This Premier League campaign may still be in its infancy, but today’s clash between Liverpool and Arsenal is a game that could well be season-defining for both teams.

The loser will be left with a gaping hole where their morale should be- James Calvert

Neither has had a brilliant start – Liverpool with just the one point from two games and Arsenal with an extra point but not a single goal to their name.

At face value, having an underwhelming first couple of games is not a complete disaster. But if an awkward start stretches to three games, the situation begins to look bleak and doubt will start spreading.

Liverpool got their season underway in the worst possible fashion, losing 3-0 to West Bromwich Albion. But the green shoots of recovery were most definitely on display against Manchester City, a game they could have, and probably should have, won.

If they can back up that performance with victory over Arsenal this afternoon, then Brendan Rogers will have further evidence to back his claim that the future is starting to look bright for his new club.

Arsenal, meanwhile, are suffering from a severe case of ‘postvanpersieitis’. They probably felt they had enough back-up to cope with his departure, but 180 minutes without a goal suggests otherwise.

If that barren period were to stretch to 270 minutes, then the alarm bells would start ringing loud around the Emirates.

Alternatively, a win at Anfield, even if it were by a single goal, would give Arsene Wenger’s team something to build on. Five points from three games, including a win over one of their rivals at the top of the table, and the situation suddenly looks a whole lot healthier.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that defeat for either team today would spell doom for their season. That would just be a daft claim with 35 games to go during which a whole manner of different things can happen.

I just believe that whichever team grabs the three points will be able to use it as a springboard to bigger and better things over the next few weeks. The loser, on the other hand, will be left with a gaping hole where their morale should be.

Winning today isn’t about the final table but about the psychological damage that defeat could cause, even at this early stage of the campaign.

So, on that basis, and considering what’s at stake, it’s going to be a draw isn’t it..?

Hair-raising injury

When I first saw Wayne Rooney rolling around on the floor last weekend I thought he was being a bit of a big girl’s blouse. A grown man and professional footballer shouldn’t need to be carried off the pitch because he’s grazed his leg.

However, having seen photographs of the injury during the week I realise I was doing him a rather large disservice. Any wound which goes all the way to the bone earns my total respect. And the fact that it needed an operation to put it back together doubles that respect.

The bit I can’t understand is how Hugo Rodallega’s stud was able to do so much damage. You see footballers go in for challenges with their studs showing numerous times every week. But I don’t think I have seen a cut that bad for many years.

I could understand it if it had happened a few decades ago when football boots were a little less refined than they are today. But modern boots, and more importantly studs, are supposed to be shaped and moulded to provide maximum grip without being a danger to opponents.

Had Rooney been slashed in another part of his body, we could be talking about an incident with far more serious consequences.

If he had taken that boot to his head, for example, we would have had bits of hair transplant everywhere…

Downing and out

Last season Stewart Downing achieved the unwanted record of being the least productive winger in England.

In his first campaign with Liverpool he managed a grand total of no goals and no assists, a truly abysmal return on the club’s £20 (€25) million investment.

Now his manager Rogers believes he may have to think about converting himself to a left-back – at the ripe old football age of 28.

“His job at the top end of the pitch is to create and score goals. But sometimes switching positions can release the pressure on players,” Rogers said, by way of an excuse for Downing’s ineptitude.

Now I’ve never really been Downing’s biggest fan but isn’t it a bit unfair to expect the lad to completely reinvent himself at a time when he should be reaching his peak?

I understand the theory that by shifting him to defence it reduces expectation. But it also means he has to essentially learn an entirely new set of skills – like proper tackling, for example. And not running around like a drunk ballerina.

If he was 21 then why not give it a try. Maybe even 23. But to try to get a player to unlearn everything he has ever practised at the age of 28 sounds like a desperate attempt to get a square peg into the roundest of holes.

I could be wrong and he could turn out to be next Roberto Carlos. But he’s much more likely to end up as the new Titus Bramble.

And inflicting that on someone just isn’t fair play.

Get him up top

With every passing week, Paolo Di Canio becomes more and more the type of person we need in the Premier League. Not just because he has actually turned out to be good at managing a team. But because of his never-ending flow of superb sound bites.

Last week, after his admittedly excellent Swindon team beat Stoke City 4-3 in the League Cup, he lavished praise on his boys, only stopping short of proclaiming them the best side on the planet.

“As a perfectionist, I did not enjoy conceding three goals. But we have to put this game as one of the best in the club’s history. In the first half, it looked like Stoke City against Barcelona,” he said.

“All I can say is thanks to them. They are warriors. I remember about a year ago I called them my Chihuahuas, but now they are warriors.”

Let’s get this man a Premier League gig and quickly.

Sack race begins

It didn’t take long for us to get our first managerial casualties of the season. First came Andy Thorn at Coventry City swiftly followed by John Sheridan at Chesterfield. Both sacked after just three league games.

The strange thing is that Thorn had yet to lose a match, with his team drawing all three of their games, while Sheridan had only lost one and drawn two.

You could maybe understand the dismissals if both teams had been rooted to the foot of their respective tables after three straight defeats. But surely drawing matches is something you can build on isn’t it?

Well, not according to the owners of these two particular clubs.

It looks like the pressure to win games has been ratcheted up this season and the managerial merry-go-round is already spinning at full speed.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade