Liverpool showed their dominance in beating Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates this evening, but there can be little complaint with the result.
The Gunners didn’t have the best of starts, but we remained focused with the job in hand, and managed to give as good as got in the opening 45 minutes. Gabriel Martinelli was especially energetic and was our standout performer throughout.
Neither goalkeeper had much work to do in the opening half in reality, but things soon changed after the break. Sadio Mane ran through on goal to beat Ramsdale and score, only for his effort to ruled offside.
Martinelli then had a chance at the other end when receiving the ball just inside the box, before working into space to get his shot away, but Allison was equal to his effort, sending it out for the corner. While we didn’t make much of the initial cross, the ball did find it’s way to Bukayo Saka, who sent an astonishing effort towards the far post, but once again Allison was not to be beaten.
Almost immediately the game was sent up the other end once again, but this time it was a goal. Diogo Jota’s run down the left sees him beat Ben White to get just enough space to fire in the shot from an angle, and Aaron Ramsdale was sadly beaten at his near post, an effort you can’t help but think he should have had covered.
The Reds then freshened up their attack with both Firmino and Salah introduced, and it didn’t take long before the former double his side’s lead. Andy Robertson sent the ball into the feet of the Brazilian who neatly placed his effort into the bottom corner.
While we didn’t give up, Liverpool appeared content with the scoreline and looked to control things, and soaked up plenty of pressure.
Our best chance came to Gabriel Martinelli late on, whose effort was sent curling agonisingly close to the far post, but it just wasn’t to be on the night.
While we lost, we were not completely dominated and we can take heart from the performance, but we will need to rally ourselves and get back to the task in hand come the weekend.
Patrick
Some people overrated Liverpool so much before the match and then you realize when the match actually plays out that they are a beatable team. As far as I can remember Liverpool have never been great at the Emirates and even in their so called great seasons. Losing to them twice at home and not scoring a goal is a poor result though the performances were good. If it was just about team quality we would’ve lost to Chelsea and Man Utd home and away for consecutive seasons. This match was just like the Carabao one. In that due to the styles of both teams the one that scored first was likely to win and just like that one I thought a draw would’ve been a fair reflection. I hope in the summer we actually get a striker and not a false 9 or whatever else we will never ever achieve the heights we want to. We did well but sadly just not good enough in the end.
All week I warned everyone not to get too excited about this game. I tried to point out that losing home and away to City Liverpool and Chelsea is just expected. Getting points off Leeds Everton Brighton at home and Villa Newcastle Sotn and Palace and Westham away is all we need to do to get top 4. Not losing to Utd at home and Spurs away would help but not totally necessary. It’s about picking your battles. A totally expected result. No red cards or injuries is great. Liverpool was a bonus free hit game. Our top 4 pursuit resumes at Villa.Top 4 looks secure. The title and CL can wait till next season. COYG 🙂
My expectation is still top six, because we still have to play against Man United, West Ham, Spuds and Chelsea
Gai, nothing to worry about if we are injury free. From what I have tonight Liverpool seem challenge they are top inform team.
Gai, nothing to worry about if we are injury free. From what I have seen tonight Liverpool seem our biggest challenge they are top inform team
My expectation preseason was 5th, now it’s 4th. 4th is there, it is ours to take. 3rd isn’t outrageous either.
I don’t accept that it is expected. You only say so based on team quality but Arsenal beat Liverpool at the Emirates under Arteta some seasons back. Your logic can actually be extended to next season if that is the basis . If you are basing it on form too then Liverpool are beatable evident in the Carabao and even today. Same with City and every club ion the EPL. Home and away losses are unacceptable. You don’t have to lose both. It may have been a free hit for you and some others but not for me
@kev
RealTalk…
Yes Arsenal beat Liverpool in July 2020 but by then Liverpool were a hundred points clear at the top already on the beach. Today Liverpool were in 2nd and desperate to close the gap on City. Context helps 🙂
I don’t buy that excuse because they put a lot of pressure on us in that match and played with a lot of intensity like they wanted to really finish us off.
You realise Liverpool have lost 2 games in all competitions this year Prem, CL, FA and LC which amounts to 46 games thus far. Includes not losing to Atletico home or away, not losing to Chelsea 3 times, not losing to city…. etc
I realize that but I also realize losing to them home and away is a poor result. West Ham beat them and that is a team I know Arsenal are likely to beat. Even Chelsea would’ve done them at Anfield but for the red card. You can’t use that as a basis to say Arsenal should lose to them. Football is played on the ground.
