If you made a carbon copy of our 2nd leg in the Carabao Cup semifinals against Liverpool, you’d come up with the exact same match today. Arsenal came up short today in what is very common against Liverpool as of late with a score of 0-2 with goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino being the difference. There is just a gulf in class between the two sides that we can’t overcome at the moment. In no way shape or form did Arsenal play poor today, there was just a better side on the other side and I can live with that. I predicted a 3-1 loss to Liverpool so a 2-0 scoreline feels pretty much expected with how things turned out. Liverpool are just more experienced and composed in these big-time matchups compared to us. One could say Liverpool didn’t play that well today, if you looked at Jürgen Klopp’s reaction throughout the match, he never looked please at all and they still were dragging our asses up and down the field. Everytime we looked to pose a threat, they were able to snuff out all of what we were trying to create offensively and smartly chose their moments to press and hit us on the counter when it seemed fit.
Table Outlook:
With all that being said, I think even Mikel Arteta at his core would’ve nailed this game as a loss, especially with a Liverpool team that has everything to play for in obtaining the league title. Arsenal still controls their destiny but matchups with Chelsea and Spurs away are not a given but it is more than what I could ask for going into this season so I’ll take what I can get despite this loss.
PREMATCH-FIRST HALF: Mikel put out an unchanged side from the team that beat Leicester on Sunday which was expected. I mentioned that I wouldn’t have minded if he switched to a back 3 for this game but don’t blame if for going with the lineup that has got us to this point. My hypocritical ass would have been the first one to come for him if he switched things up and it didn’t work. Klopp benched Salah for today’s game which was a surprise but when you have Jota, Mané and Luis Diaz leading your line, you’ll probably be just fine. The game started with Liverpool retaining a good amount of the possession. Arsenal then grew into the game and would say had most of the chances for bulk of the first half. Martinelli was having his way with Trent down the left flank just like in the Carabao Cup ties and was our main source of threat in the first half as shown below:
Despite our dominance in the first half, we didn’t have many great opportunities to show for it, just a lot of effort and solid passages of play which doesn’t mean much against one of the best teams in the world. Thomas Partey and Martinelli were the best players in the first half for me. Thomas was back to his dominating ways in the midfield which was the reason why we were able to grab a decent stronghold in the game. The first half was a very competitive contest with Arsenal playing better than Liverpool given the gulf in quality between the two sides but Liverpool always felt like they were just patiently waiting for their moment to come.
SECOND HALF: The second half started with both sides having great chances. Liverpool was able to play Mané through on goal as he flicked the ball past Ramsdale but was well and truly offside. On the other end, Martinelli took Trent on another ride and beat him two times before failing to connect with an Arsenal player on his cross.
Arsenal were then gifted an opportunity from a rare mistake by Liverpool but Martin Ødegaard was unable to finish with a great save from Allison.
You have got to finish that if you’re Ødegaard because of what came next.
The first time Arsenal as a team fell asleep, Ødegaard didn’t put pressure on Thiago, Cédric and Ben White fell asleep and let Jota through, Jota then shoots at his near post for an easy finish. Just a calamitous effort by everyone associated with Arsenal in that goal. Absolutely can not let a team like Liverpool score a goal with that little defending and pushback. And from then on, Liverpool just held us down and didn’t let us breathe the rest of the match. Bukayo Saka was unable to clear the ball down the line which let Robertson dribble the ball down the byline for an easy cross and finish to Firmino which finished our night at the Emirates. Liverpool were not at their blistering best and seems surprised at times how straight up we were playing them but as champions do, they kept us at bay. In terms of effort, I have no issue with how Arsenal played and as always, never complain when we lose to a better team if the effort is there. In this case, it was clear Arsenal fought but ran out of gas and were naive in key moments of the match which led to our downfall. Fortunately for us, we have a quick turnaround on Saturday to make things right against Aston Villa. I’d love for us to put Pépé and ESR into the starting lineup to rotate and shake things up a bit.
MOTM: Gabriel Martinelli – was a menace down the left flank, making Trent’s life a living hell. In these types of matchups, his directness provides the right amount of unpredictability for teams with higher lines such as Liverpool.
Biggest Maturation: Kent – for not immediately blaming and getting mad at Arteta after this loss.
Best Move out of frustration: I love when managers and players take shots at the Premier League. Mikel did so by coming to the League for poor scheduling of our games and I love every minute of it.
PLAYER RATINGS:
Ramsdale: 4/10 – Absolutely can not get beaten like that when playing a team like Liverpool. In my opinion, he needed a bit of humbling so hopefully he can use this as a catapult to finish the season.
Cédric: 5/10 – Had a tough time of it, the quality of this match was higher than he is capable of.
Ben White: 5/10 – He was fine but was poor on the first goal, giving Jota too much space.
Gabriel: 6/10 – He was fine.
Kieran Tierney: 6/10 – Tried to get forward but was unable to get anything from it.
Thomas Partey: 7.5/10 – You can tell that he didn’t look out of place against this world-class Liverpool side. Bossed the first half. Throwback to when he dominated Liverpool for Atléti
Granit Xhaka: 7/10 – Actually didn’t piss me off today. Wish he was more athletic but that is neither here nor there.
Martinelli: 8/10 – Trent will have nightmares of this man.
Ødegaard: 4.5/10 – Quiet. Needs to score that chance.
Saka: 5/10 – Didn’t do much.
Lacazette: 5.5 – Works hard but getting tired of saying that and having to justify it.
Subs:
ESR, Pépé, Eddie: Not long on enough to rate, but blame Arteta cause we needed subs and he brought them on too late.
Featured Image credits:
GIF credits: NBC
Video Credits: NBC, Champions Soccer