Morning all.
Darkness had long fallen over the city of Liverpool by the time our early evening match kicked off at Anfield on the 29th December 2018. Like many Arsenal fans no doubt, I feared a trouncing was coming and sadly, it did.
AMN had opened the scoring early in the game but that lead lasted no more than a few minutes as a quick fired Firmino double left us trailing 2-1. Fifteen minutes had barely passed by this time. Another from him, Sane and Salah finished us off good and proper on what was an awful night. The 5-1 defeat in 2014 was bad enough but this one felt worse. This was post Arsene Wenger, yet the performance mirrored one under his management in so many ways.
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang led the line for Arsenal last year but in 71 minutes he touched the ball just 13 times — and six of those were from kick-offs.
Arsenal fielded this starting eleven:
Leno, Lichtsteiner, Mustafi (Koscielny 46) Maitland-Niles, Torreira, Xhaka, Kolasinac, (Guendouzi 80) Ramsey, Aubameyang, (Lacazette 71) and Iwobi.
Lichsteiner, Ramsey and Iwobi – gone. Mustafi is highly unlikely to make it to the bench, let alone start the game and there’s a good chance Aubameyang and Lacazette will be alongside each other rather than one replacing the other during the game.
Nelson, Willock, Pepe, Ceballos, Luiz, Chambers, Monreal and Saka are options for Unai Emery today. Width, pace and plenty of trickery for Liverpool to deal with either from the start or later in the game.
Liverpools defence is strong and organised but it’s looking a little more vulnerable than it did last season. They’re playing a higher line apparently which should be a tactic we can exploit with our pace. Their keeper Allison is injured which must dent their confidence. VvD is the thorn in every opposition team, whether it be in defence or on their set-pieces. It’s no secret so we should be prepared for him. Not only him either as we’ve played this team under Klopp enough times to know what to expect.
I happen to think that Ceballos, Aubameyang and Lacazette are just as good as Klopps and adding Pepe makes us even better. Certainly on paper although we’ve yet to see them all on the pitch at the same time. The big question today is, will all four start at Anfield?
Stopping Firmino is key as he’s the hub of Liverpool’s attack. Xhaka, Torreira, Guendouzi, Willock or whoever’s job it is to mark him, needs to stick to him like glue. Don’t give him time or space to do his thing. In fact don’t give any opponent time on the ball, get on them quicker than a wasp lands on a rotten apple. Be aggressive but fair, give them nothing.
Lastly, put their keeper Adrian under pressure from the off. He’s a decent keeper in his own right but he’s not Allison. When he tries to play out from the back, get on him and after his howler this week, shoot whenever the goal is in sight.
We’ll need to be on our game to get something from this evenings fixture but at the very least, I hope we compete against them. Good and hard too.
My money’s on a draw….
Reading through the Liverpool official forum it seems that we might as well just stay at home
:- Wouldn’t be surprise to see the same result as last season, we’ll get the big Anfield game vibe, go at them and make them cry again.
Seems to be the way that they are thinking, hopefully a shock and a bit of down to earth grounding might be coming their way.
Morning Rico, a draw or the narrowest of defeats, I’m mostly looking for an improvement in performance, staying with the Scousers and not surrendering the game in the opening 20 minutes where Liverpool usually look to win the game.
I think we need to match up with them, go head to head, really test where we are in the food chain, earlier in the week I was thinking 3 at the back and wing backs but now I’m thinking back four, match them in midfield and attack their defence.
Would I start Pepe?
No, not yet, he’d be my impact sub with 30 minutes to go…
I wouldn’t pick Xhaka either, I’d go with the XI that beat Burnley.
I’d also have Martinelli on the bench.
We can’t defend, our strength is our attack, so let’s attack them, give it a go…
2-2 or just lose 3-2 (or just win 3-2 😉)…..
I don’t know…….
Let’s see what those forums are saying later Potter.
Morning Kev.
Same here. To a degree the points don’t matter today but the performance does. If we can go toe to toe with them, I think we should be pretty happy.
Southampton played a five man midfield, with two up top and Liverpool struggled I believe… just saying… lol
It’s the old chestnut when you were playing up a standard , ” Lets go for a narrow defeat ” and on many occasions you nick a point or else a win.
