Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal (5-4 on penalties)

Curtis Jones celebrates his moment
of Kop glory (Source: Liverpoolfc.com)

A youthful-looking Liverpool team produced a hugely entertaining and faintly ridiculous tie against a typically chaotic Arsenal, eventually emerging victorious on penalties after 18-year-old Curtis Jones kept his nerve from the spot.

Both defences looked out of their depth in a remarkably open encounter

that at times looked set to threaten Arsenal’s own record for the number of goals in a League Cup game. Klopp’s side could at least plead their extreme youth in mitigation, but their opponents will be scrambling for excuses after being matched step for step by an outrageously determined home side, who sent the game to penalties with a last-gasp Divock Origi equaliser.

The casual observer would have been forgiven for mistaking this for an exhibition match, but in fact there was a place in the quarter-finals at stake. Nonetheless the Liverpool manager turned to his youngsters, a tactic to which supporters have grown accustomed in this competition. There was a debut for Welsh defender Neco Williams, who was joined in defence by 17-year-old summer acquisition Sepp van den Berg.

The deadlock was broken after just six minutes in remarkably straightforward fashion. A simple ball from Williams took Joe Willock out of the equation entirely, leaving Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in acres of space. Sead Kolasinac scrambled across towards the former Arsenal man, but this just left more room in the middle: Shkodran Mustafi produced a desperate dive to try and deny the waiting Rhian Brewster, but could only succeed in turning the ball into his own net.

It was Arsenal rather than the hosts that looked like the side lacking experience in these opening exchanges. Unai Emery’s side left gaping holes when pressed by Liverpool’s hungry attack. They were in again minutes later when Adam Lallana carved open the defence with a lofted pass – only a poor touch from Oxlade-Chamberlain prevented a second goal.

The visitors, however, struck next. The first signs of naivety in the Liverpool back line were exploited, as they remained far too static and allowed Lucas Torreira to ghost in and score after a fine Caoimhín Kelleher save. Replays showed that the Uruguayan was in fact offside, but there was no VAR in operation to bail out the shoddy defensive work.

The goal allowed Arsenal to grow in confidence, and as increasing pressure was applied to Liverpool’s defence the inexperience became more and more apparent. Gabriel Martinelli turned the game on its head in the 26^th minute, making it 2-1 after Kelleher could only palm the ball into his path. There was again too much passivity among the ranks as the initial square pass came in, and the Irish stopper should have done better when van den Berg deflected the ball towards him.

It was 3-1 by the 36^th minute.  Another individual error was punished by an increasingly ruthless Arsenal side – 16-year-old Harvey Elliott, who became the second-youngest player ever to start for Liverpool in last round’s victory over MK Dons, played a blind pass that Ainsley Maitland-Niles cut out easily. It was then a simple task of passing across the box to Martinelli, who was on hand to tap in his second of the game.

Roles were reversed in the 42^nd minute, when Martinelli clipped Elliott while back defending a corner. The youngster is obviously raw, but showed his talent with a clever change of pace to win the penalty, which James Milner converted without fuss.

There was still time for glorious chances to be spurned by both Martinelli and Divock Origi in a frenetic end to the first half.

The break did little to calm things down. Brewster nearly nicked in behind Mustafi minutes after the restart before Bukayo Saka got in a couple of sighters for Arsenal. In the 54^th minute the away side made it 4-2, in a moment of contrasting fortunes for two of the more experienced players: James Milner produced an uncharacteristically loose pass inside his own box, and Mesut Ozil kept the ball in play with a delightful flick. This allowed Maitland-Niles to convert into an empty net, Kelleher having been left in no-man’s land by the initial misplaced ball.

In any other game that might have settled it, but in a match where defences were well and truly second-best there were more twists to come. Less than five minutes had passed before Oxlade-Chamberlain reduced the deficit once more, producing a stunning swerving strike to beat Emiliano Martinez. The ball sat up invitingly and he met it emphatically on the bounce to put one over on his old club.

With 61 minutes on the clock Divock Origi stepped up to level the game. He produced a wonderful Cruyff turn to beat his man before firing beyond Martinez in front of The Kop. This was met with a huge roar from a crowd that seemed almost as bemused as they were impressed: it was a rare outing for the chaotically high-pressing but wide-open Liverpool that has been largely banished at senior level since the arrivals of Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho.

