Liverpool vs Arsenal arrives at the worst and best possible moment for Mikel Arteta: Arsenal head to Anfield on Sunday straight after being dumped out of the Carabao Cup by League Two Fleetwood Town, yet they are only off the top of the Premier League on goal difference.
The Gunners have won seven of their eight league games in 2026-27, including three on the bounce, and last weekend’s 2-0 win over Everton kept the champions level on points with Manchester City.
Liverpool have won five straight in all competitions under Andoni Iraola, and sit fourth, six points behind. Then there is the history. Arsenal have not won a top-flight game at Anfield since Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla scored there in 2012, and another failure would make it 14 league games without a win away to Liverpool for the first time ever.
Liverpool vs Arsenal kickoff
Date: Sunday 1 November 2026
Time: 4.30pm GMT
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool vs Arsenal team news
Liverpool team news
Dominik Szoboszlai (hamstring) and Victor Munoz (knee) have not been ruled out, and Iraola says both have a chance of facing the champions. Florian Wirtz recovered quickly from an ankle knock to play against Chelsea in midweek.
Hugo Ekitike (Achilles), Conor Bradley (knee), Jeremie Frimpong (hamstring) and Giovanni Leoni (knee) will not be back in time. Iraola rotated on Wednesday, so expect Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Bradley Barcola back in the starting XI.
Arsenal team news
Max Dowman begins his three-game domestic ban after the FA upheld his red card at Fleetwood, and Bukayo Saka is still out with a serious quad injury. William Saliba (back) is a long-term absentee.
The better news is the triple injury boost Arteta confirmed on Friday: Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Christos Tzolis have all trained and are expected to make the cut. Noni Madueke (ankle) is the one to watch, and we think he gets the green light.
Liverpool vs Arsenal pre-match tactical analysis
Liverpool have changed under Iraola. They beat Brighton 2-0 last weekend with just 36% of the ball, their second-lowest figure on record in a Premier League home win. Fabian Hurzeler grumbled afterwards that only one team tried to win the second half, but the points went to Merseyside all the same.
That matters for Arsenal, because Liverpool will happily let the visitors have the ball and wait. Iraola rarely loses: he has suffered only two defeats in 27 Premier League games in 2026, albeit with 13 draws. One of those defeats was against Arsenal in January, when he was still in charge of Bournemouth.
The Gunners’ problem is on the right. With Saka injured and Dowman banned, Madueke is the only recognised right-sided option left, and if he misses out it falls to Kai Havertz or Tzolis as an emergency answer. We covered how thin that front line looks after 26 shots and one goal at Fleetwood, though that was a second-string side, and most of it makes way here.
What Arsenal do have is the strongest defence in the division, plus just one loss in their last eight Premier League games against Liverpool. They may not blow anyone away, but they are very hard to get past.
Liverpool vs Arsenal key players
Alexander Isak
Six goals in his last six Premier League games make Isak the main threat Arsenal have to stop. He should come straight back in after Wednesday’s rotation.
Bradley Barcola
Three goals and two assists from his last four appearances. If Calafiori is short of sharpness after his scare against Everton, that flank could decide this.
Viktor Gyokeres
His scrappy goal against Fleetwood should earn him the nod over Havertz through the middle. In a game this tight, Arsenal may only get one chance.
Declan Rice
Rice is back in full practice, and he should line up alongside Bruno Guimaraes. With Liverpool likely to sit and break, his job in front of the back four is the biggest one on the pitch.
Our Liverpool vs Arsenal prediction: 1-1
We expect a big response from Arteta’s side after that horror show at Fleetwood. Liverpool’s attack should break through once, but only once, and the champions take a point back to the capital. It would not end the Anfield wait, but it would do no harm in the title race.
Liverpool vs Arsenal predicted lineups
Our full position-by-position call is in the Arsenal predicted lineup vs Liverpool, updated here for the latest team news. Ben White returns for Jurrien Timber, Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes come back in the middle, and David Raya replaces Illan Meslier in goal.
Liverpool predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Barcola, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak
Arsenal predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Guimaraes; Madueke, Odegaard, Eze; Gyokeres
