The standout fixture from the opening weekend of the 2016-17 Premier League season sees Arsenal welcome Liverpool to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
While Gunners supporters have been left frustrated by the club's summer business once again, the Reds have quietly been going about bringing in a raft of new faces as they look to mount a more serious title challenge this time around.
Arsenal
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A new campaign ahead, but a sense of same old for Arsenal supporters. Yet again the Gunners have followed up a largely underwhelming campaign, which inevitably ended on somewhat of a high, by not really doing a great deal to address the overriding problems.
While the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have certainly added another dimension to this squad in recent windows, and indeed continue to do so, the two key areas that are crying out for more depth - central defence and up front - continue to be overlooked by Arsene Wenger.
The Frenchman is now into the final year of his latest contract at the Emirates Stadium, and it remains to be seen whether the man who so often frustrates the club's fanbase will be trusted with another three-year cycle to continue managing this talented side.
As is so often the case, Arsenal boast one of the finest groups in the division - made even stronger by the signing of Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach - but only once in the last decade have they finished higher than third place in the table.
That breaking of the mould did come last time out, of course, as the Gunners finished second behind shock winners Leicester City, although that in itself proved a huge frustration for fans in what was supposed to finally be the year they brought the title back to North London.
With the sides around them now looking much healthier with the addition of a stellar cast of managerial names, the pressure is only going to increase on Wenger to get things right this time around, or else he faces the prospect of more fan protests at the Emirates as witnessed at the tail end of 2015-16.
The early-summer arrival of Xhaka certainly suggested that Wenger was ready to make real changes, albeit strengthening an area that already looked strong, but since then only Rob Holding - a £2m capture from League One side Bolton Wanderers - has come in.
Holding was not expected to be anything more than a fringe player, although after losing Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista to injury, plus already being without Euro 2016 finalist Laurent Koscielny, the rookie centre-back could well partner another youngster in Calum Chambers this weekend.
One way or another this will likely be a pivotal campaign in the history of Arsenal Football Club, as Wenger is given possibly one final chance to get things right. Qualifying for the Champions League just to exit at the first knockout-stage hurdle can no longer qualify as success.
Pre-season form: DWWWW
Liverpool
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The bedding-in period now over, boss Jurgen Klopp has been given a chance to make this Liverpool side his own with the arrival of six new players during the summer window; the £58m attacking pairing of Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum among them.
Joining them is talented goalkeeper Loris Karius, who quickly won over supporters by declaring that he was not at Anfield to sit on the bench, before breaking his hand and subsequently ruling himself out of the opening months of the new season.
It remains to be seen whether Klopp's summer business will be enough, though, with ex-Southampton forward Mane - who went five months without a goal at one stage last season, remember - hardly rivalling the likes of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the marquee signing stakes for a new era on Merseyside.
If last season taught us anything, however, it is that big-name players do not necessarily win you trophies; a group of hungry and committed individuals proving far more important for Leicester as they swept away all comers en route to the title.
Klopp certainly prefers making names out of players at his disposal rather than bringing in ready-made talent, too, as witnessed during his seven years at Borussia Dortmund when shaping a title-winning squad that also came mighty close to winning the Champions League.
The German's famed 'gegenpressing' style provided many entertaining games in his first three-quarter season at Anfield, not least the truly incredible 4-3 win over former side Dortmund when twice fighting back from two goals down in the Europa League, but it was not all perfect.
Liverpool completely lost their shape when throwing away the lead in the final of that competition against Sevilla - a game Klopp has since admitted provided 'no positives' for the club - coming less than three months after defeat to Manchester City in the final of the League Cup.
Klopp will be desperate to end his final hoodoo this coming season, and a large part of any success the Reds do go on to enjoy over the next nine months will largely be down to their attack line, which has proved to be stronger than any other in the Premier League so far this calendar year.
Recording their lowest top-flight finish in more than 60 years last season was not great, of course, but the major positive is that there is no European distraction this time around and therefore an outside chance of going one better than the Class of '14 and finally bringing that much-coveted maiden Premier League crown to Merseyside.
Pre-season form: WWWWLWLWL
Team News
Arsenal this week welcomed Koscielny, Ozil and Olivier Giroud back to training following their Euro 2016 exertions, while Jack Wilshere is also likely to be back in contention despite suffering another minor setback.
There were suggestions that Koscielny could be rushed back and thrown straight into the starting lineup for this weekend's clash, although that looks highly unlikely even for an Arsenal side without any senior centre-backs.
Aaron Ramsey and Sanchez, both of whom enjoyed their summers with Wales and Chile respectively, made their comebacks in the impressive 3-2 win over Manchester City last Sunday, while Santi Cazorla also got some minutes under his belt in the thrashing of Viking FK.
Despite facing fierce competition for a starting spot, Simon Mignolet will begin the campaign in goal for Liverpool due to Karius's injury, but a debut could be handed to Ragnar Klavan in the heart of defence and Mane in a three-man attack.
Liverpool are understood to be on the lookout for a new left-back to replace the inconsistent Alberto Moreno, yet for now the Spaniard will be tasked with providing width from the back.
For all the talk of new arrivals, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino still remain two of the Reds' most important players; the latter playing a part in 13 goals in 15 appearances between January and May.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Cech; Bellerin, Holding, Chambers, Monreal; Cazorla, Xhaka; Chamberlain, Ramsey, Walcott; Sanchez
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Moreno; Lallana, Can, Henderson; Mane, Firmino, Coutinho
Head To Head
Arsenal have only lost one of their last nine Premier League meetings with Liverpool, with four of those matches ending in a draw.
The Reds hold claim to an equally poor record on their travels in this fixture, having picked up a victory just once in 20 visits to Arsenal in all competitions.
Liverpool have also taken eight points from 30 on offer at the Emirates Stadium, while the Gunners have tasted defeat once in their last 15 opening-day fixtures - two of those coming in the last three attempts.
We say: Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool
This really is a fixture steeped in history, with many famous meetings over the years between these two English heavyweights. Success has been hard to come by for both in recent times, particularly for Liverpool who have just a few second-place finishes to look back on fondly in the Premier League. Arsenal are the side better suited to build on last season and win the title, but they may find life difficult with a depleted side at both ends of the field in this tough opening fixture.
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