Have to agree with Kev. Whilst Liverpool will naturally be favourites against us we should never “expect” to lose. That’s a defeatist attitude.
Poor individual errors were the direct reasons for the result.
Unfortunately, some of our more reliable players had some poor performances.
👍👍
It’s fair to say that our young team need more time to fully compete with Liverpool and ManCity.
We have the youngest team in the league with a huge potential to get better. I doubt there are other teams in the league with a better potential than Arsenal. West Ham has had a few very good seasons and they are close to their peak level.
In spite of that we are above them in the league with two games in hand, and we will probably finish above them this season.
Didn’t exactly fail the eye test by my accounts. If we keep playing like this and better even against big teams. Arteta has my backing. The game was pretty balanced in my opinion. Pool only succeeded in an area we’re lacking… Finishing. We matched their midfield, man for man. Barely saw Henderson and Thiago. Ramsdale could and should have done better. Saka was not in this game one bit and arteta should have taken him off sooner. Martinelli was MOTM for me. Wish saka played with his passion. Odegaard struggled a bit too. Probably because they were a bit wary of Liverpool. It showed in how saka played too. Other than that, it was a fair game against a top club with a really young squad. Hope we don’t reset against Villa and can keep the momentum
The thing is Liverpool play these kind of games and they are not a pure ball possession team. It was just like the Carabao Cup tie. In that, we got into so many great positions but never looked like scoring. I see the home and away defeats to Liverpool as bad. They have beaten us home and away for two seasons consecutively. Its unacceptable for me but I can admit that the home performances this season were good.
Your take would only make sense if they carved us up repeatedly. They didn’t, they had 1 good chance that Firminho took that was it. Nothing else. They didn’t play on the backfoot to strike us, they struggled and it worked out for them.
I never said they carved us up repeatedly and indeed in my main post I actually admitted that in both fixtures I felt a draw would’ve been a fair reflection. This doesn’t mean I can’t be disappointed that we”ve been beaten by Liverpool at home and away for two consecutive seasons. They were clearly nervous in the 1st half and wanted to score first as they knew they believed they would be able to manage the game afterwards. That was why in the first half they played so many hopeless long balls. Nonetheless it was disappointing result and I repeat Liverpool have been playing these kind of games.
Fair enough. Also realistic given Liverpool have been one of the best teams in Europe in that time. They have lost 2 in 46 this year, unbeaten against us 4 times, Chelsea 3 times, atletico twice and city.
Football is played on the ground. That excuse is not enough. I can keep flipping the argument as to West Ham beating them and so we should but even that route would be wrong. Its all about what happened on the field and we didn’t have to lose twice to them at the Emirates because they were not dominant over both legs.
Spot on Kev they are quite beatable, not good enough in the end. Too much respect to the so called big teams. We’ll just take the positives, partey was immense in that midfield, martinelli ooh boy was terrific, though he needs to improve on teammate awarenesse.
Yes we’re giving them too much respect. Quality alone doesn’t determine the results in big matches that is why I said if it was just that we would’ve been losing to Man Utd and Chelsea home and away for many years consecutively.
Our major issue against a team like Liverpool is pace and energy,
The pool fullbacks are fast, same as their attack,
Ødegaard was already a man short yesterday, in one of my comments,
I suggested Tavares for Martinelli and Smith-Rowe for Saka, sounds crazy but I believe it would have pushed Liverpool back
We really needed fresh legs yesterday
@Kev
I basically agree with your analysis.
Both teams had 3 shots on target. Liverpool’s strikers were partly better at getting the ball in the net, and their keeper was better at keeping it out.
In the end a disappointing result, which we shouldn’t be content with.
But we can be positive anyway. Liverpool is a team with players at the peak of their powers. We have a young team with players, who are improving, and we matched Liverpool to some extent. Maybe we are on the right track.
@Anders
We are lacking a top class striker and a better squad depth.
The overall performance was very good. Arsenal’s home games against Liverpool and ManCity are showing tremendous progress. We should not forget state of our club in December 2019.
