Arsenal got the better of the Merseyside club at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season but the left-back is keen to start a difficult run of fixtures with a defining victory

Kieran Gibbs is eager for Arsenal to send their Premier League title rivals a message against Liverpool on Saturday.

The Gunners got the better of Brendan Rodgers’s side at the Emirates Stadium in a 2-0 win in October thanks to goals from Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey.

But the left-back believes that victory at Anfield would be a statement of authority for the league leaders.

“I think it would make a big statement if we won there – just like it did when we played Liverpool at home,” Gibbs told the Daily Mirror.

“Before that game, we had not played any big games and, although we were sitting at the top of the league, people were saying: ‘There’s a big game coming now, that will put it into perspective.’

“It will be like that again because we have got a lot of big games coming up so it will be another test. As the weeks go on, we are just going to be put under a bigger and bigger test.

“It is not often you get to play Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich, twice, in less than two weeks so it will be great to be a part of it – playing against the best teams in the world.

“Everyone enjoys the big games and this is just another big game to show what we can go and do.”

Arsenal go into Saturday’s clash two points clear of Manchester City and Chelsea but face a league game against Manchester United before hosting the Merseyside club in the FA Cup and taking on Bayern in February.