Things couldn't be going much better for Arsenal right now. They sit eight points clear at the top of the Premier League having shocked almost everyone with a superb title charge.
Many now view them as favourites to go on and claim a first league trophy in nearly 20 years. Mikel Arteta though is not looking too far ahead just yet.
"Just enjoy the moment that we are in," he told his players after their 4-1 win over Leeds last week. "We have nine games to go but [on Monday] we have a training session that is going to enable us to be better as a team, and if we go through the journey day by day, when the game comes we are in a state of mind and you are really looking forward to it. You have oxygen to grab instead of gasping, and we just want that energy and belief. We go to the next target and we go for it." Now though they face one of their toughest tests yet.
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The Gunners travel up to Anfield to take on Liverpool. It's a ground where they have not won since 2012, where goals from Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla were enough to give them victory.
Despite their awful record on the red side of Stanley Park, many make Arsenal favourites for this one. That's due to the awful season Liverpool are having. Despite being in the running for the quadruple last time out, this year Jurgen Klopp's men find themselves down in 8th place, 10 points off the Champions League places. Throw into that the fact that Liverpool could be missing a few key players for the game and there's a real sense that the Gunners could finally break their Anfield hoodoo.
Regardless of that though, they cannot be underestimated. As Arteta seeks to claim a potentially pivotal victory en route to a first Premier League title, he may want to heed the advice of his former mentor Pep Guardiola when it comes to facing the Reds.
"They remain an exceptional team, my opinion doesn’t change for a season with ups and downs," Guardiola said before Manchester City's own clash with Liverpool last week. "For every club can happen in one season these ups and downs.
"My opinion about them remains the same whether it’s winning the Champions League, having the season with up and downs. Nothing changes. Now the biggest rival is another one but whatever happens in the past, in the future they are always a big rival.
"I don’t read much but I don’t pay attention one second what people say about opponents. My opinion doesn’t change. For one game they can beat everyone, like we can beat everyone. One game. It’s the consistency and I don’t know why and honestly I don’t care. I don't know the reason why. You have to ask my colleague."
Favourites or not, there is no way that this will be any easy afternoon for Arsenal. If they want to win a first league title since 2004 however, it's exactly the kind of game they need to get a result in.
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