Mikel Arteta will face ghost of Christmas past as Liverpool copies Arsenal blueprint

Liverpool and Arsenal are two of the biggest and most historic clubs in England, but it's been a while since they were direct competitors in the Premier League. In fact, you have go back to the 2017/18 season, when the Reds finished in the top four at the expense of the Gunners, for the last time that they wound up within two places of one another.

But heading into the meeting between the two sides at Anfield on Saturday, Mikel Arteta's men sit just a point clear of Jürgen Klopp's outfit at the top of the table. If there is a winner, they are all but guaranteed to be in first place for Christmas. There are clear similarities between this year's Liverpool team and the Arsenal side that finished runner-up behind Manchester City last season, the first of which is the rebuilding process that has taken place at both clubs.

Last summer, Klopp parted with veterans like Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, James Milner and Roberto Firmino, and recruited three midfielders between the ages of 21 and 24 in Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister. Eighteen months ago, Arsenal cleared the last real remnants of yesteryear by offloading Alexandre Lacazette and Héctor Bellerín, having already said goodbye to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, David Luiz, Willian and Sead Kolašinac.

The players who came to epitomize an era of mediocrity at the Emirates were gone, succeeded by a batch of elite talents either in their peak or approaching it. Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fábio Vieira joined in 2022, while Jakub Kiwior arrived the following January. The previous summer, Arteta had brought in the likes of Martin Ødegaard, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Aaron Ramsdale and Ben White.

The generational change

The Spaniard took a jumbled, aging squad and transformed it into a cohesive, rejuvenated unit. Last season, Arsenal matched Southampton in first place in the lowest average table at 24.6, and while Liverpool isn't in the top bracket this year, embracing a greater mix of youth and experience, it does boast one of the youngest midfields you're likely to see at an elite side. The average age of the seven players who have started games in that area this season comes in at just 22.7, even though it's inflated by 30-year-old Wataru Endō. Minus Salah, the forwards are all in the ideal range too.