We are in a good place with a young and very promising team. Our team has a huge potential to get better, but Liverpool and ManCity are peaking their maximum level. COYG
Ramsdale should’ve been able to stop Liverpool’s first goal and maybe their second goal as well, despite his good passes and catches. I guess he won’t become England’s first-choice GK in World Cup, unless Everton get relegated
Liverpool showed their superiority over us as one of the best teams in the world, with their clinical forwards and abilities to maximize the slim chances. The boy from Ituano was brilliant in the first half, but he got tired afterwards
If our fringe and squad rotation players can play as good as the first-choice players did tonight, I think we can beat Villa
You are right Gai, unfortunately our fringe players are not up to the standard of the first 11. The team didn’t play badly. We can’t challenge for premier league trophy untill next two seasons because there is need to aquire more quality players. Our lack of good CF showed today. No shame we lost to Liverpool the players should pick themselves up and get ready for Aston villa it’s important to win or not lose that match.
I mean some of tonight’s starters might be too tired to play against Villa two days later, so the squad rotation players like Nketiah and Pepe must be ready to step up
Hard to take. Amazing performance from everyone except Lacazette, but let down by lack of concentration at the back.
We need a striker, it’s so obvious.
Lacazette, I’m okay with him walking on a free.
It says a lot about your performance that in such a game where we’d be looking for goals, the manager needed to take you off, and you’re the captain FFS!!.
Martinelli, proud of you boy.
Saka had an off day.
Ramsdale could’ve done better for both goals, but we go again this weekend.
I’ve seen all I need to see.
A world class striker next season and we’ll be cooking.
Eddie agreed. That pass he intercepted I thought he would shoot it in himself but again dilly dallying over the ball cost us. How I wished Ode would channel his inner Ozil vs Ludogorets and shoot the ball into the net but it was not to be. Anyway the performances have been consistent and as you said one striker who fits MA’s style (doesnt have to be world class just better than Laca) and we would be even more stronger. Onwards and Upwards!
I hope we get a proper striker and not this false 9 BS
he didn’t even look up to see what was on offer!?!
Yes on rewatching he just thought hitting it center right at medium height would be the best choice. One of the few reasons why I cant comprehend Ozil comparisons to Ode. Too hasty.
Who is Available now in terms of world class category…
I think only Halaand fits that category at the moment…
But he is out of reach
Wait what? How is it lacazette’s fault? It was a tight angle so he passed it and was a great save by Allison.. Not laca’s nor odegards fault by any means!
As usual Arsenal shoot themselves in the foot against bigger teams, I just wish they could give me a pleasant surprise sometimes as a loss or a draw was the best I expected. At least they fought hard and showed a will to play their way and try to win, first half wasn’t bad. Next year with a new striker and cm I think Arsenal can win things.
This game is proving what we all knew. Arsenal are good enough to play football with the best teams in the world, but the best teams are a lot more clinical than us. Signs of progress and still favourites for top four whatever happens here….
Ramsdale would saved Jotas goal on another day. I mentioned how dangerous He is. Jota had a quiet game but he loves scoring against us since his wolves days..
If Odegard took that chance at nil nil we might just win it…
Credit to the boys. We lost but I m proud of the boys especially in the first half
My thoughts as well
Umm just two things- first it was Ode whose shot Alisson blocked and second Saka’s effort was quite tame from the resulting corner and not astonishing by any manner.
But yeah a very good performance just lacking end product. We had so many chances against Liverpool (3-4) and almost could have scored so thats very impressive. I hope we have a productive summer because I think what MA wants to achieve is finally starting to show little by little.
Arsenal huff and puffed but couldn’t blow Liverpool down. We have failed to beat any of the epl champions for the last 15 years except Leicester. Overall team was playing ok until Liverpool score. I didn’t expect a win and the stronger and more experience team showed there class in taking all 3 points.
The year Leicester won the title they lost 3 games all season, 2 were against us. We were the only team that stepped up to them that season.
Good performance just that the team is some way behind a team like Liverpool.
A forward who can do some magic at critical moment upfront is a necessity for big clubs and Ramsdale disappointed at the most critical time.
Experience is a big difference between the two teams as well.
