Morning all.
There’s something about football stadiums at night. For Arsenal fans, is there a better sight than The Emirates Stadium lit up in all its glory? I’d love to be inside the stadium tonight because I think the atmosphere is going to be electric. The reigning League Champions against a club which hopes, wants, to take their trophy from them in style. The Arsenal!
Mikel Arteta was asked what it feels like to have a huge crowd behind you:
There’s nothing like it, I mean you become a different player, your emotional status is better, your energy level is better, your confidence is better, they drive you to get action without a lot of aggression, without a lot of determination and that lifts the whole team. So that’s what we have to provide tomorrow.
Slot’s side was lauded last season for winning the league, all with a little help from their PGMOL friends of course, but this season, well, things have been quite different for the Merseyside club.
Their multi million signings didn’t really hit the ground running although I read both Wirtz and Frimpong have got better but Isak,, well, he pick up a horrid injury and will out for a few more months. That’s the kind of bad luck we have had to deal with in the past. Timber and Merino spring to mind.
Slot is without a few other players tonight too. Salah is at ACON, Leoni and Endo are injured and Ekiteke is a doubt following a hamstring problem. One which keeps him out tonight I hope.
The fixture at Anfield was one by a single goal. A stunning free kick from Szoboszlai. Arsenal had 11 shots that day but only one was on target. Arteta was without Odegaard, Saka and after just five minutes, Saliba went off injured.
BBC football correspondent Phil McNulty, writing about the game:
Liverpool go into the international break with maximum points from their three Premier League games – and still without demonstrating the full fluency they showed when they strolled to the title last season. It is a chilling thought for those, including the Arsenal side beaten at Anfield, who harbour hopes of wrestling away the crown they have now won on 20 occasions.
I know, it’s amusing isn’t it…
Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme:
The champions have deployed a 4-2-3-1 for most of this season. Slot tends to use the width of the pitch to good effect, deploying a pair of fast attacking full-backs who are both encouraged to support wingers who prefer to cut inside onto their stronger foot.
In essence, Liverpool’s head coach wants to control matches through possession, averaging a league-high 61.6%, but they are also a team that threatens on the counter, manufacturing an impressive 24 shots from counters, including three goals. When they score first, they are extremely difficult to beat, winning 10 times, drawing once and losing none after going 1-0 ahead.
Defensively, they remain a strong pressing outfit who want to steal the ball in advanced areas, and have already scored six goals from high turnovers. It will be interesting to see if Liverpool commit to that high press in this fixture, or if they deploy a more conservative mid-pitch block instead, such as in our meeting last August.
Set-pieces at both ends of the pitch have been a problem area. In attack, they have scored just three times from dead-ball situations – a joint division low – while inside their own box, the champions have conceded 12 times from set-plays – no one has leaked more.
The only injuries Arsenal have tonight are Mosquera, Calafiori and Dowman. That is unless anyone trips over in the shower or something else as freakish. Seriously though, we should have our strongest starting eleven starting tonight with a lot more strength to call on from the bench.
Regardless of how things have been going so far this season for tonight’s opponents, we cannot afford to underestimate them, not even with their absentees or because their defence has been pretty average. We just have to play our own game, start fast, get at that vulnerable defence and take our chances. As I always suggest, don’t give them an inch and certainly don’t give the officials an opportunity to ruin our chance of winning the game.
Both Man City and Aston Villa dropped two points last night, City at home against Brighton, Villa away at Crystal Palace. They will only help us though if we win tonight.
Let’s do this Arsenal…
Sad news about Terry Yorath passing away, 75 years old is young these days.
Good morning Rico, we have a great opportunity to extend our lead at the top, but Liverpool cannot be taken lightly. Missing players or not they can be ferocious opponents.
100% concentration at all times and don’t go give the ref questions to answer.
Morning Cicero, absolutely agree. As said in the post, the dippers are still a good team who are I believe on a bit of a run. Anything could happen if we’re sloppy.
Morning (just) Gooners
Morning Rico.
Yes Cicero, Martin Chivers, a blast from my past as a schoolboy in Tottenham, surrounded by the enemy. All my schoolmates used to bang on endlessly about Chivers and that Tottenham had paid an English record £125,000 to Southampton for him, around 1969 if I recall. But my abiding memory of his was being at Wembley in 1973 and watching him miss a shed load of chances vs Poland. A game that pretty much ended his England career and Alf Ramsey’s.
It was hard core going to school in Tottenham in the late 1960’s on the back of Leeds ‘68 and Swindon ‘69. It certainly toughened me up for future disappointments.
Yes I agree, Liverpool cannot be underestimated but we do owe them and Arteta will remind his players of that late late gut punch at Anfield and how we were written off afterwards whilst Liverpool were lauded by their mate’s in the media!
I expect it to be a tough game to begin with, much as the Villa game, but our strength in depth will break them eventually and we’ll put them back in their box.
Afternoon all,
Yes very sad about Terry Yorath,a gigantic figure in football in the late 70s into the 80s when I started really following football.
