Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Brighton at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon ahead of a massive clash with second-place Liverpool.
It was a dominant performance from the Gunners, not too dissimilar from the game against Aston Villa, but on this occasion Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz converted the chances to claim the three points.
Both Brighton and Villa are strong sides and the manner of the performances against those two teams has been excellent, creating a high volume of chances while limiting both to very little on the defensive end.
Neither are slouches in attack.
It looks like Arsenal have really found their form after the November international break too, with the return of Jesus and captain Martin Odegaard, allowing Mikel Arteta to name a relatively consistent side, especially in attack.
Havertz in particular has benefited from the consistency of the team around him, working well with Jesus, dovetailing with runs into the box and link-up play that has seen him score four goals in his last seven games since the break.
In the Champions League, Arsenal have drawn Portuguese side Porto in the round of 16.
Porto came second in their group, level with top-spot Barcelona who they lost to twice after doing the double over Shakhtar Donetsk and Antwerp.
It’s a solid draw for the Gunners in terms of travel and level of opponent, avoiding Paris Saint Germain, but after going out to Portuguese rivals Sporting in the Europa League last year, Arsenal will need to be on their game.
On Saturday evening, Arsenal travel to Anfield to face Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are coming off a 0-0 draw with Manchester United but have rediscovered some of their title-winning form from a few years ago.
Anfield has been a ground that the Gunners have struggled at in recent years, dropping a 2-0 lead last season which was the beginning of the end for their title charge.
It’s the type of game that determines champions and, if there’s a winner, it’ll determine who’s top on Christmas Day.
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