Martinelli with a few magic on his legs can be world class. Just that a magic moment in Jota is missing in martinelli
He is not going to get that magic when he is being limited by the manager.. sometimes to get the best out of some players,you only need to give them more freedom..take away Laca and add an extra midfielder reduces the amount of defending Saka and Martinelli have to do..they get the chance to be express themselves more..just look at the way Liverpool is set up,take out Henderson and start with Mane,Jota,Salah and Firmino puts extra defensive duties on the scorers..and Laca doesn’t score,he doesn’t do much defending as well,,a waste of space.. happy to let him walk free
They let us run around like headless chickens in the first half, til we petered out. Then they laid into us…
MA should have seen it coming. IJS
I’m so disappointed, NYG… the goal drought goes on
@Sue
I feel your pain. 😔
They let us run around or the boys did a proper job of not giving them any space at all in the first half?
When will y’all ever say it the way it is?
We pressed and made sure they lacked space and at some point they kept losing their passes. A good 45 minutes from the boys who did their job and you discredit them this way by say they let them run around?
Even in the second half, aside the poor two goals we conceded, they didn’t do much and our lack of quality finisher was so obvious
Totally agree
@Eddie
They had a plan and purpose. It paid off for them. We were erratic.
Yeah, we pressed and pressed. But, when we had the ball, we had nuthin left in the tank to make it count.
And those “poor two goals”, were all they needed, because we didn’t score any, poor or otherwise…
Talking nonsense. We had one clear cut chance each they scored theirs, we missed ours. Their 1st was a Ramsdale error. They had no other chances outside that. If that was the plan they go with week in week out they’d be bottom half now,
I would add that it is obvious that how their first half went was not their plan otherwise klopp would not have been so fuming mad. He was upset because the game was not going to his plan and in his opinion arsenal were controlling too much of the game
@Angus
Not nonsense, observation.
They pressed with purpose and in packs, targeting our danger men, we pressed erratically. They knew we would come out gunz blazin from the jump, so they let us run around and peter out like I said.
I’m so disappointed in Lacazette.He should be the one scoring that goal and not try passing to Odegard.
He cost us this game
OT: Villareal just trashed Juventus in Turin. Emery kept showing that our ex-players were the ones who couldn’t work with his high pressing system
Just like Simeone, Allegri should never manage Arsenal. Because he tends to use highly defensive tactics, as he did when Juventus played against Pochettino’s Spurs a few years ago
Well done, Unai 👍
Emery’s biggest mistake as an Arsenal manager was losing the dressing room and allowing cult groups in the club. Arteta saw it from afar and got rid of all of that.
Emery should’ve sent them all packing like Terta did.
Unfortunately, Emery wasn’t given the power to do it. Our current attackers are more willing to press high up the pitch, despite being too slow and too tired sometimes
Arteta wasn’t given the power he demanded it, main reason I believe he lost the job originally over Emery in the 1st place.
Correction, that cult group was formed under Wenger.
I agree with GAI. Eddie you have to remember that Unai Emery was appointed as “head coach”, not “manager” and was not supported in disciplining the clique. You only had to look at what happened when Emery dropped Ozil.
Mikel Arteta was supported, because the Board could not allow a second manager/head coach be undermined by players at Arsenal. A good thing he was supported in doing what was essential.
Spot on GAI.
Language barrier, that was Emerys problem. We had a top top coach but he couldn’t get his passion and ideas over in his primitive English way!!!!!
Unfortunate but it was a failure, nobody saw coming.
Didn’t help, Reggie! Emery should have used a translator like Ponchettino did, until he becamemore fluent.
emi is better than ramsdale. emi saved us in the big games I’m yet to remember a big save ramsdell has made that has won us the game in the big games
I liked Emi but what’s the point of bringing him up now?
👍Past history, SueP.
Both their goals came from mistakes by multiple Arsenal players, each one having a chance to prevent it. I don’t think it was one of our better games Liverpool or not.
Couldnt agree more. Saka’s naiveness/lack of concentration gave away the second goal instead of starting a proper counter attack or clearing the ball completely. I love him and consider him a great prospect, but he needs to get some rest to recover. Pepe has been creating several chances in the limited time he has played recently and i believe he deserves a chance to start a couple of games (i mean in order to rest Saka, who seems to be losing focus throughout games). At least introducing ESR or Pepe in the starting lineup every 2-3 games to make us less predictable would catch our opponents off guard and i do not think the quality will drop significantly.
