ARSENAL travels to Anfield this Halloween weekend aiming to overcome their long-standing struggles on Merseyside.

The reigning Premier League champions haven’t secured an away victory against Liverpool in a staggering 14 YEARS.

A victory at Anfield could elevate Mikel Arteta’s squad to the top of the table for the FIRST TIME this season.

However, they will be up against a resilient Reds side that recently eliminated Chelsea from the Carabao Cup.

In the lead-up to Sunday’s highly anticipated clash, SunSport’s tactical expert Dean Scoggins is here to analyze how the north Londoners can secure all three points in the new episode of our popular series, ‘Tactics Exposed’.

Target Van Dijk

You might find this surprising, but my advice for Arsenal is to target Virgil van Dijk.

Although he’s a world-class player, I believe Arsenal can take advantage of Liverpool by overloading him.

When they find themselves in a transitional phase, Liverpool often struggles, presenting an opportunity.

In these scenarios, [Milos] Kerkez frequently gets drawn to one side, while teams manage to exploit [Jeremy] Jacquet’s position, leaving Van Dijk with too many responsibilities.

This creates a dilemma for him: should he stay close to his center-back or support the left-back?

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Teams find it easier to penetrate when this happens.

While Kerkez is a more adventurous option, it leaves space on the right for Arsenal to exploit.

If a ball is played inside, runners can position themselves behind Mac Allister.

Think of Declan Rice here, Arsenal supporters. Consider [Martin] Odegaard; envision runners moving off the ball into those spaces.

These elusive runners will be the targets for Arsenal. Go for it, Declan Rice.

They can potentially capitalize on Liverpool during these transitional phases.

Battle of the Playmakers: Odegaard vs Wirtz

Odegaard is currently in superb form, operating beautifully.

He’s brimming with confidence, setting the pace of the game as he facilitates play for others while getting the ball back himself.

This is where I believe Odegaard can effectively exploit a vulnerability in Liverpool’s defense.

He often finds himself against a defender who hesitates to step out of the back line to engage him.

In a man-v-man situation in midfield, this creates space to take advantage of Liverpool.

If the ball is in the wide areas, that’s where Odegaard can target those underlapping runs that open up the corridor created by the center-backs.

Barcola vs Calafiori

The role of a winger in [Andoni Iraola’s] system demands intense work ethic.

[Bradley] Barcola has managed to keep up with this expectation quite well this season.

However, his demanding defensive duties may hinder his ability to influence the game offensively.

Expect to see a clash between Barcola and Calafiori.

Barcola will need to put in considerable effort defensively.

Calafiori frequently ventures into this territory, resulting in a competition between these two players to provide support to the winger and overload the defender.

Amidst this, they will have to contend with Alexander Isak up front, who poses a significant threat and can pull away from a center-back.

It won’t be an easy task for Arsenal.

However, with Declan Rice and deep-runners off of Mac Allister and Gravenberch, Arsenal has a solid chance to break their Anfield duck for the first time since 2012.