The last time Arsenal Anfield visited, for the 2-2 draw with Liverpool in May, Mikel Arteta only had to look over his shoulder for a memory of their lack of depth.
In Kieran Tierney, Raheem Sterling, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Neto, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji and Jack Henry-Francis, six of the nine players who were on the Arsenal-Bank had almost 1,000 minutes between them in the Premier League throughout the season.
Five of the six were then disappeared. Zinchenko can follow very well before the Deadline transfer. However, all regularly appeared in the competition day of Arsenal in the past term, which made the figures made as injury problems a shallow pool of trusted options.
Three months later the photo looks very different.
Injuries in which fans would have written off their chances on Anfield – at Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz – no longer feel disastrous, the transformation of the team is.
The investment has been extensive.
The £ 67.5 million arrival of Ebereechi Eze took the spending of Arsenal to £ 267 million this summer. Eze is their seventh signing of the window after Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Crithian Mosquera and Viktor Gyokeres.
Arteta's team is reinforced in all departments. But it is in an attack that they hope to feel the benefits in Anfield on Sunday.
Arsenal may have had to do without Saka, Havertz and Odegaard and long -term absent Gabriel Jesus. But with Eze, Madueke and Gyokees have added to a pool of attackers who also include Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri and the emerging Max Dowman, they still have envy options.
“They don't want to lose overtz, they don't want to lose Saka, they don't want to lose Odegaard, but they now have better options behind them,” said Sky Sports Pundit Gary Neville.
“That is what we need,” Arteta added in his press conference after the 5-0 win over Leeds. “I think the other way is not realistic to survive at the level we want for 10 months. None of the other top teams in the competition does it, so why will we be different?”
Their injuries take an early test of their increased depth, and their new signing sessions will probably play an important role in how they navigate with it, where Gyokeres expected that they would lead the line at Anfield and Eze and Madueke that offer new options.
The couple has added creativity, flair and ball -bearing skills, among other things. But they were also signed for their versatility. Madueke has already been used on both flanks by Arteta. Eze is of course comfortably central and wide out.
Eze's minutes were divided between multiple positions in Crystal Palace, but most of his best work came as a no. 10. He therefore becomes an option to replace Odegaard if he is not available, with Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice who guarantee a defensive coverage.
Madueke could then take the role of Saka on the right, which would make any fame on the left. Martinelli was an unused replacement against Leeds, but he tends to do well against Liverpool, who shown vulnerability this season during the break.
Arsenal has made a clear effort to increase their threat in those situations. Gyokees, Madueke and Eze Excel in attacking space on transitions. But the same can be said of Martinelli, a player who was once described as “a talent of the century” by Jurgen Klopp.
The International Brazil has scored four goals in its last six performances against the Reds, including the header that encouraged the Comeback of Arsenal in the 2-2 draw in May.
Martinelli was mentioned that day by the player of the game for his display, making a seasonal high total of 41 off-the-ball runs when he repeatedly tried to exploit the high line of Liverpool. But the cross in front of his goal was supplied by another player with a strong record against them.
Trossard is even one of only three opposition players, together with Andrey Arshavin and Peter Ndlovu, to have scored a hat trick in a Premier League match in Anfield after his Treble for former Club Brighton in a 3-3 draw there in January 2022.
The Belgium International will also insist on admission that looked clear from the bank against Leeds, but Eze has also caused damage to the left flank at Anfield and scored the winner in a 1-0 win for Crystal Palace in April 2024.
Arteta can choose to install Eze on that side and, if Odegaard is not available, use Nwaneri in midfield.
Nwaneri was mainly used on the right flank last season and Deputation for Saka during his injury. But his first half introduction for Odegaard against Leeds shot through where his future lies. He performed well and completed all 26 of his passes.
Repeating that achievement in Anfield's boiler would be a very different challenge for Nwaneri, but the 18-year-old offers his manager a different credible option.
Alternative. Arteta could call Mikel Merino, who scored the equalizer of Arsenal from midfield during their last visit to Anfield and perhaps better equipped to meet the physical requirements of the game.
“I think he will bring in Merino,” Neville added. “What he will do is that he will make it a lot stronger, much more physical. That is what I would do and I think that is what Arteta will do. He goes there with one of his more powerful players there.”
The injuries of Arsenal are of course far from ideal, regardless of who the team is entering. Saka in particular has been vital in recent seasons, such as the record of Arsenal with and without him shows.
Their Premier League-Win Rate drops considerably when the 23-year-old does not start, their score rate even more.
But the summer company of Arsenal is aimed at exactly this, to alleviate those dependence on individuals. Madueke offers a proven, high -caliber alternative in the position of Saka. There is now flexibility about the front line, such as in defense and midfield.
It could be said that, in Gyokeres and Eze, only two of the seven signing sessions from Arsenal offer obvious upgrades for the starting line-up of Arteta. But their quality depth is being transformed from last season.
It will be clear in the players who are on ARTETA on Anfield on Sunday, as well as those on the field for him.