You make valid points TRVL4, but in all honesty, this is a really young squad against the big guns of Liverpool. Yes we should have done better, but unfortunately some of our players, like saka, didn’t come to the game today.
I was speaking more about what we need moving forward, as I wasn’t surprised whatsoever about the result or the tactics being deployed…I just would have liked to see us take the game to them a bit more in the first-half while their talisman was on the bench…I just don’t believe MA has the tactical nous or gumption to go head-to-head with the big boys…this is why I believe it’s imperative that we earn a CL invite, as we need to attract the kind of players who can make hay in spite of the tactics, which is a tough ask
We were not as compact in the second half, as we were in the first.
We got tired and Liverpool is a world class team capable of winning against any opponent. The biggest difference between the teams are the squad depth. They had a world class team on the pitch and one on the bench. We are moving in the right direction no doubt 🔴⚪️
I haven’t read everyone’s posts but I did read @fairfan.
“The top 4 seems secure”
It’s comments like that known to jinx us into a bad run.
Yes we’ve improved hugely but there is still plenty of time to capitulate as we have dine in the past.
It will be a tough game away but its vital we brush this result aside quickly and win the villa game.
If points are dropped at Villa and MU and Spurs win then rhe pressure starts to build.
With 33 points still to fight for in the PL no games and top is not yet guaranteed.
We lost to this year’s champions.
No shame because we gave it everything.
We move on. COYG.
Interesting you saying that Declan. There are times when ManC blow me away but they are beginning to lose ground and Liverpool have a certain steeliness to plough ahead
My dream:
Nunez
Adeyemi
Nkunku
Tchomani or however you spell it
Nice performance by the team, but as with Wenger’s young team, aesthetic without getting the job done. This is the reason I don’t get excited about this idea of building a young team. Our last experience with building a young team was not one to wish for again. Great teams build a winning team and evolve from there. Building a young team seems like an excuse to me, because once the young players’ ambition outgrows that of the team, they are easily swayed away by more ambitious teams.
Sadly most people still put the blame on arteta. We lost this game solely on individual errors and the individual involved are, Ramsdale, saka and lacazette. How no one is mentioning Saka’s abysmal perfis beyond me. Maybe he’s immune to criticism. Liverpool had only 3 shots on target they scored 2. We had 3 but we scored none. I know most people are biased and blinded but cedric was good today. I thought white was good as well. All the hype about luiz diaz but I can’t remember him going past cedric. Give credit where it’s due. A fit partey is what arsenal need right now because man is unplayable. All in all everyone is saying Arsnal have tough games and blah blah blah. Westham is nearly burnt out and the more they are in europe the less worry i am of them. Chelsea is beatable. Spurs is beatable, man u is beatable. Ask these teams if they will rather not play us there you’ll get your answers. I’m more worried against crystal palace and Astonvilla more than i am of man u,spurs and chelsea to be honest.
You sir, gave the perfect analysis of the match in my opinion
I agree – Selhurst Park on a Monday night will be rocking – just ask City!
I must admit nerves are beginning to creep in now; a massive game on Saturday – the early kick off is always hard to call – will we be up for it after last night’s disappointment? We can’t afford any more slip ups…
I was speaking more about what we need moving forward, as I wasn’t surprised whatsoever about the result or the tactics being deployed…I just would have liked to see us take the game to them a bit more in the first-half while their talisman was on the bench…I just don’t believe MA has the tactical nous or gumption to go head-to-head with the big boys…this is why I believe it’s imperative that we earn a CL invite, as we need to attract the kind of players who can make hay in spite of the tactics, which is a tough ask
I believe Arteta has that potential evident in the City match. If we approached it he same way we could’ve beaten Liverpool in the first half. I was about to say it was a big shame that we didn’t score a goal against them today. They were all over the place in the first half and I was wondering why we sat back at times in the first half. We were dominating them and they couldn’t handle it so we could’ve afforded to take more risks because we were on top and Salah only came on in the second half.
