With the way some people are whining, you would think that Arsenal played horribly against Liverpool. I know we need some great additions in our team but our performance against Liverpool tonight doesn’t warrant all those complaints – that the owner isn’t supporting Arsenal or the complaint that we need new additions.
If you watched the game well, you would discover that only Saka was absent in the game, and I quite understand because he was injured a little last match against Leicester and had to be taken off. The two goals were from that wing. He played lazily tonight. Even attacks on that side that is usually vibrating was quiet tonight, and because of that Odegaard was not very effective since Saka has always been his outlet. Please don’t get me wrong as I’m not blaming Saka at all. He should have been removed immediately after the first half because of the injury.
Needless to say, Martinelli was brilliant. Even his finishing was top notch. I would say he was just unlucky. Even the best players miss goals. Arnold was completely silenced.
Partey completely bossed that midfield and silenced all their midfielders today.
Cedric was my only fear before the match because of his height and speed, but his performance was great. Mane and Diaz, both men of great speed and aggression, were silenced today.
Everyone played well, apart the aforementioned and Gabriel who should have cleared for the second goal.
But the good thing we need to know is that Arsenal was their mate today and that shows the immense progress we have made under Arteta. What won Liverpool the game today was simply the brilliance of their coach and not their players. He immediately changed tactics in the second half from over the top and wing play to playing through the middle with through passes. This was evident in their offside goal and other attempts.
I’m sad about the result but happy about the performance. We have greatly closed the gap against Liverpool and with time the tide of drawing and then winning will be on our side. We controlled the game entirely. They were no threat at all aside from the goals as evidenced by just 2 goal attempts after first half. Last season was about 15 attempts after first half. I dare say that we even created more chances than them in the game and actually were more of a threat than them.
So, the only big difference between us and Liverpool is:
1) our squad depth and quality which I believe would be sorted come the summer window.
2) Finishing. That was the only difference for tonight’s match. You see when you play against the big teams it is your finishing and taking your chances that decides the game. But remember that we are still largely a young team and are all learning on the job. This includes our coach too. But just know that what experienced Arsenal teams of seasons ago couldn’t do, young boys are doing. And I’m not trying to comfort myself or anyone. It is what it is. We lost tonight, yes. So, it is what it is. But we are improving. It is also what it is. But come next season, if we continue improving like this, then Liverpool would not beat us home and away.
So, guys we really are on an upward trajectory.
MyGuy
we’ve started messing up i just pray we can beat Aston villa on Saturday because from what I’m seeing that match is gonna end in a draw..
Partey and Martinelli were much better than other Gunners last night
Partey’s passes sliced through Liverpool’s midfielders and his first touches were spotless in the tight spaces. Whereas Martinelli showed his technical abilities by dribbling past several players
I think the starters will be too tired to start the game at the Villa Park. Let’s see whether our squad rotation players like Nketiah, Pepe and Elneny have improved or not
Time to give Saka a break, the kid is needs it or we risk a burnout soon….. Give Pepe a run of games already
Only positive we’re Partey and Martinelli, Ramsdale allowed the hype get to him, talks of being England no.1 are too soon and may be a distraction.
Gabriel isn’t just there yet, maybe he’s getting too comfortable, we need Saliba or Araujo in the summer to keep him on his toes.
Arteta is the man! Trust the process
And am one of those people whining cause it hurts when I see arsenal losing to the same team for so many years. Just like man United in those years where we could get beaten regardless of our performances.
And if my memory serves me correctly, our last Victory against Liverpool in the league was on 04/04/2015. So we shouldn’t even convince ourselves that we played well as if as it’s the first time to play well against thise Giants
Sadly, your memory is serving you wrongly. Arteta beat Liverpool in the league at Emirates in 2020.
Pat I find it amazing that you are same writer who published the article before, while you are spot on here I cant say the same about the previous article.
Aba is a good player and I sincerely wish him well, wanna thank him again for that iconic celebration against the Spuds, but the decision to move him on to Barcelona, was a very beautiful thing., I consider that another masterstroke by the gaffer, all parties are extremely happy.
There is no doubt we have move on and so should we all,
Yes Arteta needs to improve on his man Management skills, a friend told me that wild Arteta was a player at the club his nick name was COACH, because he was always telling everyone else what to do, he was a natural leader. may just needed a little polishing.
We are not way off on last night performance,
Myguy
Difference was minimal. 3 shots on target for each team.
Pool’s strikers were slightly better at getting the ball in the net, and their keeper slightly better at keeping it out on the night.
We are not that far away an dno reason for the players to get down because of this.
I saw the highlights and from that I can say we are improving..
We need another couple of players to cut down the gap massively…
But one thing pinch that we always tend loose the games against top side in 2nd half…
Especially to Liverpool…
Generally we keep score at 0-0 till the break but don’t what happens after break, we always tend loose in the 2nd half..
This year we lost 3 times against Liverpool in same manner..
We were 1-0 down at half time at Anfield and we were still in match but lost it in the 2nd half 4-0
2nd leg of League Cup we were going head to head till half time but lost it in the 2nd half..
Yesterday also we played well in the 1s half but lost in the 2nd half..
