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Gary Neville disagrees with Roy Keane and Paul Scholes on Arsenal vs Liverpool prediction

liam corless
·3-min read
-Credit: (Image: Stick to Football)
-Credit: (Image: Stick to Football)


Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane are all predicting different outcomes when Liverpool travels to the Emirates this weekend. The Reds go into the match in top spot in the standings, while Arsenal dropped down to fourth with defeat to Bournemouth last weekend.

Four points separate the two teams, but Neville is actually backing Mikel Arteta's men to come out on top. Speaking on Stick to Football, the podcast from Sky Bet, he said: “This is the big one, the emotional one! I’m not having a 0-0. I don’t want it. I can’t watch a 0-0 on a Sunday. 1-1 or 2-2 is alright but I hate 0-0. I need a winner or goals… I’ll tell you what, I’ll go Arsenal 2-1.”

Keane, meanwhile, thinks the game will end in a draw, saying: “Arsenal have got a goal in them. Robertson or Trent will give a goal up. If Saka’s fit, Arsenal will get a result. 1-1; everyone’s happy.” Scholes and Jill Scott then tipped Liverpool to emerge from North London with three points.

Liverpool is certainly going into the game as the form team of the two after winning 11 of its 12 matches in all competitions under Arne Slot, including each of the last eight games.

Arsenal, meanwhile, has won eight of its 12 matches in all competitions, with disciplinary issues hampering the Gunners' title challenge in the early stages of the season. In three of the four matches that Arsenal hasn't won, the team has had a player sent off, with the most recent instance coming last weekend, when William Saliba was given his marching orders in a 2-0 loss to Bournemouth.

Saliba will therefore miss the game against Liverpool through suspension, and he isn't the only important Arsenal player who won't take to the field against Liverpool. Captain Martin Odegaard has been missing since the September international break after sustaining ankle ligament damage, while Bukayo Saka is unlikely to figure against Liverpool due to a hamstring problem, and new defender Riccardo Calafiori went off with a knee injury during Arsenal's win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League and is reportedly set to be sidelined for several weeks.

Darwin Nunez scores for Liverpool -Credit:Getty Images
Darwin Nunez scores for Liverpool -Credit:Getty Images

Speaking after Arsenal's win over Shakhtar, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said that he doesn't expect Saka to recover in time to face Liverpool. The winger hasn't played since being replaced during England's defeat by Greece during the international break. “He wasn’t able to train yet so that’s unlikely [that he will play against Liverpool]," Arteta said.

On Calafiori, the Spaniard added: “He had to come off because he felt something. I don’t know the extent of it, so in that sense not great news.” Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu have also been missing for Arsenal since the international break and it is not clear whether they will return in time to face Liverpool.

Regarding Liverpool team news, Alisson and Harvey Elliott are definitely out, while Diogo Jota, Conor Bradley and Federico Chiesa are also seemingly unlikely to figure.