Monday evening will see Arsenal welcome a Liverpool side full of confidence following their opening two victories in the Premier League.
Brendan Rodgers’ side have managed to pick up a brace of 1-0 wins against Stoke City and Bournemouth, despite showing a lack of convincing gameplay.
New boy on the scene, Christian Benteke, got his 2015/16 account off to a start last Monday, with a controversial goal against the Cherries that saw Liverpool shoot up to the top half of the table.
Arsenal on the other hand are playing catch up with their title rivals, following a shock opening day defeat to West Ham and shaky performance last weekend against Crystal Palace.
Arsene Wenger has revealed that the squad hasn’t suffered any fresh injury concerns, and gave a positive update on the recovery of Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck.
And the Gunners will have their sights set firmly on another three points on Monday night, as they look to get back into the swing of things ahead of the Champions League group stage draw next week.
1 – Philippe Coutinho
The Brazilian should need no introduction to Arsenal fans ahead of Monday night, after his show-stopping strike handed Liverpool their first three points of the season.
The 23-year-old is the standout man when it comes to their midfield, and playing in the number 10 role has given him the ability to trouble defences across the league.
Coutinho scooped the man of the match award following his late strike at Stoke City, but now he has to prove he’s capable of performing in some of the big away games.
Former Anfield legend, Jamie Carragher, has admitted that the midfielder tends to hide away when a performance is needed, so we may see a more determined Coutinho.
With the predicted absence of captain, Jordan Henderson, the midfielder will have more work to do in the middle of the park and will need to become the provider as well as finisher.
The player in charge of keeping Coutinho at bay is Francis Coquelin, and the youngster will have his work cut out with the attacking flow the 23-year-old can unleash.
As well as having experience in all three attacking midfield positions, we could see the Brazilian international on the right-wing or in the centre, and Rodgers has the ability to change-up his starting eleven during the game.