Premier League preview: Arsenal v Liverpool

Liverpool will be desperate to atone for their shock FA Cup exit in Wednesday’s English Premier League clash with Arsenal at The Emirates.

Brendan Rodgers’ side suffered a major embarrassment on Sunday, going down 3-2 to League One strugglers Oldham Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Rodgers aptly slammed the attitude of his men, who face an uphill battle to break in to the top four this season.

“I don’t think that as a team we are physically light or short in any way,” he said.

“I think it’s mental and that’s something we need to improve. We’ve been in many games where physical questions have been asked of us and we’ve come through that.”

Liverpool are seventh on the table, seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and 22 points behind leaders Manchester United.

Arsenal, in sixth place, survived a scare of their own in the FA Cup before prevailing 3-2 against Championship outfit Brighton and Hove Albion at the weekend.

Thomas Vermaelen is expected to return to the Arsenal defence after missing against Brighton with an ankle injury, while midfielder Mikel Arteta could also feature.

Arteta has missed five matches with a calf complaint, but could be overlooked due to a lack of match fitness in favour of Abou Diaby or Aaron Ramsey.

With Jose Reina out injured, Brad Jones is likely to keep his place in goal for Liverpool, despite an awful mistake that gifted Oldham their second goal.

Jones will need to be at his best if Liverpool are to beat Arsenal for just the second time in 11 attempts.