The competition for goal of the game intensified further when Willock got involved in the 70^th minute. He was left with too much space on the edge of the box and clattered the ball into the top corner beyond a helpless Kelleher, changing the complexion of the game once more.

This looked to have finally clinched it, but there was yet more madness to come. Origi added to his impressively growing collection of iconic moments, meeting a great cross from Williams to acrobatically convert a dramatic 94^th-minute equaliser.

This sent it to penalties. There were remarkably few nerves on display given the youth of the players stepping up on both sides, and ultimately the only slip-up came from one of the more senior squad members. Dani Ceballos, a second-half substitute for Arsenal, saw his effort turned away by Kelleher in a moment that the keeper is bound to savour for a long time. Academy product Curtis Jones then made indelible memories of his own, wrapping things up by netting the winning penalty into the corner.

It is hard to draw any meaningful conclusions from such an utterly absurd game, but it was fitting that on a night when VAR was conspicuous by its absence we witnessed footballing entertainment in its purest form.

Duology: Henry and Bergkamp

Dennis Bergkamp... Dennis Bergkamp… Dennis Bergkamp! The Dutchman cannot be mentioned without this immortal piece of commentary from the 1998 World Cup coming to mind, but at club level his name was seldom heard without being closely followed by that of his strike partner, Thierry Henry. At the same tournament, the young Frenchman was bursting on to the international scene: at just twenty years of age he ended up as top scorer for his country, who of course went on to win the trophy. A defeat on penalties for the Netherlands at the hands of Brazil meant that the pair were not destined to meet in the final - it would be another year before they united at Arsenal, forming a partnership that would shape the club for the next seven seasons.

In fact, the year preceding his move to Arsenal was a tough one for Thierry Henry. He could not recreate his form for Monaco and France at new club Juventus, where he was forced to play wide against defences far more disciplined than those he had grown accustomed to facing. Bergkamp, meanwhile, was having no such problems at the English club – he achieved the impressive feat of reaching double figures in the league in both goals and assists, only missing out on the title on the final day of the season. This success was coming under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger, who had given Henry his senior debut for Monaco five years previously. He opted to gamble upon the striker once more following his tough spell in Italy, paying a club record fee for the forward: the decision proved to be one of his best.

The connection between Henry and Bergkamp, which grew to be almost telepathic, was not instantaneous. The strong form of Kanu, an out-and-out striker if ever there was one, thwarted any hopes of a regular pairing up front between the Dutchman and the new acquisition – Wenger started the season with all three of them, shifting Henry out wide to accommodate all of the talent, but settled upon rotation as the policy for much of the campaign. None of the trio surpassed twenty-six league starts. Nonetheless, there were glimpses of what was to come; on an individual level it was an excellent campaign for Henry, who managed seventeen league goals, while Bergkamp exerted much creative influence as well as chipping in with six league goals of his own. The team never looked capable of posing a threat to Manchester United, however, who won the league by a very comfortable margin of 18 points.

In many ways it was a similar story in the following season. As if starting places had not been hard enough to come by already, Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord were added to the strike force. This surfeit of attacking talent was particularly damaging to Bergkamp – he was reduced to fewer than twenty league starts, and managed just three goals on the way to another runners-up finish for The Gunners. At thirty years of age, it seemed likely that his time at Arsenal was coming to an end: fans were left ruing the fact that Henry had not come to Highbury just a little sooner, as another seventeen-goal haul had established him as a firm favourite amongst the fans. The prospect of him in a partnership with Bergkamp in his prime was a tantalising one, but appeared to be little more than a pipe dream. However, this failed to account for the remarkable renaissance of the Dutchman.

2001/02 marked the start of the golden age for Arsenal under Wenger. Plenty of purists argue that this was truly the best Arsenal side of the last two decades, surpassing even The Invincibles that were to come two seasons later. Central to the success were Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, finally playing together up front as a bona fide duo. It was Wiltord who transitioned into a wider role to allow the partnership to flourish, and the result was arguably the most iconic strike partnership of the Premier League era.