@TRVL4e
RealTalk…
Add Ten Hag to that mix and we’re cookin…IJS
Still remember when everyone wanted Coyle or when everyone threw their arms up in the air about Rodgers being linked. Works with players too nobody wanted free Milner, long list of players that were wanted though 🙂
btw this was my original post which was deleted for some unknown reason
you simply must score against top teams to be relevant…as such, you can’t have your offense be focused around a player like Ode who goes dark against the bigger squads, especially when you don’t have a Striker who can create chances for themselves…this was a bang average performance by Pool, yet we didn’t score again…our tactics were no different from any other bottom half side facing a Pool or a City, sit back, try to absorb pressure, then counter…Klopp knew full-well what was coming, which is why he could afford to save Salah and, to a lesser extent, Firmino for the second half…all this talk about not being embarrassed is nonsense and hardly a silver lining for a team hoping to compete for European positions
The youngest team in the league has made tremendous progress. There have been an enormous gap between Arsenal and two best teams in the league. There are still a few steps to climb but we are much closer than one year ago. Next season do I expect Arsenal to give them a real fight for the first time in many years. COYG
Spot on Didrik. Our last games vs City and Pool have both been winnable. I think all that separates us now is us having a top striker and our youngsters cutting out silly mistakes, which for me means we are still to nervous when we play them.
AdPat, maybe you can explain how my original post and Kstyx’s response were deleted then my reply to him appeared at the bottom of the queue
It seems to me that you posted it twice…
Villa next. Dust ourselves down, learn from our mistakes and take notice of what Liverpool are doing as they are in a great moment. Hope they go on and will the league, they are clinical and we lack that but it will come over time and with a few additions in the summer we will compete that little bit closer each window.
Martinelli, you my son are going to be special in the not so distant future and best of all he is loyal to the club. Was great to hear the Emirates singing away right to then end, that will encourage the team.
Pool were poor today … all their fans I know were happy with result but disappointed with performance .. we were lacking ambition and determination up front other than martineli and careless at back .. their energy level is 25 per cent greater than ours they won most 50 50 balls and work as a team doubling and sometimes tripling up on martineli as he became the main threat … that’s all about management not quality of players … just hope it’s not a sign of things to come .. with laca and xhaka starting we will always feel like a 10 man team
@Rw1
Exactly…
I dont think Arsenal failed, it was a free hit at one of the best teams in the league. They slapped our Arse but to be fair, it was expected but we cant be disappointed with the result. For me the players that showed they are at this level was Partey (immense and MOTM) Martinelli (possible joint MOTM) Tierney, Saka and Lacca. The others, wether it be not upto this level or not there YET, were lacking the mental and physical strength for this level. It proves we are favourites for top four because of what was on show and the promise that some players possess. We have a run of games that we must win and keep up the level we are at now before our next big test, which will not be a free hit and will be important. Well done Arteta and the team for not sitting back and for giving it a go. The only real gripe was, if it wasnt for the skills of Martinelli and a lesser extent Saka, our build up play and invention would have been poor. But in Martinelli and Saka we have two players that should be doing what Salah and Mane do. Next stop Villa.
Don’t forget martinelli and Saka are just 20 years old! What were Salah and Mane doing at 20 ?
With the way some people are whinnying here you would think that Arsenal played horribly. I know we need some great addition in our team but our performance against Liverpool tonight doesn’t warrant all those complaints that the owner isn’t supporting Arsenal or the complain that we need new addition tonight.
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 attack 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 attempt 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 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 that Liverpool would not beat us home and away.
So guys we really are on an upward trajectory.
This was a good test it shows us exactly where we are, Am satisfied about what I saw
Not the end of the world. Many believe that Man City and Liverpool are currently the two best club sides not just in the EPL, but in the world, and Liverpool are scrapping for their lives to win the title. They weren’t poor as one writer claims – we just didn’t allow them to play. Individual mistakes by our young side cost us both goals, and our bad finishing cost us at least a point. But we know we need a striker so where is the news here?
We played well enough overall to deserve at least a draw against one of the world’s best two sides who can’t stop winning.
We looked nervous at times but this was nowhere near a bad performance. Ode was blocked off all game, so our next mission is to find ways to create when this happens. For me Partey and GM were superb and I fully expect Villa to be BAU. But boy do we need that striker…
Were we rolled over? NO!!!
I’m quite satisfied with the guys performance and spirit.
Aston Villa next, a must win.
A young team, still developing up against an almost finished article. Unfortunately the Liverpool goal keeper had a better game than Ramsdale, who I”m sure is disappointed with his efforts. Arsenal lacked the cutting edge, experience amd ruthlessness of Liverpool in the final third. Obvious areas to address, as I was very disappointed in Lacazette.
