Trossard's Anfield form gives Arteta headache for Liverpool trip
The Gunners travel to Merseyside at the summit boasting a healthy eight points clear of reigning champions Manchester City, who are bidding to retain their crown for a third consecutive season.
Coming off the back of a 4-1 win over Leeds United last Sunday, Arsenal hold plenty of confidence as they prepare to face a wavering Liverpool side, but are likely to be wary of their struggles at Anfield in recent years.
They have not won at Liverpool in the league since the 2012/13 campaign and such a statistic makes it imperative that Arteta gets his team selection correct.
The Spaniard has been able to enjoy picking a consistent side for the majority of this season but he faces a dilemma - particularly at the front end - regarding the disposal Leandro Trossard.
Hitting the ground running
Trossard made the switch to Arsenal from Brighton in January, completing a £21 million move as the table-toppers sought to bolster their squad ahead of the run-in.
The Belgian had been in excellent form for the Seagulls in the first portion of the season and while taking a small period of adjustment to settle into his new surroundings, he has managed to continue that under Arteta.
He has tallied a goal and seven assists, which is the most of any player in the Arsenal squad aside from star winger Bukayo Saka.
Trossard has started each of Arsenal's last seven league fixtures - primarily as a striker - but now faces competition from Gabriel Jesus, who made his first top-flight start since November in the win over Leeds.
With Saka a permanent fixture in the side and Gabriel Martinelli enjoying a career-best season, Arteta has a plethora of options he can deploy against Liverpool.
Favoured opponents
Trossard in particular could be playing on Arteta's mind a little more, especially when considering the hat-trick he hit in Brighton blue and white at Anfield during a 3-3 draw back in October.
The treble elevated his career statistics against Liverpool to six goal contributions (five goals and an assist), with five of those returns coming on his travels.
But despite Trossard's exploits against Liverpool, he has yet to emerge victorious when scoring against Jurgen Klopp's side, suffering two draws and one defeat respectively.
Such history will give Arteta plenty to think about ahead of Sunday's crunch clash, knowing his set-ups need to be spot-on as the games continue to tick away.
While the addition of Trossard has made his selections more challenging, he will take comfort in knowing he has a deeper list of attack-minded names he can turn to.
