Arsenal vs Liverpool is one of the most historic fixtures in English football history.
The pair have met in cup finals, title deciders and battles for the top-four. No fixture in Premier League history has seen more goals than this one.
But this season, it’s a little bit different.
Both sides won’t be particularly pleased with their campaign so far.
Arsenal sit ninth, while champions Liverpool are four points ahead of them in seventh.
The best either side can really hope for to salvage their season is victory in European competitions.
But is either side really good enough to do that?
Well, ahead of this evening’s crunch match, we’ve decided to turn to Tiermaker to rank every player in the respective squads from ‘Needs to be sold’ to ‘World class.’
So, without further ado, be prepared to disagree with our humble opinion.
Needs to be sold
- Adrian
- Divock Origi
Adrian is now 34 and Liverpool’s third-choice goalkeeper. He needs to be moved on in the summer.
Divock Origi will always be remembered fondly by Liverpool fans for some crucial goals - most notably two against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final and then another in the final against Tottenham. But if he stays any longer, he will start tarnishing his legacy.
Not good enough
- Hector Bellerin
- Mohamed Elneny
- Nicolas Pepe
- Reiss Nelson
Arsenal have four players that are ‘not good enough.’
Hector Bellerin has been an incredible servant for Arsenal but he’s just not very good these days. Mohamed Elneny doesn’t offer enough for us, while Reiss Nelson is still young but there are far talented players at the club. Nicolas Pepe is a decent player but his £72m price tag has come into our thinking here.
- Ben Davies
- Neco Williams
- Nathaniel Phillips
- Caoimhin Kelleher
Liverpool also have four players that have been deemed ‘not good enough.’
They signed Ben Davies from Preston on deadline day but the centre-back is yet to make an appearance yet despite the club having injury problems. Nathaniel Phillips has filled in well at times this season but he’s probably not good enough in the long-term. Neco Williams, 19, has played 13 times for Liverpool in all competitions this season but has been caught out on numerous occasions. Meanwhile, second choice goalkeeper, Caoimhin Kelleher, hasn’t done too much wrong but Jurgen Klopp will want to add a more experienced goalkeeper to his ranks in the summer.
Average
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
- Naby Keita
- James Milner
- Joel Matip
- Konstantinos Tsimikas
- Ozan Kabak
- Xherdan Shaqiri
The ‘average’ category is by far the most populated which perhaps sums up the struggles of both Liverpool and Arsenal this season.
The seven players mentioned all played a bit-part role for the Reds this season with many of them struggling with injury problems. The futures of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joel Matip and Xherdan Shaqiri will all be in doubt this summer, while the club also have the option to sign Ozan Kabak for £18m at the end of the season.
- Willian
- Granit Xhaka
- Gabriel Martinelli
- Alexandre Lacazette
- Mat Ryan
- Dani Ceballos
- Calum Chambers
- David Luiz
- Cedric
- Rob Holding
- Pablo Mari
- Emile Smith-Rowe
Just the 12 ‘average’ players for Arsenal.
Players that aren’t good enough to challenge for major trophies but can all do a job in this Arsenal side. Granit Xhaka has proven a lot of Arsenal fans wrong this season, while the same could be said about Calum Chambers, David Luiz and Rob Holding.
Decent
- Martin Odegaard
- Bernd Leno
- Kieran Tierney
- Thomas Partey
- Gabriel
We believe Arsenal have five ‘decent’ players.
Martin Odegaard has been a revelation since joining on loan from Real Madrid. Arsenal will be hoping to snap him up on a permanent basis in the summer. Bernd Leno is still guilty of making the odd mistake but we’re happy to place him in the ‘decent’ category. Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey and Gabriel are the three other players to make this tier with the trio capable of leading this Arsenal side for years to come.
- Roberto Firmino
- Thiago
- Curtis Jones
- Georginio Wijnaldum
- Andy Robertson
Liverpool also have five ‘decent’ players, in our opinion.
Roberto Firmino, Thiago and Andy Robertson may not be too pleased with only being described as ‘decent’ but their form this season hasn’t been great. Georginio Wijnaldum looks set to leave Anfield in the summer but 20-year-old Curtis Jones looks ready to fill the void left behind.
Very good
- Trent Alexander-Arnold
- Fabinho
- Alisson
- Joe Gomez
- Jordan Henderson
- Diogo Jota
Unsurprisingly, the champions have six ‘very good’ players in their squad.
Trent Alexander-Arnold can’t make the England squad but there’s no doubt he’s still a class act. Fabinho has mostly played out of position this season but he’s one of the best defensive midfielders in world football. Alisson has made a handful of errors this season but he’s also one of the best in his position in the world. Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson and Diogo Jota have all missed large parts of the season due to injury but they’re important members of this side.
- Bukayo Saka
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
We think Bukayo Saka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are Arsenal’s two best players. Saka, 19, has played 35 games in all competitions and is the one shining light in Arsenal’s season. Aubameyang has only managed nine goals in 24 Premier League matches which has seen him fall from the ‘world class’ category.
World class
- Mohamed Salah
- Virgil van Dijk
- Sadio Mane
So, there are just three ‘world class’ players in the squads of Liverpool and Arsenal combined. And we don’t think there can be too many arguments regarding the trio.
Sadio Mane has only managed seven goals in 26 Premier League games but he’s always a constant threat, while Mohamed Salah is challenging for the Golden Boot despite Liverpool’s struggles. Virgil van Dijk was the world’s best defender before his serious knee injury and we can only hope he can make a full recovery and be back to his best next season.
Final rankings
So, there we have it.
We believe Liverpool and Arsenal have three ‘world class’ players between them - all of which play for Klopp’s side.
They each have a handful of ‘very good’ and ‘decent’ stars but there are just far too many ‘average’ players on their roster.
Meanwhile the less said about Adrian and Origi, the better.
Whatever you think of our rankings, let’s just hope for another entertaining clash between Arsenal and Liverpool as they look to finish a difficult season strongly.
