Liverpool would be hurt if Darwin Nunez misses Arsenal match, despite his extremely wayward shooting

Against Chelsea Nunez hit the woodwork a record four times, but his misses just underscore how potent he can be

It would be a cruel blow indeed if the foot injury Darwin Nunez sustained in midweek rules him out of one of the biggest games of the Premier League season. A third vs. first clash between two potential English champions deserves the very best talent and right now it is hard to make a case that Liverpool's No.9 does not belong in that elite category. After all, he just ran Chelsea ragged on a swollen foot.

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Nunez is a doubt for the trip to face Arsenal on Sunday following a foot injury 20 minutes into the 4-1 win that saw him depart Anfield in a protective boot. "He only took his boot off after the game because he didn't want to see it before, he knew there was something," said the Liverpool manager. "So, he left the stadium in a boot, and it was not a football boot.

"So, nothing broke, X-ray clear, but [it is] swollen and we have to see if he can get his foot back into a boot or not because we all know that takes time. I did not see him this morning so we have to wait a little bit."

The immovable force meeting the unknowable object. Arsenal's defense has dealt with everything that most opposition have thrown at them but how could they possibly hope to quell Nunez, a man who doesn't seem to have discovered what he's going to do next until several seconds after he's already done it?

Wednesday's exhilarating win over Chelsea was as pure a distillation of Nunez as one could wish for. Indeed, were he inclined to make the case it would constitute pretty robust supporting evidence to the contention that the Uruguayan is the best striker in the Premier League's non-Erling Haaland division. He might not have kicked the ball into the net -- an admittedly significant factor in winning football matches -- but the ferocity of his runs, the sheer weight of shots he rained down on the Chelsea goal, the intensity with which he attacked every possession, they all combined to leave Chelsea more discombobulated than any other opponent. No wonder Klopp was so delightedly baffled.

"It is just crazy that he creates that many [shots]," Klopp said on Wednesday night. "Imagine for a second he would take them all... the numbers would be absolutely insane to the extent where you wouldn't understand it anymore, so it's normal. For us it is important because we scored four goals, who cares if we could have scored a fifth or a sixth? It is really not important. We need to win football games – and he will score."

With four shots against the woodwork, Nunez set a new Premier League record for a single game. His 11 total shots on the night were the most in any game across Europe's top four leagues this season. Those numbers shouldn't even be that surprising anyway. Nunez is a shot machine. With just 1299 minutes under his belt (fewer than even Haaland), he leads the Premier League in shots with 72 to his name. Over more than 11 extra hours on the pitch, second placed Dominic Solanke has reached 68.

All 72 shots taken by Darwin Nunez in the Premier League this season, sized by xG value TruMedia

That's nearly four and a half shots per 90 minutes, an almighty way clear of Haaland. His non-penalty expected goals (npxG) might be lower than the Norwegian, but one of the most invigorating aspects of Nunez's game is that he is not shy of a shot, whatever the position. Then again you could hardly accuse him of being a ball hog. He creates 1.44 chances per 90, an impressive mark for any forward, particularly one who so often plays through the middle. His combined npxG, 0.63, and expected assists (xA), 0.19, place him level with, you guessed it, Haaland.

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One possible complicating might have that Nunez has played many minutes as a substitute. You could be forgiven for believing that Nunez's numbers were being warped by his seven appearances from the bench, nearly a third of the games he has played. That they are, just not in the direction you would assume. If anything Nunez is proving himself to be more dangerous from the off, his npxG up to 0.71 while his xA holds firm.

The counter to all these stats is the many, many misses on Nunez's ledger, some of them gorgeously comedic. To point to those is, however, to misunderstand what generally makes for the best strikers. The one thing they have in common is that they get into these positions even if they might miss a few. Anyway it is not as if there is anything particularly wrong with his ball striking. Even when he whacks a penalty against the post, just look at how cleanly it is hit. 

Though if Nunez does manage to get himself into his boots and on the field, if anyone is going to stop him even getting close enough to smash the ball against the woodwork, it is William Saliba et al. The Arsenal defense has already held some of the Premier League's top shot takers to scraps. Erling Haaland and Jarrod Bowen both left the Emirates with no shots to their name, Dominic Solanke fed off scraps and even with Goodison Park roaring him on, Dominic Calvert-Lewin was quelled. Nunez himself was limited to a long range header in his 22 minutes off the bench when these two sides met at Anfield in December.

Arsenal are defensive masters of the Premier League this season, even if Liverpool have conceded fewer goals. They have given up just 17.46 xG across 22 games, 17.4 percent less than the second best side in the league. Their more cautious possession game might have turned their matches into more sloggy affairs in open play, but the Gunners rarely leave the gate open for transition attackers to fly through. Declan Rice hoovers up interceptions in the opposition half and on the rare occasions that the opposition get through that line, William Saliba and Gabriel prove wrong any forwards who think they're getting away. Even in the 1-1 draw at Anfield they held Liverpool to precious little in terms of high grade chances until they got carried away in the 72nd minute and Trent Alexander-Arnold nearly punished them on the break.

They should, then have enough to quell Nunez, if available, and even the supporting cast around him. Predicting what comes next with the brilliant Uruguayan, however, is a fool's game.