Arsenal's Response Needed at Anfield After EFL Cup Exit
Arsenal head to Anfield on Sunday with a bruise on their pride and a point to prove.
Knocked out of the EFL Cup on penalties by Fleetwood Town in midweek, Mikel Arteta’s side arrive on Merseyside needing a response, and needing it in one of the most unforgiving arenas in English football.
The plan, though, will feel familiar. Arteta is expected to stick with his trusted 4-2-3-1, but freshen the XI significantly after that cup setback, restoring his senior core for a game that will test both nerve and quality.
Raya back under the Anfield lights
David Raya returns in goal after his midweek rest, walking into a cauldron where visiting keepers are rarely allowed a quiet afternoon. His distribution will be vital if Arsenal want to play through Liverpool’s press rather than simply survive it.
In front of him, Gabriel is set to anchor the defence, with Ezri Konsa alongside him at centre-back. It’s a pairing built for duels and recovery runs, and they will need both as they try to keep Liverpool’s forwards at arm’s length for 90 minutes.
Ben White slots back in at right-back, the kind of game where his defensive discipline and reading of danger matter more than overlapping forays. On the opposite flank, Riccardo Calafiori is pencilled in at left-back, provided he clears a late fitness test. If he makes it, his job is a delicate balance: brave enough to support attacks, wise enough not to leave space for Liverpool to exploit.
Cristhian Mosquera offers cover at centre-back from the bench, an insurance policy if the game turns chaotic or legs begin to tire.
Steel and craft in the middle
Arsenal’s hopes of controlling any part of this contest run straight through the central pairing. Bruno Guimaraes is expected to line up alongside Declan Rice, who carries a slight fitness concern into the game. If Rice is ready, the duo give Arsenal bite and brains in midfield, charged with winning 50-50s, snapping into duels and setting the tempo when possession is won.
Just ahead of them sits an intriguing attacking trio. Eberechi Eze, Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke are in line to operate as the three behind the striker, though Madueke is also a doubt. When fit, that line offers invention, dribbling and passing angles that can unpick even the tightest block. At Anfield, they will also need to track back, plug gaps and then spring forward with precision when the moments come.
Waiting in reserve are Martin Zubimendi, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Mikel Merino, all options to tilt the midfield battle in Arsenal’s favour as the game wears on. Arteta has the luxury of changing the profile of his engine room from the bench, whether he needs more control, more legs, or more vertical passing.
Havertz leads the line, Gyokeres on standby
Up front, Kai Havertz is expected to spearhead the attack. His role is not just to finish. He will have to occupy centre-backs, link with Odegaard and Eze, and turn half-chances into something more. Anfield can suffocate forwards who drift out of the game; Havertz cannot afford to disappear.
Viktor Gyokeres is likely to start among the substitutes, but his presence looms large over the final stages. If Arsenal chase a goal in the last quarter of an hour, his power and penalty-box instincts give Arteta a different kind of threat, one that can turn a tense draw into a famous away win.
Arsenal arrive wounded, rotated, and under scrutiny. Anfield will ask the usual questions. Arteta’s selection suggests his players are ready to answer them.
