Simple conclusion to Liverpool hosting Arsenal and it all hinges on Suarez

It may seem like a boring and unimaginative approach to suggest that whether Liverpool will beat Arsenal hinges on Luis Suarez scoring at Anfield, but it really is that simple.

Suarez has scored in 12 different Premier League fixtures for Liverpool this season and these have resulted in 11 victories and a draw.

In complete contrast, Suarez has failed to score in seven top-flight outings in which he has featured and Liverpool have not taken three points in any of these, including in the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates in November.

Therefore, for those contemplating taking the Suarez odds of 1/1 to score against Arsenal, they may be better opting for the slightly better price of 21/20 that Liverpool secure victory at Anfield.

The good news for Suarez backers is that he has scored in eight of his nine home Premier League appearances, with Aston Villa the only team to prevent him scoring at Anfield. Meanwhile, these nine games have brought 16 Suarez goals in total.

But on the flip side, he has never scored at Anfield against Arsenal and a pat on the back to those who can name the last Liverpool to manage this feat?

The answer is David N’Gog in August 2010, with Liverpool drawing blanks in three of the six meetings since, while they were reliant on a Laurent Koscielny own goal to break Arsenal’s resistance in another.

Taking this into consideration, alongside the fact that Arsenal have kept 10 clean sheets in their last 16 Premier League games, including four of the last six, then it may be worth backing the Gunners to remain top of the table by beating Liverpool.

Arsenal’s odds are 12/5 to become the first team this season to do the double over Liverpool, with the draw available at the same price.