I make tonight’s game really tough,I feel Arsenal owe them payback after they mugged us(in true scouse tradition) in August. Seriously we were very unlucky that day.
We couldn’t be more confident,they have been poor,that will count for nothing tonight. Expect obscene amounts of effort from them,they will desperately want to stop us,a win for us keeps up the momentum,a win for them is unthinkable,a draw would be OK ordinarily,with the way both teams are now,it feels like we should win.
Ekitikes fitness could be important,he has probably been the best Striker of those who came to the Premier league last summer.
If we play well I think we’ll win,Ekitike or not.
COYG
Another thing I’d love to see is Gyokeres to score,the criticism he gets is ridiculous. I read an article by Chris Sutton,saying that Arsenal are carrying him,and basically we are playing with 10 men.
This is not what I’m seeing at all,besides Arteta would be ruthless if that were the case.
Afternoon Kev, Limey.
Honestly, I don’t care what happens later, as long as we win. I detest Liverpool with a passion.
I read the comments from Rice about Gyokeres Limey, he said Arsenal wouldn’t be doing as well without him because he drags opponents left right and centre. I fancy him to score tonight.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13491900/cristian-romero-tottenham-captain-appears-to-blast-spurs-hierarchy-in-now-edited-social-media-post
😂
Chris Sutton, 28 games at Chelsea, 1 goal, stayed one year and then was quickly moved on to Celtic where he terrorised the likes of Kilmarnock, Airdrie and Morton.
Pot and kettle come to mind…
Rico at 12:41. I agree with you a 100%. I detest Liverpool more than any other team in any other team sports.
Yep Obi, even more than the neighbours, just.
He never apologised for not returning the ball at Highbury for the Blackburn equaliser , despite even his manager describing him as an a***wipe. As such I have never forgiven or forgotten and I still consider him as an a***hole.
I remember the crowd screaming at him , maybe that’s why when Kanu did it we instigated a replay.
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Lewis-Skelly, White, Norgaard, Merino, Eze, Martinelli, Madueke, Jesus.
I think we would have all picked that starting eleven..
Hope the wind and rain isn’t too bad over the Emirates. Hope the weather doesn’t affect the attendance either.
No Ekiteke for the dippers..
Good evening, Rico and all.
Looking forward to watching this match live, but the weather looks crap.
It’s not often we face the Scousers with an almost fully fit squad and it’s them with the injury crisis.
I’d love us to do to them what we did to Villa.
Rice’s interview about Gyokeres was smack on, sometimes players off the ball tactics don’t get the credit they deserve.
Evening Geoff, the weather here is pretty grim. Same for both sides though.
Me too Kev, just start the rout much earlier..
All the ball and they have the best chance.
Big second half please Arsenal..
Too slow taking the shots at goal, I would replace Trossard as he is on a yellow, and I can see him getting a second if he doesn’t calm down.
I doubt it will be long before we see a change or two..
Hincapie injured, Lewis-Skelly coming on..
Hope we settle as we look a bit rattled in this second half.
At least we didn’t lose, but it still feels like 3 points dropped
Really naughty from Martinelli, he could have caused Bradley more injury. Even worse was Neville saying a Liverpool player should have smacked him in the mouth and take the red card…
Not great from us but a point is better than nothing.
Not sure if I am disappointed or relieved . Talk about a game of two halves , all over them and never looked like scoring and then a complete reversal in the second half . We would not have scored if we were still playing in the morning.
Just glad that I haven’t got to face a two and a half hour trip back in this weather.
Hmm, lucky to get a point tonight. Although our best chance came right at the death when Gabriel missed by inches.
The best I can say about Gyokeres is “ineffective”.
We need to buy a striker this month, relying on Jesus is not an option.
I don’t think we’d have scored either, thought we looked a bit off tonight. Hope it wasn’t nerves because it’s going to get more squeaky yet that’s for sure.
Igor Thiago Would do for me although I can’t see Arsenal buying another striker this month, not when Havertz is set to come back. Not that I think he’s the answer any more than Jesus.
Semenyo now a City player…
Doesn’t really bother me , he’s not as effective as his hype.
But we do need to do something about scoring goals . While Gyokeres is on the pitch we play higher up the pitch as soon as he goes off we get pushed back . Having said that I am not too positive about him although we only put a couple of balls across the area that would have suited him but they were after he had gone off.
At the moment we seem toothless and I see the jury out on Eze as well , if I had been on the bench since the Tottenham game I would have bust a gut when I came on but was he playing for those last 15 minutes ? and in many was the Lewis Skelly situation needs sorting because in my mind he hasn’t got the pace or positional sense to be a full back , he will develop to be a good midfielder given time Will we be active in the transfer window ? Will Nwaneri go to Bournemouth on loan ? And will we get our goalscoring mojo back ?
6 points clear with 17 games left , I am not sure that we won’t make a pigs ear of it again. Maybe we need to start Madueke on the left and instead of cutting in all the time take full backs on the outside and put some early balls into the box.