Each knew his role: Bergkamp was the creator, calling upon his wealth of experience to lay on chance after chance for the finisher, Henry. This came naturally to the Frenchman – he tucked away twenty-four goals in the league to secure the Golden Boot. More impressive than individual accolades, however, was the league title. The pair combined to help finally wrest the trophy from the hands of Manchester United, to whom they had been runners-up for the previous two seasons. Some moments of sheer inspiration took place along the way, not least amongst which was one of the goals in a 2-0 away win over Newcastle. Bergkamp, so often the provider, found the net himself with a goal that epitomised his supreme talent. Having received the pass from Robert Pires, he deftly flicked the ball past defender Nikos Dabizas; he then went around his man on the other side, but instinctively knew where his own flick would end up and latched on to it before slotting it past the goalkeeper. Ironically, Henry was absent through injury for this moment of magic – however, it encapsulated the joy and creativity upon which the partnership thrived.

This, surely, was a final heroic send-off for Bergkamp. It had been a remarkable campaign, during which he and Henry had combined in ways that moved the parameters of what it meant to form an effective pairing up front, but the veteran was now 33. Unbelievably, however, he was not done yet. Henry, meanwhile, was truly hitting his prime. As Bergkamp amazed by refusing to burn out, the French forward’s star shone brighter than ever: the 2002/03 campaign saw him end on an astounding 32 goals and 23 assists in all competitions, finishing runner-up for the World Player of the Year award. As a team, Arsenal were unable to retain their title – they did take home another FA Cup, however. The mutual admiration that the pair had for each other could be seen both on and off the pitch – Henry has declared Bergkamp the best player that he has ever played with, while the Dutch maestro insisted that his strike partner was “the complete package”.

In truth, though, the package was only ever complete when the two played together. Each was blessed with their own immense individual talent, but the combination took them onto a new plain altogether. Indeed, in the 2003/04 season, the whole team were propelled to something never achieved before or since in the Premier League. Much ink has been spilled over The Invincibles season, but in truth the headline record speaks for itself: an entire league campaign unbeaten. It would be a disservice to the phenomenal squad that Wenger assembled to place all of the praise on the duo of Bergkamp and Henry, but they were undoubtedly the talismans. In a team of greatness, the master and his apprentice stood out. Henry, by now, had become the more important of the pair, but Bergkamp still featured in well over two-thirds of the games on the way to the unprecedented feat – he sealed the team’s immortal place in folklore by setting up the winner in the final game of the season against Leicester.

The next two seasons proved to be the swansong for the clinical partnership. Bergkamp, fittingly, was beginning the process of passing the torch to another Dutchman: Robin van Persie had arrived on the scene, and had started to turn heads very quickly. Nonetheless, Bergkamp still had a wealth of talent to offer – in the final game of 2004/05 he scored once and laid on three assists in a 7-0 routing of Everton, and was met with chants of “one more year”. This was quite the vote of confidence in the longevity of a now-36-year-old Bergkamp. It was in this campaign that Henry overtook Ian Wright as Arsenal’s all-time top scorer – it is no coincidence that he, and Wright before him, achieved this impressive record with Bergkamp providing the service. That is not to downplay Henry’s talent as an individual: he hit 25 and 27 league goals respectively in the last two seasons with his partner, reinforcing his status as one of the all-time great goal-scorers. It was little surprise when, a year after Berkgamp’s retirement, Henry moved to a Barcelona side emerging as one of the greatest club outfits ever assembled.  

There was some poetry in the fact that Bergkamp’s career, and with it his beautiful partnership with Henry, came to an end in the same year that the club finished its time at Highbury. Arsenal had been based there since 1913 – the exploits of Henry and Bergkamp were a final flourish in an illustrious list of achievements at the ground stretching back nearly a hundred years. The stadium is no more, the ground upon which it once stood now a block of flats; the memories live on, however, memorialised in the minds of the fans who experienced such joy there. In much the same way, although Bergkamp eventually had to call time on his remarkable career, his partnership with Henry is an immortal one: it will forever be remembered as one of football’s greatest duos.

First published on These Football Times as part of the Duology series: https://thesefootballtimes.co/category/duology-footballs-greatest-partnerships/

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

No Kane, No Lukaku, No Regrets?

Well, I made it. Thirty-eight whole gameweeks with no Kane or Lukaku anywhere to be seen in my fantasy team. Not only that, it went pretty well – a final overall rank of 115,189th is not to be sniffed at, although it was disappointing not to sneak into the top 100k. The big question, of course, is whether this relative success was because of the enforced absence of two of the biggest hitters in the game or in spite of it.

