Arsenal will be facing one of their toughest opponents later today and if they are going to get anything from the game at Liverpool then they must get the fundamentals right.
Sometimes the team that is not favoured gets a result and that is because they compensate being the underdogs and quite frankly, being the weaker team with attributes in other areas. It is not always about being the best team.
Commitment
Every player has to be committed, there can be no room for any passengers, no players going walkabout or missing, every player must show commitment all over the field of play, anything less and they will be letting themselves and their teammates down.
Organisation
The team must stay organised, they cannot allow Liverpool to pull them all over the place, an unorganised defence concedes goals, an unorganised midfield cedes control whereas an organised team makes it much more difficult for their opponents to break them down and seize control.
Calmness
Liverpool will probably have the most possession and most shots on target and it is imperative that Arsenal show calmness in defence when the pressure is on, Tottenham did that against Man City and scraped a result, Leicester City did that when Chelsea dominated them early on last week and in the end were unlucky to just draw. Calmness in front of the goal is also very important, chances will be few and snatching at the ball or panicking will result in wasted opportunities.
Intelligence
Probably the most important attribute, Arsenal will have to know when to slow the game down, when to commit tactical fouls, when to time waste and when to frustrate their opponents. Teams that do not play with their heads tend to lose and lose badly.
If UE picks any one of the following it will be bad for Arsenal: Kolasinac, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan.
If he picks any two of them it will be a disaster.
If he picks all three then I will be thinking he’s been very well paid to sabotage Arsenal’s chances.
Maybe our best chance to score will come from a Liverpool corner.
Pepe, Laca and Auba should be stationed just one yard inside our half at Liverpool corners to be onside, Pepe and Auba out wide.
Our defenders/midfielders should then be instructed to forget UE’s ‘play out from the back’ rubbish and instead clear the ball IMMEDIATELY with a long pass, a la Luiz, towards the wings halfway into the Liverpool half for Pepe and Auba to run on to. (If it’s played down the middle their keeper might come out and get to it first.)
Hope the Ox is not brought on (or started) in his favoured centre midfield position and plays well or even worse scores against us.
That could give AMN food for thought, especially if the two of them have a pint together after the match. I don’t know if AMN feels as strongly as the Ox did about not being played in his correct position but if he does feel that the RB/LB or RWB/LWB positions he is being forced to play are not for him then maybe any success the Ox has will influence him. For instance I would not like to see AMN turning up in the centre of midfield for Man U on Pogba’s recommendation!
You are already blaming the players before a ball is kicked. What is Emery gets paid for if somehow you know those players you mentioned are not good enough but he thinks otherwise. I keep saying to myself and others fans that I know for the past 4 years our limitations is not about the players alone. We blame the players because we think we have a collection of dross but over a year the so called deadwood are being thinned out gradually so there should be a improvement from now on and we ,or I am interested, in how Emery improves or utilize them instead of blaming them for coach limitations.
You are already blaming the players before a ball is kicked. What is Emery gets paid for if somehow you know those players you mentioned are not good enough but he thinks otherwise. I keep saying to myself and others fans that I know for the past 4 years our limitations is not about the players alone. We blame the players because we think we have a collection of dross but over a year the so called deadwood are being thinned out gradually so there should be a improvement from now on and we ,or I am interested, in how Emery improves or utilize them instead of blaming them for coach limitations.
Mobella thank you for your observations. However I obviously can’t actually blame players before a ball is kicked. All I can do, as with anyone on here, is state my preferences. You are also quite right that UE will also have his own preferences – after all he is a professional manager. However, as we say in England, ‘it will all come out in the wash!’ which means let’s see what happens if UE does play the aforementioned players or not. If UE plays them and we do well then I am wrong. If he plays them and we don’t do well then I am right. Nice and simple. Let’s see.
But Aaron Wan Bissaka was forced to play RB as well and he did it okay.
seeing a number of options we have in the midfield. it feels like AMN future belongs in RB positions maybe if he really wants to play in the middle which he hasn’t insisted on publicly he will have to do it somewhere else
AMN, like many younger players, has not really made up his mind. He first said that central midfield was his choice and later said that he would like to play right wing.
When playing centrally against Man U even Paul Pogba told him he had a good game.
With his size, strength, speed and skill I personally feel he would be great in midfield, far better than Willock for example who seems to me to be over rated.
Of course I could be wrong – it is only opinion. Let’s see how things pan out eventually.
What about your Useless Ozil…
He should be picked??
Hope you are much aware that Milkitaryn is far more productive than that fraud called Ozil……
Correct. Well said.
In all his life ,Miki might have out performed Ozil only once . And that was last season.
He is not MY useless Ozil – where did I say that? However Ozil does have the skill to be good if he puts his mind to it whereas Mkhitaryan is about as skilful and productive as the tea lady.
Actually Mkhi’s workrate when we lose possession is highly commendable.
