Marcus Rashford and Ollie Watkins, Arsenal need you: Gunners' title bid rests on Aston Villa's new star duo downing Liverpool

Arsenal's recent tapestry has been trodden across by a series of pantomime villains; Watkins and Rashford are among the top tormentors.

For two seasons running, Villa have rocked up to the Emirates Stadium and rained on the hosts' parade. A few weeks ago, Watkins, a boyhood Gunner, provided the equaliser in a 2-2 draw, while he led the way in last year's 2-0 victory which effectively cost the hosts the title to Manchester City.

Rashford's Premier League career with Manchester United began with an unexpected brace in a 3-2 win at home to Arsenal, another occasion which trashed their title credentials. In more recent times, he came up with a double that ended their unbeaten start to the 2022-23 campaign.

It will be refreshing for Gunners fans to be on the other side of the fence on Wednesday, rooting for two of their nemeses as opposed to fearing them.

Yet the present and futures of Watkins, Rashford and Arsenal could have been oh so different. At the tail end of the January window, the north Londoners launched a bid for Villa's No.11, though one well below asking price at a relatively measly £45 million ($57m).

It was never going to be enough for Villa to accept, particularly so late in the month and with Jhon Duran already halfway out the door to Al-Nassr for an even more extravagant fee. All it showed was Arsenal were indeed in the market for a striker having kept their powder dry to that point in the window, but weren't serious enough about such an endeavour to succeed.

Since news of that offer broke, Watkins has contributed two goals and two assists in three games for Villa. His head may have been temporarily turned - and who would blame him? - but he has got back down to business. There hasn't been as much fanfare about his season, yet he's still chugging along and putting up numbers.

Arsenal were also touted as a potential landing spot for Rashford after he revealed his desire to leave United early in the winter. Alas, any lingering interest in the forward never advanced.

There was a pretty solid case for Arteta to take a troubled Rashford under his wing having already salvaged the careers of some of their rivals' other distressed assets, namely Havertz and Jorginho from Chelsea. The need for a versatile forward with pace and dynamism added further fuel to that fire of wonder and intrigue.

Nevertheless, Arsenal probably felt vindicated by a lack of other serious suitors for Rashford. AC Milan quickly came off the table when they prioritised Kyle Walker for the final non-EU spot in their squad, while Barcelona were never going to be able to afford a deal having struggled for weeks to even register their own players already on the books.

Villa took a punt because they have nothing much left to lose in a season threatening to run out of steam. It would have gone against Arsenal's keep calm and carry on memo to take such a risk.

Watkins and Rashford have shared a Villa pitch for only 45 minutes, and already they appear to have an unspoken connection usually reserved for the best of attackers. The United loanee came off the bench for the second half of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town and was the game's protagonist, creating four chances, winning seven duels and rattling the post from a free-kick leading to Watkins' equaliser.

Rashford was criticised for an 18-month slump following his 30-goal exploits of 2022-23, though one Premier League appearance in claret and blue saw him roll back those years. There was, most notably, a spring and bounce about him that had disappeared entirely down the final stretch of his United career.

There have been fair question marks placed over Rashford and whether he can really hit the heights expected of him again, but you always know what you're getting with Watkins - a proven, top-level striker who leads by example with both ethic and output. He could click with any type of forward, and that quality could be Rashford's saving grace in his quest for rejuvenation and redemption.

Liverpool head to the West Midlands with a clearer picture forming of how teams can get under their skin. A draw at Everton in Goodison Park's final Merseyside derby was only last-gasp, though the Toffees were extremely good value for that point and everlasting memory. This was followed by an uncomfortable and unconvincing triumph at home to 17th-place Wolves, during which the Reds failed to register a shot in the second half.

For two games running, Slot's side have wobbled under the weight of pressure and expectation. What seemed on paper to be two straightforward wins against relegation fodder became rock fights for four points. The Dutchman seemed to have eradicated the erratic defensive behaviours of Jurgen Klopp's team, but such a weakness has crept back in.

This was meant to be Liverpool's strength over Arsenal in the title race. Much of this core has won the Premier League and Champions League before, they should be better at coping with such stress was the presumption. Another night under the cosh awaits at Villa Park, where Unai Emery's cohort are fighting to save their own domestic season, dropping to ninth in an uber-competitive Premier League. With Watkins and Rashford, they have the cutlery to feast on panic.

Liverpool's seven-point advantage atop the standings is the equivalent of the '2-0 is the most dangerous lead' argument. Coming away with a win would extend that total to 10 points, optically unassailable at this point of the season. Yet anything less will have Arsenal, who return to action on Saturday at home to a tepid West Ham, licking their lips. Paradoxically, Liverpool are comfortable leaders who have lost only once in the league all season and on the verge of leaving the door ajar to a challenger becoming more depleted by the week.

Liverpool's schedule is showing few signs of relenting either, and Arsenal will be wanting more help from some of their more recent foes. On Sunday, the Reds make the short trip to Manchester City before heading back to Anfield to host Newcastle.

Erling Haaland's feud with the Gunners has dominated headlines this month, the eastern-Atlantic equivalent of Kendrick Lamar vs Drake. The Magpies, not exactly on the Christmas card list either, have another shot of silverware having so easily dispatched of Arteta's side in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

The fixture list will throw up another three-match gauntlet for Liverpool later in the season when they take on Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal themselves from gameweeks 34 to 36, but until this, this will be their trickiest run of games, the ones where the world will try and make out if they really have the mettle of champions.

At least it's still in their own hands. For Arsenal, this is the second-hand state of their Premier League season now. If they want their own success, they'll have to rely on others, particularly those they consider foes, all the while having to keep pace and find differentials to close. It's funny how sport ties your allegiances in knots.