Tradition in football means nothing, and yet many players, especially in England, have a tendency to look at the numbers and see the consecutive series of defeats, wins, goals, etc. And there is one interesting ‘tradition’ in English football which is not good for either Liverpool or Arsenal. The data says whoever ends up being the league leader by Christmas won’t win the Premier League! Today’s derby between Liverpool and Arsenal is being played with the Gunners on top of the league with 39 and the Reds in third place with 38 points. Aston Villa is between them in the second spot, but they will stay there since they played their game on Friday (1-1 against Sheffield United). So, if they win, the Gunners will be league leaders two days before Christmas and will look at that data with unease, and the same goes for Jurgen Klopp, whose team must win in order to take over the leading position. And it’s funny that the last six teams who failed to keep their lead on the table were – Arsenal and Liverpool. Those two clubs were at the top of the Premier League by December 25th and then lost the title chase. It was Arsenal back in 2007/08 and last season, and between that, Liverpool was on top of the league in seasons 2008/09, 2013/14, 2018/19 and 2020/21 before failing to secure that lead until the end.Arsenal must oppose Super League for fans, claims ArtetaBut coaches are not thinking about that; they are only thinking about getting a win, no matter what. And it seems that an Anfield crowd is at the centre of attention this time. After Klopp’s criticism of the home crowd in a game against West Ham in the Cup, the German tactician, who probably did this on purpose in order to gather everybody together against Arsenal today, said:”It is no criticism. I have enjoyed 99.7 per cent of each second in that stadium. I love it to bits. The atmosphere and these people. I am happy with everything, but if people can do better then show us. That is all… I have nothing more to say about the atmosphere. What I said is that we need Anfield against Arsenal on Saturday. That is 100 per cent true, and I can’t wait for when the first whistle goes”.The Anfield atmosphere is not always there – and somebody had to say itMikel Arteta is aware of this and warned his players not to get into ‘the washing machine’.“Anfield is different, different like Old Trafford. Old Trafford has a beautiful atmosphere as well and something that historically is an unbelievable place to go. There are a few in this country. You have to go to these stadiums and you have to prove as a team what you are capable of. Sometimes when you don’t feel at your best you feel that they are on top of you, and you cannot get out of that washing machine. You try to overcome those situations but that’s learning – it happened once and it didn’t happen again” said the Spaniard who, when asked how his players can avoid getting in the ‘washing machine’ in the first place, said:“Follow the game-plan and everything that we discussed to try to be away from that game, and put on our washing machine that is very powerful. The emotional state is something that is crucial when you play against big opponents away”.PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 18Friday Aston Villa – Sheffield United 1-1 (0-0)/Zaniolo 90+7 – Archer 87/Saturday 15.30: (2.65) West Ham (3.40) Man.Utd. (2.80)18.00: (1.68) Fulham (3.70) Burnley (5.40)18.00: (1.85) Tottenham (3.80) Everton (4.50)18.00: (2.90) Nott.Forest (3.45) Bournemouth (2.55)18.00: (5.90) Luton (3.90) Newcastle (1.67)20.30: (2.45) Liverpool (3.50) Arsenal (3.00)Sunday 16.00: (4.00) Wolverhampton (3.60) Chelsea (2.00)***odds are subject to change
