Arsenal v Liverpool preview: Goal machine Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang might have the combination to crack Reds’ air-tight defence

There is no doubt that Unai Emery has guided Arsenal to an exceptional start to the post-Wenger era, but Saturday's clash with Liverpool will be an acid test of how far his side have actually come since opening the season with defeats.

Arsenal have gone 13 games unbeaten since being undone by Manchester City and Chelsea in their first two fixtures, and although question marks have continued to loom over their defensive frailties, it is their scintillating attacking play that has seen them win 12 of those 13 matches and made them the second highest scorers in the league.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is one man responsible for that. The 29-year-old has chipped in seven of the Gunners’ 24 Premier League goals and sits atop the goal scoring charts with Chelsea’s Eden Hazard.

Emery will look to the Gabonese forward to deliver the goods once again at the Emirates this weekend, in a game that is teed up to decide whether Arsenal are genuinely able to push for the title or can only hope for top four at best.

Aubameyang has settled into London life with ease since his £60m move from Borussia Dortmund in January and is already on the way to establishing himself as one of the most prolific strikers the Premier League has seen.

There was a lot of praise for Mohamed Salah last season – and rightly so – as he helped turn Liverpool into a real force both domestically and abroad, scoring 44 goals in all competitions.

It’s arguable that Aubameyang is now doing the same for Arsenal. His goal against Crystal Palace last weekend meant he has now scored a Premier League goal every 104.6 minutes, better than anyone else in the competition’s history.

Granted, he has only played 23 games so far, but a return of 17 goals and five assists in that time is hard to ignore. It has certainly played its part in Arsenal’s current period of rejuvenation, however long it lasts.

Salah, meanwhile, has been less impressive in his second year at Anfield, although he is finally starting to get back to his best after what was a draining summer. The Egyptian brought his goal tally in the league up to five against Cardiff last time out and has four assists too.

Aubameyang also started the season a little slowly but is now firing on all cylinders. He scored five goals in October in just 135 minutes of action, averaging one every 27 minutes.

He scored a brace off the bench against both Fulham and Leicester and impressively has scored from all of his last six shots in the league – a feat no one else has achieved since recording of that data began, according to statisticians Opta.

Aubameyang’s record across his career speaks for itself. He has shown his quality in three of Europe’s top five leagues and is unphased by new challenges, environments, or opposition.

The former Dortmund striker scored 141 goals in 213 matches during his time in Germany, and prior to that he managed 41 in 97 appearances for French side Saint-Etienne.

He’s undoubtedly enjoying a hot streak at present, but will it continue going when Arsenal welcome air-tight Liverpool to the Emirates?

Both sides have improved since they played out a thrilling 3-3 draw last December, but the Reds in particular are a lot more resilient. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez have been outstanding in front of goalkeeper Alisson and many consider them the biggest threat to Man City’s back-to-back title hopes.

That means Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Co will be tasked with trying to manufacture chances against a Jurgen Klopp’s side who have conceded just four goals in 10 games so far.

It remains to be seen whether the Aubameyang will start the match as he has almost proved himself more efficient coming off the bench with those four recent goals, but Emery did start him last weekend against Palace and is likely to play both him and Lacazette together again.

If he does play both forwards, it will mean deploying Aubameyang in his less preferred role out on the wing, however he has said he is happy to play there if it means the chance to link up with Lacazette.

His super-sub role, positional flexibility and selflessness makes the forward’s goal involvement record even more impressive.

If the Gunners are going to crack the Liverpool safe it may well have to be their flamboyant forward who provides the combination.