Ahead of Sunday's Liverpool vs. Arsenal Premier League blockbuster, Sports Mole site coordinator Ben Knapton discusses the Gunners' chances of responding to their shock EFL Cup loss to Fleetwood Town and urges Mikel Arteta to end a starting XI experiment that has "never worked".

Liverpool vs. Arsenal: Why Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres must not start together

Embarrassing, humiliating, catastrophic. There aren't enough superlatives to describe [the Fleetwood loss]. From the way we were playing in those first 70 minutes, maybe I was expecting it.

Certainly wasn't expecting it two days before the game when I did the preview and backed us to win 4-0. 4-0 was a scoreline a lot of people would have expected, especially with the team Arteta put out.

I knew he was going to make lots of changes, but in hindsight I thought even a much-changed Arsenal team would still get the job done.

There's been so much talk this season about Arsenal's squad depth, about how they have two players for each position, a second team if you like.

If that second team can't beat a team that's 83 places below you in the English football pyramid, you can't really talk up Arsenal's squad depth.

Maybe there was some arrogance in there. Maybe they went in expecting an easier night than they got. But some players just showed they are not first-team quality.

I don't want to attack the young players too much, but Marli Salmon was not strong enough at all for Fleetwood's goal. He was shrugged off far, far too easily.

Havertz and Gyokeres starting together does not work. That does not work, that has never worked. The EFL Cup final in March when Havertz and Gyokeres started together in that game.

It did not work at all then, it did not work at Fleetwood. Kai Havertz was maybe one of the worst players on the pitch, missed a couple of chances, had no creative influence in that number 10 role.

If they're going to start together, start them as a front two in a complete emergency, which to be fair we're not far away from with all the injuries and now Dowman's three-game suspension.

Stick Kai Havertz on the right wing, he can play there, he has played there. When Arsenal do their combinations on the right-hand side, Havertz does sometimes drift over to that right flank.

But starting Havertz behind Gyokeres doesn't work, will never work. 

Liverpool vs. Arsenal: Premier League champions backed for "massive response"

So for this Liverpool game, Dowman is out, Bukayo Saka is out. Tzolis may be back, but I would be surprised if he starts.

Madueke also missed that game against Fleetwood with an ankle injury, so could potentially be four wide options out, but I think Madueke will be fine for this one.

I'd be very surprised if Declan Rice doesn't start this one either, and I'm expecting a big, big response.

He's going to revert to type in terms of the starting 11, drop the likes of Zubimendi, bring back in Declan Rice. He's got a big decision to make up top after Havertz and Gyokeres have both really, really struggled.

Even though Arteta was being quite measured in his post-game assessment to the media, he was fuming internally. The players would have absolutely got the hairdryer treatment in the dressing room.

I think there will be a massive, massive response at Liverpool.