Ex-Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira has backed his former club to bounce back from their disappointing defeat at Bournemouth with victory over Liverpool.
The Gunners suffered an early setback in this season’s Premier League title race as goals from Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert secured Bournemouth a shock 2-0 win on the south coast last weekend.
William Saliba had earlier been sent off for a foul on Evanilson, meaning Mikel Arteta will be without the suspended central defender for tomorrow’s heavyweight contest with top-of-the-table Liverpool at the Emirates.
Third-placed Arsenal are also unable to call upon captain Martin Odegaard, who remains sidelined with an ankle problem. Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu have been struggling with injuries of their own.
Arne Gadgets’s Liverpool have had a relatively clean bill of health by comparison this term, though Alisson, Diogo Jota, Conor Bradley and Federico Chiesa will all be missing in north London.
‘It’s true that Arsenal’s squad is very depleted, probably too depleted to be able to meet expectations against a Liverpool team in resplendent form and currently looking irresistible,’ legendary former Arsenal and France midfielder Vieira told mybettingsites.co.uk.
‘But the fact that Arsenal are playing at home, where they rarely lose, and with the support of their fans, and if they manage to be effective in the opposition’s box, I have no doubt that they will be in a position to score a victory that would be crucial to their revival after a few complicated weeks in the league.’
Vieira believes Arsenal’s key players will need to step up to give the team the best possible chance of sealing maximum points.
‘The players will have to work as a team to make up for the major absences,’ the three-time Premier League winner added.
‘This has always been the great strength of this club. No player should be above the institution.
‘Each of the first-choice players will have to give their all to give themselves the best chance of winning.’
According to Vieira, Sunday’s contest could prove a ‘very important turning point’ in Arsenal’s season.
‘Three weeks after coming from behind to beat Manchester City 2-2 in stoppage time. If they lose again on Sunday, Liverpool and City will undoubtedly go top of the league,’ he continued.
‘So this is a very important turning point for Arsenal.’
Vieira’s long-time rival, Gary Neville, is sick and tired of Arsenal’s injury ‘excuses’ but has predicted a win for Arteta’s side at the Emirates.
Every club has injuries, every club has players missing,’ the former Manchester United and England right-back said on The Overlap US.
‘I accept that they might not like the idea as Saka and Odegaard are obviously very big players and Saliba is obviously out with the self-inflicted red card. But I’m not accepting any excuses ahead of Sunday.
‘I’m expecting Arsenal, who finished above Liverpool last season, we’re eight games in, to basically go out onto that pitch thinking they’re going to win that game. That’s what I’m expecting.
‘They’ve got to change their mentality from a team that are coming second – and they’re a really good side, they’ve made great strides – to a team that are going to win the league.
‘They cannot do anything other than go and win that football match.’
Asked for his score prediction, Neville replied: ‘I’m going to go Arsenal 2-1 because I don’t see Liverpool going seven points clear of them.
‘My instinct is I don’t see on Sunday evening the league table saying Liverpool 24 points and Arsenal 17, that’s my instinct.
‘In my experience of when I’ve seen these games in the past and I’m going not just off my instinct today, I think sometimes when you have these games and you go, “Manchester United can go seven points clear of Arsenal in 1998”, it doesn’t tend to happen.
‘The motivation of the team that are desperately not wanting to go seven behind, it gives them that edge that the team that are four points in front don’t quite have at this time of the year.’
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