupt the club’s mid-season break and complicate plans to go to Dubai for warm-weather training.
Arteta is renowned for naming strong teams no matter what the stakes are — as shown by the side he selected for last month’s dead-rubber with PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League — but he should be especially minded to go strong on Sunday.
It means the likes of Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice should start, despite the pair showing signs last week that they are in need of a break.
Arsenal’s squad has looked thin recently and Arteta wants to add to it this month, although the club is hamstrung by how much business it can do due to profit and sustainability rules.
Injuries have hit Arsenal especially hard in defence. Jurrien Timber is still out with a knee injury, Oleksandr Zinchenko missed Sunday’s defeat at Fulham due to a calf problem and Thomas Partey, who can cover at right-back, has not recovered from injuring his thigh in October.
The problem has not been helped by Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has been one of Arsenal’s best performers this season, leaving today to represent Japan at the Asian Cup.
The good news for Arsenal’s defence is that they at least will not have to contend with Mohamed Salah, as the forward is now away with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations. Questions will be asked about how Liverpool’s forward line copes over the next month without their star man, but Arsenal have their own attacking problems to solve.
Since scoring four against Luton a month ago, Arsenal have found the net just five times in their last six games
Since scoring four goals in that dramatic win at Luton a month ago today, they have found the net just five times in their last six games. Two of those matches saw them draw blanks, too, and the calls to sign a new striker this month have grown louder.
Supporters are also eager for Emile Smith Rowe to be handed more minutes, given the side’s need for creativity. The attacking midfielder, who played a vital role in turning Arsenal’s fortunes around in the early days of Arteta’s tenure, has struggled with injuries but is back fit now and itching to play.
Smith Rowe is different to many others in Arteta’s squad and his off-the-cuff style could be just what the Gunners need in their search for an attacking spark.
Arteta has routinely found solutions to getting out of slumps like this and you have to go back all the way to April 2022 to find the last time Arsenal lost three games in a row.
Then, it felt like the Gunners could spiral into a run of defeats, but they have discovered a resilience since. Sunday is a chance to prove that and get their season back on track.