I thought Lacca had a good game for 65 minutes. The two big let down players for me tonight were Ramsdale and Odergaard, thats where for me the game was lost. Ramsdales positioning for both goals was poor and Odergaard did nothing of note, except finish poorly the chance he got. Everyone else in context was ok. Immaturity showed but that was because it was against Liverpool, who are in a different space than us.
I’m quite satisfied with our performance; this match shows me that we’re still a work in progress, let’s not impulsively judge the boys based on this result.
The important thing I learnt is that Xhaka is too slow for the type of game we intend to play. We need an 8, and a sharp number 9. I so miss the days of Cazorla, if he were to be the one in Xhaka’s position, we would have made more impact and wouldn’t have felt Odegard and Saka’s drop in form in this match. Martinelli stepped up, but there wasn’t anyone to assist him.
Kudos to the boys once more, at least we’ve improved and I’m proud.
We haven’t got anything to prove against Liverpool this season, we are playing for a different level of prize, which is still in our grasp.
We played well, particularly in the first half, in most areas of the pitch except for the one that mattered – the box!!!
Exactly, it’s the difference between a proven world class team and the youngest team in the league. We need more experience, a better squad depth and a striker. We are going to be great team 🔴⚪️
Great first half performance and Martinelli give Trent a torrid time and also Partey was excellent, very disappointed by the result but admittedly they are a far better team.. next season we must do better against the likes of Liverpool and City no matter how big the gap, it just seems a lot of other smaller teams do a little bit better against these powerhouses, West Ham beat them and lost narrowly at Anfield, Totts took points of City and Liverpool and Palace took 4 points from City even Burnley lost only 1-0 to pool few weeks back so we have to improve. Can’t afford to lose to Villa on Saturday, massive game.
We just shaded it up that first goal, but then Liverpool took complete control after that. Really sloppy first goal from us, and really unlucky on the second one.
Getting anything from the game was always a uphill task. Partey is our only WC player, and they have a squad jam packed with WC players. Livepool are going for the title, and on a different level to us.
Overall, pleased with what I saw though, and Ramsdale didn’t have a lot to do, which shows our overall game was good. At 0-2 we looked a bit lost.
Am happy about the maturity of the faithfuls last night, hoping this also is a turning point of our behavior as supporters.
The atmosphere was top notch even when the team went behind.
Party was immense last night he was playing like he played against Liverpool every week.
There are a lot of positive last night that I took from the match.
First we know exactly where we are.
The attitude was right, we played together.
We are some way off from Liverpool.
We need two marquee forwards
We need two more marquee defensive midfielders.
The right match to lose, we definitely need a deeper squad to compete at the top top level, notice how comfortable Partey was, dont get me wrong the team play well to nullify Liverpool in the first half,
We must show a different second half level when we played Liverpool again.
Saturday will be the most important game of the season
I wrote here couple of articles back that Arsenal will be tough to break in 1st half but after the break Liverpool will the match in 2nd half
I would certainly never suggest that this was a totally disappointing performance, as I thought Marts, Partey, Tierney and even Cedric, for the first 60 or so minutes, put in quality shifts, but I would say it was a terribly predictable one, which from a managerial “eye test” perspective is a tad disconcerting
when you take into account the fact that, minus maybe the Watford affair, we’ve been incredibly inefficient in front of goal, and that in order to take any points against Pool you simply must score, I find it difficult to find any comfort in the tactics being deployed…of course, if your main objective is to not be embarrassed at home, then I might think otherwise, but I’ve never been a fan of that sort of settling philosophy
now it’s not like they bossed the game, but they always seem to find a way to carve out a goal or two, even when they aren’t at their best, which simply means you have to be willing to stretch yourself outside your managerial comfort zone…even when we were chasing the game our subs were like for like, instead of removing Cedric or Xhaka and bringing another player up top to make a push, it was same sh**, different mix…at one point beyond the 80th minute, down by 2, we were pinned in our own end on several occasions, which is never a good look
if you think about it logically, our best chances today were of the off-script variety, like a few moments of crafty footwork by Marts, who channeled his inner Sanchez today, and a boneheaded play by Thiago…other than that the play was fairly pedestrian in nature, as we seemed far more consumed by limiting their chances than carving out our own…so basically unless one of our wide side players did something spectacular on their own, against considerable odds, chances are our “best” result was a scoreless draw
this analysis doesn’t mean that things can’t be rectified moving forward, as acquisitions can be made and new strategies forged, but I’m still not convinced that our manager can make the tough tactical decisions when it matters most…this is why I believe more than ever that we must earn a CL invite so that we can attract the kind of players who can rise above the tactics, put a team on their back at times and produce spectacular moments on occasion, especially against those teams where, like today, our tactics may only provide a couple of grade A opportunities
You make valid points once again TRVL4. And I was gonna reply but your last paragraph has done that. We do have the youngest squad, without prolific goal poachers yet like pool. I was saying to someone watching the game with me, after the first half, that klopp will show his superiority over arteta in the second half by being tactically better. And it happened. Plus they have the forwards that they have compared to ours, it was a no brainer. Hopefully we can work on that part of our game more. The midfield and defence look almost perfect bar a few additions. Ramsdale is still not filling me with enough confidence yet, especially last night. But he has saved us plenty times as well. Cc. LENO was the same till we saw Martinez. So maybe he needs a good competition. But generally, we need proper additions in the forward department. The other positions have youth and can only improve with age and experience.
