The smell of freshly cut and watered pitch, running boots, clashing of heads, the dribbles, the electrifying pace, the tackles, the fouls, the positional play, the boos, the cheers, the standing ovations, the substitutions, the goals, the timely defence, the questionable calls and the blasts of whistles basically sums up what will take place at the Emirates Stadium tonight.
The Carabao cup tie between Arsenal and Liverpool promises to be an entertaining game because a winner must emerge who will now proceed to the next stage of the competition.
Last week Thursday, the Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side fought valiantly to keep a clean sheet and a goalless draw at Anfield the home of Liverpool FC despite playing for most of the game with 10 men after Xhaka was giving his matching orders after a reckless tackle on Diogo Jota. The Liverpool side were not without their talismen; Salah and Sane who are engaged in the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
They lack the sharpness, precision and cutting edge those two players gives them. Regardless of the fact that the match was slated for an earlier date but postponed due to a suspicious Covid-19 petition by Liverpool to the FA, the Arsenal side braved all that was thrown at them and left unscathed.
Thus, today’s match will be quite interesting to watch as there is much at stake. Both sides see the Carling cup as an opportunity to get a silver ware for the season most especially Arsenal who are not in any European competition and are out of the FA cup.
Both sides will be missing some key players due to injury, Covid-19, suspension and AFCONS engagement. But the players on ground will be ready to fight out and the field of play.
Pundits, fans and sport analyst has tipped Liverpool ahead of arsenal to go ahead to the next stage of the competition but in football we can never say never.
Guys, who do you think will win this deciding encounter tonight?
I give it to Arsenal.