All 20 Premier League clubs are set for a six-week break in the domestic season as the 2022 World Cup is set to run from November 20 to December 18 in Qatar. Liverpool and Arsenal will both be playing in the Dubai Super Cup along with AC Milan and Lyon. However, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta's respective teams will not meet in the tournament.
With Arsenal closing out their Premier League fixtures before the break with an impressive win over Wolves, it was announced they would be heading to Dubai to compete in a friendly tournament along with three other teams from Europe.
“We need good preparation mentally and physically to be ready for the huge demands that the second part of the season is going to bring to the team," Mikel Arteta said when asked to explain why he had elected for his team to take part in the competition.
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"We have two great games against Lyon and Milan and we are really looking forward to it. They’re two big clubs and it’ll be tough competition, and for us, it’s a great test to see where we are.”
There has been varying joy for Arsenal and Liverpool this season with the latter sitting in sixth, while the Gunners have a five-point lead at the top of the table with 12 wins from 14, which included a dramatic 3-2 victory over Klopp's Reds at Emirates Stadium in mid-October.
The title seems out of reach for Liverpool, with Arsenal 15 points in front, but with most team having 72 points still up for grabs, it is, while unlikely, still possible that Liverpool can finish above the Gunners.
Perhaps though their focus should be on a top-four finish where they will likely be competing with several clubs including Tottenham and Chelsea, with Antonio Conte's side occupying fourth and the Blues a point behind Liverpool in eighth.
While Arteta cited the need for 'good preparation mentally and physically' in regards to Arsenal's choice to participate in the tournament, Liverpool assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders has detailed that Liverpool intend to create a foundation upon which they can attack the rest of the season during their Dubai training camp.
"We will report in Dubai with a fresh and hungry mind to prepare the second half of the season," he said as quoted by Liverpool's official website. "We still have our same target: create special games and memories together.
"There is still a lot to play for. We know we weren’t good enough [so far this season] but one thing will not happen, we will not stop nor give up. In all layers of society, it’s in these times people get separated: the ones who make one step forward and the ones who make one step back."
Liverpool welcome Chelsea to Anfield on Saturday, January 21 before also welcoming Spurs and Arsenal to Merseyside in April. A date for the Stamford Bridge meeting between Chelsea and Liverpool is yet to be arranged, with the original fixture in September postponed following the death of her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
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