Personally I think we would do well to get the draw , many are expecting a high scoring game , I reckon if they get more than two we will struggle to keep up with them ,
I can’t see a basketball scenario , even when we dominate teams we rarely put them to bed with many goals , usually we pass them to death but that won’t happen today. Torriera has a job to do on Firmino and we have to be aware of VVD on set pieces , don’t give away corners and playing out from Leno with Liverpool’s pressing could be suicidal.
Good morning Rico and all
We really don’t know how much the team has improved, if at all, this evening’s match will give us an indication.
Right this minute I’d settle for a draw.
I shall be looking for a bit of “attitude” from Arsenal. I want to see all eleven players putting in a 100% display.
Will Emery be brave/daft enough to start Aubameyang, Lacazette and Pepe? I doubt it.
My selection would be Leno, AMN, Luiz, Sokratis, Monreal, Torreira, Guendouzi, Ceballos, Willock, Aubameyang and Lacazette.
If we are to play out from the back, Luiz and Ceballos can provide the passes for Aubameyang and Lacazette to run onto. Willock will need to be alert and ready to defend when necessary.
Arsenal involved in a top-of-the-table clash. How long is it since we could say that?
Morning all.
As these two sides are the most prolific goal getters in the league, it will probably end 0-0!
If we persist with the ‘play it out from the back routine’ we won’t last five minutes into the game. The dippers press is frenetic, especially early on and, they are good at it. Better at winning the ball back than we are at keeping it. Long ball tactics is probably the way to go, not pretty and definitely not Wenger ball but probably more effective than keep ball. Over the top and let our speedy front three fight for the ball and win, of course!
Realistically I can’t see us winning but a draw would be a very good result at this point in the season. A drubbing however, will put us back in our 5th 6th box, and we don’t want that.
Just a question. What is our best starting eleven? Perhaps this afternoon will answer that, we’ll see.
Wasn’t the Southampton game off of the back of the Super Cup vs Chelski Rico?
Morning all,
I Know it’s early in the piece, but from what he have seen, Liverpool’s form isn’t that great, and ours isn’t that bad so we are a chance.
Morning Rico and all,
I just hope we don’t capitulate like we have so often away from home in the last few years.
All the players and coaches must know we have to be at our best, I see no reason why we can’t compete, maybe even upset the media who are desperate to see Liverpool win big,and get something from the game.
Come on you Gunners.
Norwich 1 Chelsea 1 already.
Seems like we could be finally letting Nacho Monreal leave, probably next week, to Real Sociedad, for a nominal fee, probably similar to the fee we got for Koscielny.
I guess that fits in with the new club policy of not letting players leave for free and also bringing down the wage bill…
I’d be sorry to see him leave if it happens, he’s been one the best defensive signings that Wenger made in his 22 years, but I guess if he does go then it means that Tierney is close to a return to full fitness, probably after the Interlull…
Just over a week to move on Mustafi, if possible, if not then maybe he can fill in at left back?
Morning Cicero, Limey.
It was Kev, but I still don’t think they’re at the level they were last season, yet. We really must test Adrian imo at every opportunity. Not that I expect many. 😂
I get the selling of Monreal, I too will be sad to see him go as he’s been a good player for us. Steady too.
Tierney must be very close to returning.
I think Aubeymang and Laca don’t play together today.
I’m concern in the back. Our centrals are too old.
According to arsenal.com, Tierney will not resume full training until October. Selling Monreal, who signed a contract extension only a couple of weeks ago, would be suicidal. Would we be happy with Kolasinac as our only left back in the squad?
Tierney is back in training though. October might just be a worse case scenario..
Unbelievable, Emery’s selection always leaves me to wonder. In a statement game like this, he starts Xhaka, and keeps Torreira and Laca on the bench.
Leno, AMN, Luiz, Sokratis, Monreal, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Ceballos, Willock, Aubameyang, Pepe.
Quote from the club website.
“Tierney. Groin. Continues to receive treatment and further assessments. Aiming to resume full training in October”.
Subs. Mkhitaryan, Lacazette, Torreira, Chambers, Nelson, Martinez, Kolasinac.
A slightly eccentric team selection.
The manager must see something exceptional in Xhaka that has passed the rest of us by! Pepe for Our number 9, still he’d be hooked on 59 minutes, he always is. This manager has similar behavioural traits to his immediate predecessor. I’m not sure I like it.
He may be forgiven if we win, mind…….!
Xhaka today’s captain.
Coygs….
4 minutes in and we’re sacked playing it out
Ditch it, at least for this game because they’re on us too quickly.