The numbers show that the lack of Kane, perhaps predictably, hit the hardest. He finished the season as the highest-scoring forward in the game, and the third-highest player overall: given the sheer volume of other fantasy teams in which he appeared, a good week for the Spurs frontman almost always proved a significant setback to my progress. However, crucially, he was not all that far ahead of much cheaper options – Firmino proved to be a more than adequate alternative for an initial 8.5 million, while Jamie Vardy also got within 40 points of Kane. To put it another way, Kane’s advantage over this pair was less than a point per week; this all adds up over the course of a season, but for an outlay of four million more than it cost to acquire either of the other two, it is clear that the value lay with the cheaper options. The point is even more emphatic in relation to Lukaku, who was outscored by both of these cheaper strikers, as well as Sergio Aguero. This clearly suggests that the two most premium forwards were viable but not essential options, and this was arguably borne out by my respectable finish without them.

However, this is reductive for two reasons. Firstly, it assumes the ability to quickly determine who will be able to outstrip Kane and Lukaku up front in terms of value. In reality, this was one of my greatest problems in the first couple of months of the season. Vardy and Firmino hardly came out of the blue in terms of goal-scoring prowess, and indeed the Brazilian made it into my team from the start, but it takes a brave man to shun all of the more expensive options – in my hunt for a frontman who could truly serve as a like-for-like Kane or Lukaku replacement, I went through options including Jesus, Morata, Aguero and Lacazette at an alarming pace. Each hit their stride just as I had given up on them, as followers of early entries to this series will be aware. It is all very well rejecting Kane on the basis that he will not provide the best points-to-cost ratio over the course of a campaign, but this does not capture the reason why he is such a popular pick. The sheer consistency of his returns is what warrants the steep price tag: there is little danger that he will be a high-cost complete flop, which is exactly what the alternative big names proved to be when they appeared in my team. It was only when I abandoned these premium strikers in favour of the mid-tier options, favouring big investment in the midfield, that I truly started to move up the table.

Secondly, and on a related note, saving money on Kane and Lukaku has no inherent value. The additional money in the bank must be spent wisely, not only on alternative striker options but throughout the team. Again, this was a balancing act that it took a while to get right – a September rank below 4.5 millionth was not solely down to bad luck! It is all very well notionally banking seven million by selecting strikers other than the two I chose to avoid, but when this is lavishly splashed on premium defenders who are continually returning blanks this is not so much an achievement as it is stupidity. This was partially down to my defective strategy in terms of where it is usually wise to invest heavily, but it is also an inherent flaw in avoiding the traditional ‘reliable’ options: it is only once trends have genuinely begun to emerge that it starts to become apparent where the ‘smart money’ should be spent. It very much felt as though I just had to hunker down for the first few weeks, hoping that some of my near-blind punts would come off while waiting for something solid upon which to base my buys.

Eventually, I settled upon a ‘middle-loading’ strategy. Many players had come around to this by the end of the season, but the fact that I did not have serious money tied up in attack allowed me to get on it sooner – by the end of the campaign, my team included Sterling, Alli, Eriksen and Salah. De Bruyne was also a regular for much of the run-in. Aside from Salah, these all had ownership that was far from astronomical; price tags that for Kane and Lukaku owners proved prohibitive were positively affordable in my system, and so I profited off the strong returns from these premium midfielders more than most. There was a sustained period where De Bruyne’s returns alone dwarfed those of Kane and Lukaku almost every week. This meant big gains. Even Salah, owned by essentially any active player who wasn’t a masochist, proved more beneficial to me than he did to others because of my strategy; he was a shoe-in for the captain’s armband almost every week, while other players were tempted away by a nice fixture for Kane, or by a renewed purple patch for Lukaku. Of course, on occasion, one or both of these two did outscore Salah. It was a rarity, however, and the Egyptian’s record points tally for any FPL season illustrates that one won’t go too far wrong by repeatedly captaining him.

