Arsenal will be looking to bounce back to winning ways on Saturday lunchtime when they travel to the West Midlands to take on Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa side.
Goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino helped Liverpool inflict a 2-0 defeat on Arsenal on Wednesday night, their first defeat after a five-match winning run. How they react to such a setback will be of real interest as the race for that final Champions League spot hots up.
Villa will not be ready to roll over for their Europe-chasing opponents. Prior to their defeat to West Ham, they had beaten Brighton, Southampton and Leeds on the bounce, keeping three clean sheets and scoring nine goals in the process.
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But before Gerrard had even arrived at Villa Park, he poured praise on Arsenal. After Rangers defender Glen Kamara was racially abused by Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela in the Europa League, the Gunners took the knee against the Czech side later in the competition.
It was a powerful image and a stance Mikel Arteta later revealed stemmed entirely from the player's wish to make a statement. It was one not lost on Gerrard either.
"I admired how they approached it before the game, during the game and after the game," Gerrard said at the time. "I'm sure Glen did as well." But it was not simply the show of solidarity that impressed the Liverpool legend.
"I was really proud watching Arsenal's performance last night. Everything about it. I thought the way they prepared for the game, the way the manager spoke, the way the players behaved before, during and after, and then to back it up with that level of performance.
"I sat there and really enjoyed that game. I thought it was a sensational performance."
