Arsenal have started their Premier League campaign well with two wins from two matches but they are set to face much sterner opposition at Anfield against the reigning champions of Europe and last year's Premier League runners up, Liverpool.
Unai Emery 's side will make the trip to , to compete against one of the favourites for the title this season with the Reds the only other team alongside the Gunners to have posted a 100% win rate .
Something has to give.
Despite the strength of Jurgen Klopp's side, their early season performances have offered some hope for opposition teams. Liverpool have appeared less impenetrable than before.
Last season, the Reds allowed an average of just 6.96 shots on their goal per match, which was the third-best figure in Europe's top five leagues behind only Manchester City and Bayern Munich.
This season, Klopp's team have already allowed 11 against Norwich City, and 10 versus Southampton. No clean sheet has been kept yet. Liverpool have appeared more open than before.
It has been suggested that Klopp has changed the way his team tries to defend in certain moments, to make better use of VAR's introduction and offsides by retaining a higher line than before.
The defence are catching almost double the amount of players offside per match compared to last year but it's also causing some issues that Arsenal will be keen to exploit.
Emery has offered little insight into the team that he will select for the Anfield fixture but there's the possibility that fans will finally get to see Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe start together for the first time.
On paper, they are a trio that should form a front three that is fast, instinctive and with better movement than the average attack.
have previously analysed how these three forwards could combine, with similarities to Liverpool's own front three of .
Lacazette is the obvious candidate to play through the middle, linking up the attack while Aubameyang and Pepe run in behind defences to cause chaos in the final third.
Their potential is ominous for Liverpool's defence if they aren't on song.
Below, is an example of the uncharacteristic defending from Klopp's side this season, and how it seems to involve deliberately playing an offside trap.
Emi Buendia has possession of the ball for Norwich City, isn't under pressure, and has the time to find Teemu Pukki with a through ball, from which he scored.
Another instance occurred earlier in the match, with Todd Cantwell beating the press of two Liverpool midfielders, enabling him to play a through pass to Jamal Lewis who was darting in behind alongside Pukki, shown below.
The Reds again conceded a shot from the move largely as a consequence of their new defensive approach, as it's not particularly well-oiled yet.
Encouragingly for Arsenal, the Gunners have players with even greater quality in comparison to Norwich and Southampton.
Dani Ceballos, for example, is a highly technical and intelligent player, and if Liverpool allow him space while retaining their high line, he would have no trouble picking out a pass for the run of Aubameyang and Pepe.
Liverpool caught Chelsea offside nine times in 90 minutes in the Super Cup, which is considerably more than their previous best of seven last season.
Frank Lampard evidently tried to make use of the space behind Liverpool's defence, but more often than not, his players suffered from the trap.
If Arsenal's attacking trident can time their runs better than the likes of Pedro and Christian Pulisic did, then it's likely that clear-cut chances will be available, which would contribute significantly to their chances of grabbing a positive result at Anfield.
