Liverpool v Arsenal: Gunners aiming to avoid another Anfield drubbing

Liverpool and Arsenal are neck and neck at the top of the Premier League after two games but on Saturday the Gunners visit Anfield, where they have a terrible recent record.

Since their last win away to Liverpool some seven years ago, Arsenal have been on the end of heavy and humbling defeats, including 4-0 and 5-1 losses on their two previous visits.

They do have some good modern memories of the stadium - Andrey Arshavin scored all four Gunners goals in a Premier League classic that ended 4-4 - but overall Liverpool have certainly had the edge in this fixture.

Ahead of the enticing clash between the early pacesetters, we look back at Arsenal's last six Premier League trips to Anfield where they have conceded a whopping 22 goals, although only once have they failed to score themselves.

Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal: February 8, 2014

This thrashing started the hoodoo. Arsenal were top of the league when they visited Anfield only to be completely humiliated by Brendan Rodgers' rampant Reds.

Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez formed an unplayable front three for Liverpool and it was 4-0 inside 20 minutes, Martin Skrtel striking twice from set-pieces.

Liverpool finished two points behind Manchester City that season after imploding in the final weeks of the campaign, with the two sides likely to do battle again this season in a title race into which Arsenal will hope to force their way.

Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal: December 21, 2014

Skrtel's 97th-minute equaliser earned the Reds a 2-2 draw in this one, with Liverpool scoring in extended stoppage time played due to the Slovakian defender sustaining a head injury earlier in the game.

Remarkably enough, this is the only time Arsenal have conceded fewer than three goals in their past six trips to Anfield.

Liverpool 3-3 Arsenal: January 13, 2016

This was the last time Arsenal avoided defeat in the Premier League at Anfield, but they still shipped three goals against Jurgen Klopp's men. Roberto Firmino scored twice with Olivier Giroud also claiming a brace, but the Reds needed a late Joe Allen strike to salvage a draw.

This proved a key day in the title race, with Arsenal seeing their lead from Leicester City at the top of the table disappear. The Foxes, inspirationally led by Claudio Ranieri, went on to win the league by 10 points from the Gunners in one of sport's most improbable title triumphs, while Liverpool finished eighth under Klopp having sacked Brendan Rodgers in October 2015.

Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal: March 4, 2017

The two sides were fighting it out for Champions League qualification when they met at Anfield towards the end of the 2016-17 campaign, but it was Liverpool who came out on top.

Firmino struck again – he has scored eight times in as many appearances against the Gunners – and he set up Sadio Mane to make it 2-0, before Danny Welbeck hit back for Arsenal. Georginio Wijnaldum struck late to secure victory and Liverpool pipped Arsenal to fourth place by a point.

Liverpool 4-0 Arsenal: August 27, 2017

Arsene Wenger's last league visit to Anfield ended in a 4-0 thrashing as Klopp's men ran riot. Firmino opened the scoring, with Mane and Mohamed Salah also netting before Sturridge wrapped things up.

This defeat meant Arsenal had lost two of their first three games of the 2017-18 season, at the end of which the Frenchman ended his long reign.

Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal: December 29, 2018

In the most recent meeting last December, Arsenal actually opened the scoring with Ainsley Maitland-Niles putting them in front, but then they collapsed in spectacular fashion. Firmino scored twice in quick succession, with Mane and Salah also on target before the break.

Firmino completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after the interval as the Reds moved nine points clear at the top of the Premier League table, a lead Manchester City eventually reeled in over the second half of the season to defend their title.