On balance, then, it is probably fair to say that rejecting both Kane and Lukaku out of hand probably worked in my favour. However, this was contingent on a variety of factors that are far from guaranteed; I managed to at least pick one of the two best mid-tier strikers as a replacement right from the start, and in Salah a genuinely elite player emerged who could pale the significance of contributions from the Spurs and United men. As such, I would struggle to recommend actively writing off players who are known to be very good as a genuine strategy, but then again that was never really the point – rather this experiment has shown that there is cause to truly stop and weigh things up before mindlessly splashing the cash on a big name just because ‘everyone will have him’. Certainly, these findings have shaped how I will approach next season: I intend to start off with some of the ‘safer’ big names, amongst which Salah now finds himself, before branching out into potentially better-value options once enough time has passed to see where that value truly lies.

- @JamesMartin013

Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal: Why Are The Big Games Easier?

In a pleasing but head-scratching result, Liverpool once again triumphed over a top four rival with a convincing 3-1 win over Arsenal. It was the latest in a trend that is now far too prevalent to ignore: Klopp’s men can beat the big sides with relative ease, but struggle horribly against weaker opposition. The win came less than a week after a woeful showing against Leicester, and the results against Burnley, Swansea and other such teams remain fresh in the memory. Many have accused the side of lacking the right mentality – this does not seem right. A mentality issue may explain a few more off-days than one might like against smaller teams, but it doesn’t satisfactorily account for a systematic failure to break down teams from the bottom half of the table. Something else is definitely at play here; it is a tactical issue, and it needs to be resolved rapidly for Liverpool to reach their goal of top four this season.

The issue is Liverpool’s inability to break down the low block. The weakness was not regularly exposed during the first half of the season – it had not yet become apparent that the team struggled so much against deep lines, so opposition such as Watford came (laudably) to play an attacking game and got comprehensively overturned. This period of grace inevitably came to an end, however: opposing managers started to realise that sitting deep and springing counter attacks often yielded results against Liverpool. Of course, the vulnerability to counter-attacks would be partially alleviated by improving the defence: this is a personnel issue, however, and it gains little to point out such flaws when Klopp must work with what he has until the summer. What can possibly be dealt with is the consistent failure to create good chances against sides that sit deep. First, it is worth discussing why the low block causes Liverpool more problems than other big teams. Essentially, it flies directly in the face of the kind of football Klopp likes to get his side playing – it couldn’t exactly be characterised as counter-attacking, but certainly the element of suddenly breaking with pace to get in behind the line is a prevalent feature. The combination of runners from deep such as Lallana and Wijnaldum, the pace of Mane in a fluid front three and the accuracy of Coutinho and others in picking out the runs creates a team perfectly suited for exploiting gaps. Against the bigger teams, this works well. The excellent Leroy (@LFCImpulse) has made a video from the Arsenal game demonstrating how excellent off-the-ball movement leads to creation of space, which is then lethally exploited. This can be seen here: https://twitter.com/LFCImpulse/status/838728516539572224.

However, against sides determined to sit deep, all of this off-the-ball movement takes place in front of a solid bank of defenders. Thus nobody gets drawn out of their defensive position, and any space that is created is in an area which does not carry much danger for the opposition. At this point, Liverpool generally draw a blank. Occasionally Coutinho will bail the side out with a trademark long-distance strike, but these can hardly be relied upon as a consistent solution. What generally happens is a recycling of the ball out wide, where James Milner or Nathaniel Clyne will receive it. They are left in space deliberately, as they are unable to create chances with any regularity. Milner is playing on the wrong side, so tends to have to cut back inside; by the time he has done this, someone has generally been able to get out to him. Clyne lacks composure in the final third, and in general contributes little to nothing going forward. In any case, a wide threat will generally only be potent when there is a target man to aim at – Liverpool have no such player, so shifting the ball out wide is not really a viable solution for breaking down the low block. Quite the opposite: almost everyone else, sometimes including the centre-backs, come through the middle in support but find that it does not make a perceptible different to the threat level posed. Instead, gaps are left: this allows opposition to pick their moments and catch Klopp’s men on the counter.