Arteta bought Gyokeres , Madueke and Eze for a reason , it’s time for them to step up and show why.
I think we might have done better bringing on Merino for Gyokeres rather than Jesus?
I’d play Gyokeres against Portsmouth because he needs to score some goals, but Arteta is sure to start Jesus. It’s a conundrum, we’re top of the league by 6 points and yet we don’t have a goal scorer, maybe Merino is the answer after all? I doubt that Havertz will have any effect until March even if he’s fit to play at Forest?
Still, we’re on course for a Quadruple fellas so cheer up. 😉
How do a small club like Brentford find proper goal-scoring strikers (Watkins, Toney, Wissa, Mbuemo, Shade, and now Igor Thiago), whilst we spend fortunes on flops???
And speaking of fortunes spent, why is this expensively assembled squad being forced to play like they are scared to lose?
Arteta has too much of ‘Southgate’ in his approach, no wonder after six years, no striker has flourished in his system.
We are far too predictable, it’s either a set- piece or give it to Saka and hope for a bit of luck/magic, and if he’s off his game, we are out of ammo.
It might work out short-term, but unsustainable long term and very concerning that after six years, this is the best the world’s third highest paid manager can produce.
If Arsenal bottle it to City from this position, Arteta has to go.
I would love to see how he coped at a club with no money.
S-A-H, I have been saying for a while that we play too much through Saka and have become too easy to read.
As for Gyokeres I still have faith in him but it’s hard to score when you don’t get the ball in the right position / area, today we seemed to give Liverpool too much respect and played in a defensive mode instead of attacking and taking them on.
Clean sheet, no goals, one point, nine shots, four on target, Raya did not have to make a single save. Liverpool did not have a single shot on target.
Apart from a couple of minutes of scuffles, near the end, it was a sterile game. Neither side deserved to win.
We move on.
Hi Geoff, congratulations on the Ashes, England were so… like Arsenal, underwhelming, and outclassed, in spite of you missing Pat Cummins for four tests, and Nathan Lyons.
Gyokeres isn’t top tier and not good enough at this level.
To think that Arteta’s alternative to Gyokeres was Sesko is simply mind-numbing, and you have to wonder how he gets away with such outlandish decisions. We now have a washed up Jesus on £250+k a week, an injured Havertz on £280k a week, and Gyokeres, £200k a week.
That’s a massive outlay for virtually zero goals in return.
Only at Arsenal!
As I said the other day (in different words), no other manager in world football has been indulged as much as Arteta in terms of his time at Arsenal, and no other individual manager has been allowed to spend £billion.
There is no drive or hunger in the right places at the club, and no real accountability.
Even after ridiculous amounts of money spent we are still totally unbalanced and have very little fluidity or potency in attack.
Shouldn’t we all expect a better, more refined quality of football after six years of this ‘project’?
But as long as Josh is happy, nothing will change.
With Salah, Isak and Ekitike missing, Cicero, and with the cost of our super squad, wouldn’t it have been refreshing to just try and outplay Liverpool with an identifiable brand of exciting football, instead of playing ultra safe boring horseshoe football, like we’re scared of them?
They were all over us in the second half, at our home.
Arteta comes across in these games as a cowardly manager scared to go toe-to-toe and test his tactical nous.
What is he scared of?
I have always said it, Arteta plays not to lose rather than to win in big games. It’s sad, you are playing Liverpool, a mechanical team at this point, and there are no players in the starting lineup with pace, and everything going to through Saka. Everything is slow, tepid, no risk taken and lacking creativity. I will love for him to be aggressive just once from the start to the finish in these big games.
Morning all.
I cannot believe we couldn’t muster up a win against a poor Liverpool who had no striker fit and others missing too. Pretty much the same team which defeated Villa looked nervous, reserved and dysfunctional at times. If this was a sign of buckling under pressure then I’m in agreement with Potter, we’re very unlikely to win the league.
Watching bench cam after the games is interesting because there is nothing about Arteta’s body language which suggests he sets us up to lose imo. He wants his teams to win, I’m sure of it..
New post up.
Morning Rico.
Please forgive my negativity, we are still top and six points ahead, but we play such unattractive attritional football, and Arteta is so rigid in his micro-control he refuses to allow the players natural football instincts to control games.
Compare the cost of Arsenal’s squad to Aston Villa’s, who sit third, level on points with City.
I don’t care if he does win the PL title (he won’t fluke a CL), his brand of football is ugly and I want Arteta gone.
He is sucking the joy out of winning.
Of course he wants us to attack and win but breaking down a low block isn’t simple, if it was then no team would play it!
Pace isn’t a lot of use against a 10 man defence, but we could have quite easily and almost did get caught on the break by over committing.
A horrible game, in horrible conditions, but we almost won it at the death. It’s the type of game where you need a bit of luck to score and Liverpool pretty much nullified our deep block threat by not conceding set pieces.
If you want to use last nights game as your overall view of the team and manager then good luck.
For me we didn’t win but importantly we didn’t lose and we gained another point on City and Villa. So far so good.