Arsenal’s record at Anfield in recent years has been horrific, there is no hiding that fact. A 5-1 loss last season was preceded with a 4-0 defeat in 2017/18 and a 3-1 reverse in 2016/17.

On top of that, you have to consider that Liverpool have not lost at home in 40 matches in the Premier League. You have to go all the way back to April 2017 when they succumbed to Crystal Palace in the league.

Supporters can get caught up in these historical records but manager Unai Emery will be focused only on the game on Saturday, and he will be encouraged by a few more recent statistics that could play in the Gunners favour.

Liverpool’s have been expected to concede 1.25 goals per game this season in their first four fixtures. Compare that to last season’s xG conceded of just 0.72 per game and you can see there is a lack of security at the back at the start of this campaign.

TV pundit Jamie Carragher has already warned that Arsenal could exploit this weakness, and with the form that both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette have started the season, fans have to be optimistic that Emery’s side can score a goal or two at Anfield.

They may not even to be as clinical as one might expect either. Liverpool conceded 14 shots against Southampton. They only conceded more on one occasion last season, in the Champions League final versus Tottenham, showing Arsenal could get more than the six they managed last season.

That may present an overly positive slant of things, but it is important to look at this game in isolation, rather than look at the wretched record Arsenal have on Merseyside.

Of course, defensive vulnerabilities will present the Reds with chances, but there have been enough signs in the first two games of the season that the Gunners will not simply buckle under pressure like they have in the past.

The club’s awful away record looked to have vanished in the win over Newcastle on the opening day, and while more shots were given away to Burnley at home, the ability to battle through and win against a tricky team should hold the team in good stead.

Whether that will be enough against Liverpool this weekend, it is difficult to tell. It certainly won’t be easy but it is hardly an insurmountable task that previous results at Anfield suggest it might be.