Former Arsenal forward Alan Smith has backed Arsenal to beat Liverpool on Thursday night at the Emirates.
The Gunners are favourites for tonight’s game, as they have the chance to go eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table, following Man City’s draw against Brighton on Wednesday night.
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Mikel Arteta will be hopeful that his side can continue their good form, but they won’t underestimate Liverpool, as the Reds are one of two teams to beat Arsenal this season; the other being Aston Villa. The two will meet at the Emirates, kicking off at 8pm on Thursday for what could be a huge Premier League clash.
Heading into the game, Arsenal could really take control of the league table amid Man City’s lack of recent form, it may be their best chance to win the league under Arteta, especially with a win on Thursday night.
Alan Smith backs Arsenal to beat Liverpool
Former Gunner Alan Smith spoke to GoonerNews exclusively via BestBettingSites.co.uk, as we asked him how he thinks the game will go at the Emirates, and if the Gunners will get their revenge on last season’s champions.
Smith said: “A bit of revenge in the air with how they lost it at Anfield. I did Liverpool at Fulham the other day, and they’re obviously not themselves, not playing anywhere near as well as they can be.
“So I expect Arsenal to have the better of it, and I think they’ll win the game. It might be quite tight, but I think Arsenal will get past them.”
Smith hails ‘new Patrick Viera’ under Arteta
Smith is clearly very confident in Arsenal’s ability, and he decided to pick out one Gunners star as their real talisman this season, as he has said that Declan Rice, is the new Patrick Viera in North London, which is very high praise. He said: “I think Rice is up there with the best in the world.
“He’s an old-fashioned midfielder, really, Declan, in terms of getting up and down. Athletic ability. You compare him to somebody like Patrick Vieira at Arsenal back in the day. And he’s certainly one of the best all-round midfielders in world football. I can’t think of many better.
“Ballon d’Or winner potentially? Who knows? Quite often, your club has to win the Champions League or your country has to win the World Cup or something. But he’s a fine player.”
Smith, and Arsenal fans will hope that Rice can help lead them to victory yet again on Thursday night against Liverpool.
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