The solution is two-fold. Firstly, and straightforwardly, a more direct style must be adopted. This does not mean direct in the sense of long balls, but rather assertive runs with the ball that force the opposition to close down in numbers. Even if the take-on fails, the run creates some much-needed space for others: if the runner can offload the ball before getting tackled, there is a genuine prospect of getting in behind the deep line. This would just require a simple instruction from Klopp: stop looking out wide so often, take a risk and take on the defenders. It is not as though there is an absence of technically gifted players in the Liverpool attack. Secondly, and perhaps more radically, is a switch to three at the back: specifically, a 3-5-2. Mane and perhaps Moreno would function in the wider roles – while this would be questionable defensively against a bigger side, it makes no material difference against the low block. The only threat comes on the counter, and currently when this happens Clyne and Milner are high up the pitch anyway. As such, it makes sense to have more attack-minded, direct players in the wider roles. This would mean that recycling out wide would not be an almost automatic waste of possession – Mane in particular has a tendency to cut inside and run at the defence, creating the possibility of space for others.

Naturally, such changes come with plenty of risks and no guarantees. However, the current form against bottom-half sides is so woeful that it surely has to be worth trying. Even if Klopp is reluctant to make a change to the formation, the reduction in balls out wide in favour of more on-the-ball runs should increase the chances of getting in behind and creating clear-cut chances. The ability to seamlessly ease pass our main rivals is a more than solid building block to be starting from – if the tweaks can just be made to fix the form against the lesser outfits, Liverpool will be title contenders again in no time.

Arsenal 3-4 Liverpool: Post-Match Thoughts

So much for easing us in gently. Liverpool started the new season with a dramatic 4-3 win away at Arsenal in a game that forced fans to endure a whole range of emotions, chief amongst which were stress and tension.  In the end though it was elation, as the visitors clung on to secure an excellent three points against their rivals.

This was always going to be a high-scoring game. Arsenal were missing Gabriel and Mertesacker through injury. Koscielny, who joined up with the squad late after reaching the European Championship final with France, was also unavailable – this left something of a crisis at centre-back for the hosts. In the end it was the inexperienced pairing of Chambers and Holding that were left to deal with the potent attacking threat of Mane, Firmino and Coutinho. Meanwhile, Liverpool lined up with an extremely attacking side: a central three of Henderson, Lalllana and Wijnaldum meant that at times our shape was a de facto 4-1-5 that almost entirely bypassed the midfield. As such the defence was exposed, a defence that is prone to errors: Moreno in particular is a weak point, and he was constantly targeted. It isn’t often that you go into a game predicting a scoreline of 5-3, and it’s even less often that you’re nearly right – regardless of the inevitability of it, however, it made for a great, albeit stressful, spectacle.

The first half was surprisingly drab. Liverpool seemed sluggish and altogether un-Klopp-like, failing to put much pressure on Arsenal when not in possession and unable to string any passes together when on the ball. The (lack of) midfield was a primary factor: transition from the back was nigh on impossible, meaning the options were to smash the ball long or risk losing it by passing through the lively Arsenal press. It was this latter route that led to the opening Gunners goal – Lallana lingered too long and was robbed of the ball in a very dangerous area, and Moreno, who had just surged forwards to support the potential developing attack, was left hideously out of position. Iwobi then found Walcott who finished well, having been denied from the penalty spot by a good Mignolet save only moments previously. Liverpool looked destined to go in at the break deservedly trailing, but on the stroke of half time Coutinho came up with a piece of pure inspiration. The free kick, which he himself had won, was a fair way out; this did not put the Brazilian off, and he found the top corner with unerring accuracy and power.

Despite this equaliser, Klopp cannot have been a happy man in the half time dressing room. The performance was well below the levels that the squad are capable of – this point was emphasised by the storming fifteen minutes immediately after the break. Liverpool came out looking rejuvenated: suddenly the energy and skill was evident throughout the side, and beautiful moves were strung together seemingly effortlessly. The second goal for the visitors came quickly, as it seemed it must – Wijnaldum squared the ball for Lallana, who controlled it beautifully before rifling it between the legs of Petr Cech. The third goal followed soon after, this time coming from the right hand side: Clyne drilled in a cross following a wonderful passing build-up, and Coutinho was on hand to steer it in for his second. The fans were sent into ecstasy when Mane bagged the fourth – his excellent run was followed by a staggeringly good weak foot finish into the top corner. It’s only the second day of Premier League action, but already we have a possible contender for goal of the season.

