Liverpool v Arsenal live: Team news, line-ups and more ahead of Premier League fixture

Mikel Arteta believes Liverpool remain favourites for the Premier League title this season.

The Gunners finished 10 points behind Liverpool last season, to end the season as runners-up for a third year in a row.

“The favourite is always the one that won the previous year,” Arteta said.

“Somebody has to come and take that crown away from them so that is what we will try to do. The aim is to be better than them.”

Liverpool have made a £35m bid for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi.

The Premier League champions entered into talks for the England centre-back weeks ago and have now had a formal offer in their attempts to bring him to Anfield.

Liverpool will not loan Joe Gomez out and the defender is very unlikely to be leaving permanently before the transfer window closes.

Arne Slot said Liverpool will try to strengthen their squad at the end of the transfer window if the price is right and the player they want is available.

Liverpool had a £110m bid for Alexander Isak rejected at the start of August and the Sweden forward has been on strike at Newcastle as he has looked to secure a move away.

Mikel Arteta backed Eberechi Eze to make an impact on his Arsenal debut if he is selected to start against Liverpool at Anfield today and says the new signing can give the Gunners “something different”.

“I think he’s the type of player that loves those scenarios and those moments,” Arteta said. “I think the moment he starts to play, we will see how the team will react and what connections will flourish from his interventions. I’m very confident that he’s played in the league for so many years.

“We have to put him in the positions and scenarios where he can deliver those moments which are the reason why we brought him here, to give us something different, something unexpected, and we will adapt to more what is necessary as we know the outcome of that is really big.”

Arne Slot said Liverpool did not have any new fitness concerns for the match against Arsenal despite a physical encounter against Newcastle.

“The positive is that Conor Bradley only had one or two training sessions before the Newcastle game. He has trained this week, the whole week,” Slot said.

“Mac Allister has started training again. I don’t think we had any injuries coming out of that game. And Virgil is OK, I guess that would be the main thing that you would question, but he is OK.”

Mikel Arteta has revealed Bukayo Saka will only be sidelined for a “couple of weeks” – but admitted it is a “big concern” that the England star has suffered two hamstring injuries in eight months.

“He (Saka) does not need surgery,” said Arteta. “It’s not as bad as the previous one. He felt something, so he will be out for a couple of weeks.

“But it is obviously a concern, a big one, especially when we talk about a sprinter and a player that gets into that zone very often in a football match, who needs that burst, that change of rhythm of pace to be as threatening as possible.

“But we will learn again as to why it happened and make him stronger. Unfortunately injuries are part of a career. He hasn’t had that many to be fair with the amount of games that he has played at his age but it is something that we want to eradicate.”

The Gunners believe the Premier League champions offer more space than last season, which could present opportunities on Sunday in a pivotal game for this year’s title race

For the Gunners, it has been confirmed that Bukayo Saka will miss around a month of action for Arsenal, with the England international forced off with a hamstring issue against Leeds. He joins Kai Havertz on the list of injury absentees.

That leaves Martin Odegaard as the main injury doubt, with the Gunners captain facing a race against time to be fit for Anfield.

Odegaard’s replacement for this fixture could well be new signing Eberechi Eze, with the forward likely to make his first start at Anfield due to the injury to Saka.

Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke could both feature on the wings, with Viktor Gyokeres starting up front in the absence of Havertz.

In defence, Arteta will likely go with the same quartet who started the win over Leeds, with Ben White potentially missing out again.

Possible Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Gabriel, Saliba, Calafiori; Zubimendi, Rice, Eze; Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli.

For the hosts, Jeremie Frimpong remains out, while Alexis Mac Allister is facing a race to be fit for the match.

The Argentina midfielder is the only injury worry for Slot, with Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley having returned to the squad against Newcastle.

It remains to be seen whether the Dutchman will opt to play Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back once again, though if so it is likely that Curtis Jones will partner Ryan Gravenberch in midfield if so.

Possible Liverpool XI: Alisson; Szoboszlai, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 4.30pm BST on Sunday, 31 August at Anfield, Liverpool.

Viewers in the UK can watch the game live on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League, with coverage starting at 4pm. Subscribers can also watch online via the Sky Go app.

If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass to watch without a subscription.