MA is not willing to change tactics,he is comfortable with the way his team plays…I could recall when Martinelli said he had to apologise for scoring a goal cos he was not supposed to be where he was on the day..I can’t imagine a manager praise a striker who does not score as much as Laca gets from Arteta.do away with Lacazette and bring in an extra midfielder a d let the boys up front who have been scoring fully be free to express themselves,let them do a little less defending…
I’ve read comments from Liverpool fans saying Alisson was hardly tested.. unless I was watching another game neither was Ramsdale.. they were making out whilst Allison was having a cup of tea they were peppering our goal with shots! Stats wise it was a fairly even game with Arsenal giving 2 soft goals away and yes Liverpool are a much better team but I’m not gonna say we were outplayed when we weren’t! I’m just glad Martinelli gave Trent the runaround I bet he’s seeing red blurs on his way back up to Merseyside.
Real Viera we can not play Liverpool toe to toe, we played well in the first half.
I notice Partey was very comfortable in midfield like he was playing Liverpool every week.
We just do not have all the players yet to compete at the very top top yet.
I can see what the gaffer was doing by trying to get Locotelli and Dusan.
We must get our act right in the summer, we could start with Fabian Ruiz he seems want to come
It was a good performance we were in the game for ,60 minutes but let down by lack of quality. Again it’s the old two or three players away from being a very good team. How wonderful it would be to have a real striker, an effective midfielder and a fast wing back who can also deliver decent crosses. Also noticed that many of you were down on Saka. I thought he played well but didn’t get the same support that Tierney gave Martinellii.
Saka played with the breaks on. He gave away poor passes, wasn’t running like he used to. It felt like he was scared. This was not the Saka that played Watford. It was clear for the world to see.
Proud of the first half, not so much of the second half….not because we conceded but because we were poorly prepared for a fired up Liverpool which we all knew were going to come out 2nd half.
Loosing to the same team consecutively for many years hurt me badly. it’s just like man United during Wengers reign, and I can smell Newcastle United could do that in the next decades. I anticipated a win nothing more.
Yep, mistakes and rabbit in the headlights in front of goal cost us (again).
I’m so disappointed to say the least..
With our current formation 4231, we can’t defeat this Liverpool team , the last time we defeat them was with 343 which is our best bet , less tracking back with our wide forwards then we hit them on the counter , we ain’t equal to Liverpool in all strength in the areas on pitch.
I think saka,ode and laca needs a rest now that the games are coming thick and fast,they should be replaced with pepe,esr and nketiah respectively.
I agree, but this is our big challenge we don’t have the necessary squad depth. Only ESR have the quality required, Pépé is a big question, but he needs to play to get better. I’m sure we will use the next window to build a stronger and more competitive squad 🔴⚪️
I don’t think Conte could have done any better with Arsenal team last night.
We are just a few signing away, maybe four , with a little time to jell.
It take a much deeper bench to effectively turn a big match like this in the second off, throwing on anyone in a more attacking sense could result in more severe damage, to the youngest team in the league, these are some of the things one has to consider.
All definitely not loss, in fact nothing is loss,