Arsenal might have got back on course after a nightmare start with the win over Crystal Palace last weekend, but Arsene Wenger's men will be blown well off course again if they fail in their second attempt to bag three points at home in the English Premier League.
Having lost to West Ham on the opening weekend, Arsenal have an even tougher task ahead at home as Liverpool come calling at the Emirates on Monday.
Liverpool now remain the only team, apart from Manchester City, not to drop points this season, and if Brendan Rodgers' men are to keep that momentum up, they will have to maintain that solid defence, which hasn't conceded a single goal so far this season.
"No matter when these games come in the season they're always good for the psychological effect," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. "Of course, we've got tough games [coming] away from home but we'll arrive into the game with confidence.
"We know they're an outstanding group of players with some quality individual players but there's a real focus in this group for this season, a real toughness mentally. And we know we've got that ability to scrap and to fight to get a result, as well as play good football.
"So if we can go there and perform like we think we can and have that game-plan, we're confident that we can get a result."
When you think of Arsenal vs Liverpool games, the one that still sticks right out from the recent past is that 5-1 drubbing handed out by the Reds at Anfield in February of last year. However, delve a little deeper and Arsenal have a very good recent record against Liverpool in the Premier League, having won four of their last seven games -- including the 4-1 victory at the Emirates last season -- and drawn two. Their record against Liverpool at home is particularly strong and it is that home form that Wenger will want to emulate come Monday.
"If you want to have a successful season you want to be strong at home," Wenger said. "Normally we are strong at home. This is an opportunity to show that.
"We missed our first game [the 2-0 loss to West Ham] and we had to look at ourselves, and we responded very well. Now we need to come back to our usual strength that we have at home.
"Your confidence is linked with your last result and at Crystal Palace we responded well. You could see that we were a bit edgy at times but we responded in a very strong way. From that we should have enough confidence to go into the game positively against Liverpool.
"This is a very important game where the result will of course be vital. It's not a result that will decide [our title chances] but in our heads we know it's very important."
Team news: Arsenal: Wenger will play with the same squad that played against Crystal Palace, with Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky and Danny Welbeck still sidelined.
Liverpool: Rodgers is hopeful Joran Henderson can make it in time, but it looks unlikely that the new club captain will be able to recover from a foot injury. The rest of the squad should remain the same, with Daniel Sturridge, Joe Allen and Jon Flanagan still out injured.
Expected lineups: Arsenal: Cech; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Cazorla; Ramsey, Ozil, Sanchez; Giroud.
Liverpool: Mignolet; Clyne, Skrtel, Lovren, Gomez; Can, Milner; Firmino, Coutinho, Lallana; Benteke.
Where to Watch Live
Arsenal vs Liverpool is set to begin at 12.30 am IST (8 pm BST, 3 pm ET). Star Sports 4 will provide live coverage of the match, while the action can also be watched via live streaming online on Hotstar and Starsports.com.
Catch the Premier League action in the UK on Sky Sports 1, with the live stream options on Sky Go and Watch Sky Sports.
Audience in the US can catch all the action live on NBC Sports, while the game can also be live streamed on NBC Live Extra.
Viewers in Australia can watch the live on Fox Sports, with the live stream options on Fox Sports EPL and Foxtel Play.