Breathless stuff. Chances for both sides, a couple of clear cut ones for Aubameyang and Pepe.
Good defending by Luiz from a free kick.
S**t.
My imagination or was VvD tugging Guendouzi shirt, the player marking Matip… ☹️
Overrun, fullbacks allowing constant crosses, no Torreira, and near suicidal playing across back line. 1-0 down, I fear only more.
Ignore my last, it was the other way round… oops.
Stupid, stupid Luiz. Shirt tug, booking and penalty. 2 – 0
At three nil down only now does Emery bring Torrira on. Too f*****g late!.
Cicero, I didn’t want to get downbeat about Emery, but this game cried out for Torreira. To stop pissing about at the back, to go with experience. Not sure he’s the right choice, strange decisions.
I have always had my doubt on Emery even before the Bacelona/ PSG debacle. Today confirmed it after I saw the line up. Let’s play Liverpool without anyone to tackle in the middle. Mindbuggling; Wenger all over again.
Pépé. Henry or Gervinho ?
Plenty of positives from today I think. Not every team we face play like Liverpool…
Is Torrieira up to full fitness having played in the summer and only returning to training three weeks ago?
Even if Torreira is not fully match fit we needed him in midfield, he should have started and been subbed if and when he tired. The stupidity in bringing on a defensive midfielder when we are three nil down is just too bizarre for words.
Ceballos was way off the pace of the game. Pepe showed some good touches but I think he too was unprepared for the pace of the Premiership at the top level.
At least we stuck with the job, nobody chucked the towel in, that bodes well for the future.
Thank the Lord we have only one more Premiership game against Liverpool this season.
And if he tired after 30/40 minutes, what a waste of a sub.
There’s arguments to both sides imo.
My glass stays half full though…
Rico at 7:46 pm. Salah, Mane and Pepe all played in Afcon and played more minutes than Torreira did in Copa, and they returned around the same time and they all featured from the start; so in my opinion, it’s not a valid reason. Emery got it wrong which he tends to do a lot. Today’s lineup may be good against Villa or Newcastle, but not against any top four team.
Fair point Obi. Re Torreira I mean.
Ceballos is a good player but needs some space. It comes from a league and a team that has room to run and time to think. The idea was to launch both strikers in condition. But without a strong midfield (and defense) is a suicide. Also, defends badly. In my opinion, I shouldn’t have played. It should have strengthened the midfield. Arsenal, in addition to a better defense (which is old!), Lacks midfield. It is the engine room of a football team. We may have fighting players like Torreira, Xhaxa, Ghendouzi that are both accurate and useful to a team, but lacking the other dimension in midfield. The one of reliable and consistent transition. Ceballos is a good player in this position but playing against teams that are mostly laid out so as not to lose; not in the case of today’s game. Ozil goes for the worse, in my opinion. It took a player who thought about the game but also did not neglect the defense within its limitations. Playing as we played was wearing out Ghendouzi quickly, leaving the sidebands very vulnerable and above all, always being present that there was a lack of defenders, poorly placed and that the goal would be a matter of time.
At least we have an easier game next week !
Seriously,it won’t be as tough as today (painful watching) It’s a fixture we’ve won the last two years,hell,even in his worst ever season Arsene managed to beat that lot at home.I seem to remember a thumping header by Mustafi,he might even be off the payroll by then.
I hope Torreria and Lacazette play.
Ramsey not even in Juventus squad.Maybe not fit?
Rico, do you honestly think that a professional footballer who has been in full training for a couple of weeks would need subbing, after thirty or forty minutes, due to fatigue?
Just asking Cicero. None of us know what goes on behind closed doors, how fit players are etc.
That was a walk in the park for Liverpool and that’s the truth, Luiz was fuckin terrible either play him in a three at the back as a sweeper or don’t bother as he’s a liability in a two imo.
Pépé showed glimpses of quality but tbh a poor miss from him needs to learn how to put his foot through the ball rather than that tame shot attempt.
Hopefully when Bellerin and Tierney return we’ll have a far better balance.
Liverpool best team in Europe atm so no shame in losing, but concerned about emery and his tactics I sometimes wonder what in the fuck is he thinking.
As soon as Lacazette is out the ability to keep the ball forward is gone . Auba and Pepe want the ball in front of them so any innaccuracy and it’s straight back and getting overrun.
Montreal back to Spain (Real Sociedade)
New post up now