And now Jota is becoming 2nd Kane for us.. He always scores against us..
He used to score against us when he we was in Wolves and nothing has changed since his joined Liverpool…
This is the pattern we are developing against big sides especially Liverpool..
Liverpool is our worst match-up because they are really sound, good and fast.
We need a perfect game to beat them right now. We missed a couple of good chances and were a little sloppy on their goals.
You say the only 2 big differences was squad depth and finishing but in you’re paragraph above you mention the reason we lost was the brilliance of Klopp .
So another big difference was because they have a world class manager ?
While I agree we have seen progress this season compared to the 2 previous ones ,but that should have been expected seeing monies spent and having less games to play compared to our rivals .
Are we any further along than say from a decade ago as all I’m seeing still is us scraping for forth which is something we came accustomed to anyway .
The test will be next season if he manages to get us top 4 and what we do against the elite teams in Europe but what I’ve seen so far this season I’m still struggling to see how he takes us further seeing how we have handled the big 3 this campaign .
There is nothing revolutionary with Artetas management style and getting rid of 2 high earners off the pay roll definitely does not make him so kind of genius .
That said obviously he will deserve next season if we hit top 4 but for me the jury is still out on him.
Wasn’t ment as a reply *
The thing which people are not mentioning is the fact we didn’t make the Liverpool keep work enough . One clear cut chance is not good enough and we relied on Martinelli way too much . We needed more attacks through the middle. I Feel we still lack a plan b from this manager and I’m tried of watching arsenal give away free Goals against the big sides. A big transfer window is still needed to bridge the gap
The future looks bright, with and without my new glasses 🤓
Contrary to what some posted last night,Klopp didn’t teach a lesson to MA in tactics,I mean we made them look ordinary and caused them a few problems in the 1st half.as I said yesterday,a lack in depth (quality) and rotation finally caught up with us.i don’t think that is a coincidence that we went toe to toe with Liverpool in the first half and then in the 2nd half ,we looked lethargic,fatigued and several of our usual best players/performers had a off game.i mean we’ve been playing almost the same XI for the last 10/11 games which could explain why we weren’t clinical and on another day who knows?then you have Klopp/Liverpool whom despite playing in several competitions, have been able to rotate most of his players in every position and give them a breather.look at the CB’s he has VVD,Konaté,Matip even their GK Alisson was rested,in attack he has Salah,Mané,Jota,Diaz,Firmino and the Japanese player whom I forgot the name,same in midfield where even the Ox gets some playing time.anyway after last night I am even more hopeful for the near future,I mean if in the summer we could add 5/6 players to our squad,that would be another great step forward.
@Siamois
We were playing 1 match a week. How can the players be fatigued after 45 mins? Poor game management and lack of focus or plan.
Leicester won the league using a team of 11/13 players, playing 1match a week. IJS
I’ve just replied to you Siamois on a different article ,but pretty much my comment was basically the same as NY.
Both yourself Dan and NY Gunner are making a valid point and to be honest I don’t really have the answer.i will have to get back to you on that.
Yea I just saw the comment on Dans article aswell mate ,didn’t realise that it wasn’t sent in as an article.
Better luck next try gunners, I just hope we get it right against the big sides sooner. Our second halves need to improve. MA should trust more, by subbin early a times.
Improving over two 8th place finishes would be more realistic. We are a better team now than at any time the last 5 years. Arteta and management deserve credit for that.
We still can’t win against the top clubs; tactically an obstacle he can’t overcome. Tactics can overcome squad limitations sometimes, hopefully Arteta will improve on that over time.
Future looks bright, but we’re not close to Liverpool. Klopp made timely changes and yet again no answer. Martinelli turning defenders inside out, yet no teammates to find in the box.
Needed a striker running those channels; Laca not a striker for the big matchups. He never was since he joined Arsenal, good against midtable, toothless against big boys.
Couldn’t agree more @Durand 👍
I likewise agree with your sentiments Durand…no one can dispute that there’s positive aspects presently on offer at our club, especially in light of the largely fractious and disjointed nature of organizational life for the last half decade or so…of course, some of the aforementioned negative issues were as a result of our present managers amateur hour naivety…that said, our previous clubhouse leaders likewise made their fair share of mistakes, but it’s important to remember that that’s the very reason why they’re no longer with the club…of infinitely more importance is can this particular manager actually complete this rather complex “process” from a tactical, recruitment and asset management perspective…in this regards, I’m still not convinced
Our finish to the season will be time to fairly judge Arteta. Top 4 then he earns an extension and has the same top 4 expectations as Wenger and Emery; deliver or get sacked.
Starting next year, he should deliver top 4 finish /CL football 3 years out of every 4.
It was expected of Wenger and coach Emery after all. With well over 200 million (likely nearing 300 million) after this Summer, Arteta should have the same expectations.
Standards matter, so we should not lower expectations.
AdPat, I’m now going to save all of my posts and the posts I was responding to each time, then make note of the one’s you subsequently deleted, so that I might better understand how to carefully navigate your world where somehow impartiality is a highly subjective concept and reading between the lines is either frowned upon or completely ignored altogether…I just realized I better save this one, as it will undoubtedly be binned within a relatively short timeframe(lol)