If our attack and midfield can press and hustle like MKhi when Pool has the ball, instead of letting them come to us and giving them space to move around, we would have fulfilled the commitment part, which is the most critical thing today
Hi LOL, Just my opinion but “If our attack and midfield can press and hustle like MKhi when Pool has the ball” then we are knackered.
On the other hand if we can press and hustle like Ceballos, Guendouzi etc then we will be fine.
Win or lose arsenal till i die!COYG
However it really must be a headache for emery right now on who to choose from in the midfield area, after what we have seen last week.
Willock has really made a name for himself this preseason and the opening two games in the PL,that boy is a fighter! For me he was born to play in this kind of games. Get him in there and see how he comes out of it, this is Arsenal and as a fan that’s what i’ve always loved to see,young players spreading their wings. He must start!
Arsenal have the most severe PTSD playing 2 teams Man City and Liverpool.
You might say its just two teams … But remember games against Man U, Spurs, Chelsea Everton could go either way…
Not to mention the Bournemouths Wolves Watfords and Palace who just love to Nick one against the “big” teams
Now you understand why we just have to be tactically physically and mentally strong this evening, The performance will be just as important as the outcome. It is important that we come out with our confidence and most importantly the back of our net intact.
Because of big money most teams have enough to resist and be in the game for 70-80 minutes….
But the giants have enough concentration for 100+ minutes.
During Guardiolas first title City were scoring late goals to consolidate or dig out victories.
Can we match these heavy hitters man for man? No! But that didn’t stop Simeone from winning La liga and fighting for CL and making the Top two become uneasy whenever they meet him.
justarsenal.com/five-ways-arsenal-can-get-a-result-against-liverpool/221373
I have full confidence. The Gunner can get result Against Liver pool. now,The winning mentality from the Gunners is fantastic.
I hope we will see Attractive foot ball from Both Team.
No idea why you put that in there, suspect it is to have a slight dig of some sort. One article is about tactics on the field, the second about the mentality needed.
I know we have lost some games for the past 3 or 4 season at anifield against Liverpool but today is a turning point for the gunners I see Liverpool losing this game,whether they like or not arsenal is going to pluff main people long. cause I see them each and every week they just speak negative about arsenal but one thing they forget is that this is football anything can happen.
After the last two matches we have an idea of the players we have and what we can expect from them.So far most of them have been impressive &today we meet the toughest opponent which means they have to put in a greater shift than before.
Therefore U.E has to get his team spot on to withstand Liverpools onslaught.
My opinion is that we slightly adjust the line up against Burnley to add some grit to our back line. Pardon me if you aren’t in agreement.
…………..LENO
AMN……CHAMBERS.. SOKR….MONREAL
……….LUIZ……TOREIRA
AUBA……….CEBALLOS……PEPE
………….LACAZZATE………
I believe this line up won’t make it easy for Klopp at the kop.
Kust swop AMN with Luiz. The rest seems good.
What? Luiz as RB and AMN as CM for this game? Can’t you pick an easier game to suggest such an experiment?
I will play ceballos and ozil together. Play ozil behind the PAL and ceballos pais with either torreira or guendonzi in the mid field.
It will be a match of goals fiester and the team with most goals carries the day.
It’s match day!! Come on!!! ?
Ceballos and Pepe to score!
We win by 2 goals to 1.
My dead grandma told me in a dream last night and that lady never lied.
I hope the players leave behind all the negative punditry and all those who carry negative outcomes in their heads. Liverpool are not firing yet and are open to a tough game. If Emery is positive and gives Ceballos, Guendouzi and Torreira a chance in the midfield (no Xhaka..??☺). With the rest of our artillery we have a chance. A real chance.
Well said Sean! Liverpool are not firing as you say, the keeper could well be a bag of nerves and they have conceded a goal in every game they’ve played.
Unleash Ceballos, Pepe, Laca and Auba on them and let’s see what happens.
Agree about Xhaka – plays like he’s in another dimension sometimes. Let’s hope that if he’s picked he puts in an outstanding performance and proves us both wrong. Won’t be holding my breath on that one though! 🙂
We have a chance with the right use of tactics and system… Pool are beatable that is a certainty. Using the right mixture of players that are hungrier.
Liverpool don’t have the luxury of a star star players… Majority of them were bought from a lesser club. Robertson,Wijnalduim,Shakir,Fabino,mane,Salah a chealshit reject,ND firmino… Trent Is their youth setup… Buh this players transform their self and the club with the right coaching system. With belief and hunger they could beat any teams… That is why there were European champion
If Arsenal can replicate a slight of their trait with the level of quality we have it should be more than enough to sting them today at their turf
My predicted line up base on player hunger and tactics would be
………….. Leno
AMN….. LUIZ…. SOC…. Monreal
WILLOCK/Guen…..Torierra… CEBALOS
PEPE….. LACA…. AUBA
SUBS:NELSON, OZIL, MICKI, MARTINELI, MARTINEZ, CHAMBERS, KOLASINAC, XHAKA