This is Liverpool, however, so of course we did not cruise on to an easy victory. The lead was pegged back to two almost immediately after Mane’s strike, with Oxlade-Chamberlain’s shot deflecting wickedly off Lovren and past a helpless Mignolet. This seemed to breathe new life into Arsenal, who seized control of the match once more. They made the most of their newfound dominance with 15 minutes to play – Callum Chambers rose above the defence to head home, leaving the score at 4-3. An extremely nervy end to the match ensued, but Klopp’s introduction of Origi paid dividends – rather than inviting pressure Liverpool retained an outlet and were able to prevent Arsenal from creating too many more chances, and consequently held on for the win.

Certainly this was far from a perfect performance, but this team is far from a finished product. This is day one of Liverpool’s season, and the key was always going to be the three points: an invaluable three points against a potential rival. A rival for what position remains to be seen, but there is no reason why this team can’t be pushing for the title itself. Of course the defence will need to tighten up if we want sustainable success this season, but the attack looked immense at times today – if Klopp can find a balance, Liverpool look like a formidable force once more.
-James Martin
Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool: What Can We Achieve This Season?

After winning our first two games of the season, albeit unconvincingly, Liverpool travelled to the Emirates with a sense of cautious optimism. Although it was evident to everyone that we would need to up our game to take any points away with us, there had been enough flashes of quality to suggest that we could put up a fight. This we did: the first half was a masterclass of attacking play from the visitors at times, while the second showcased our newfound defensive solidity. Although we had a couple of great chances, on the whole Liverpool can be very satisfied taking a point away from a tough place to visit. This was (excuse the cliché) the sort of game we would have lost last season – getting such a positive result raises a question about just how far we can go this campaign.

If we can build on our first half performance, then the answer is surely that we can go very far indeed. Only an absolutely amazing performance from Petr Cech kept us at bay, denying Benteke from point blank range before tipping Coutinho’s curling effort on to the post. He rightly picked up the man of the match award – had it not been for his interventions we could have been out of sight after the first forty five minutes. The crossbar also denied us in the early minutes – Coutinho ran on to a nice through ball, and his curling effort beat Cech but struck the woodwork. Our other Brazilian attacker also impressed; Firmino was granted his full debut, and he showcased his skill and workrate. It was he who put in the excellent ball for Benteke, only for the Belgian to be denied by the keeper. In fairness Arsenal can rightly feel aggrieved after Ramsey had a goal incorrectly disallowed for offside, but on the balance of play they should frankly be grateful that they went in level.

The second half, too, was very positive for us, but in a different manner altogether. The balance of play shifted massively after the interval; Arsenal came at us immediately. They applied the sort of pressure that we’d been putting on them in the first half, but, to my delight and surprise, our back line held up admirably. Nathaniel Clyne continued to impress – already he is proving to be an extremely astute signing. Skrtel, too, did very well: he made a couple of vital interceptions, frustrating Giroud on multiple occasions. Happily, Lovren also showed further signs that he is finding more confidence and form. He has now played perfectly competently against Stoke and Arsenal, albeit briefly reverting to the Lovren we all know and love against Bournemouth. The man who stood out the most, however, was Joe Gomez. 3.5 million is rapidly starting to look like an absolute steal – he kept Arsenal’s right hand side quiet all game, including a particularly memorable seal-out where he knocked Sanchez off the pitch. His level-headedness was remarkable for such a young player in such a big game, and while I am a big fan of Moreno it does seem that he’ll struggle to regain his place (at least at full-back – for my views on his potential future as a winger, read my last article). Lucas also deserves a mention. He looked lost at times in the first half, but his shift in the second period may well have saved him from being sold. He never allowed Arsenal too much time on the ball, constantly closing them down quickly, and this certainly contributed to a hard-earned clean sheet.

Of course, despite all of these positives, this is by no means a finished article of a Liverpool side. For one thing, they didn’t get the win! Although the attack deserves great credit for creating so many opportunities, it should also come under scrutiny for failing to take any of them. Benteke has now missed two clear cut chances in two games – although both were excellent saves in fairness, one would have hoped a 32 million pound man could give the keeper no chance at all. Also, the defence can hardly be called impenetrable; Ramsey demonstrated this by beating it, only to be denied by the flag. There is work to be done, and if we are to challenge for the title (yes, this can be considered as a possibility) then we need to become more clinical at one end of the pitch and tighten up at the other.

That said, these remaining flaws are no reason for the perpetual pessimism currently permeating the Liverpool fan-base. The performances thus far have all given us flashes, at the very least, of what we are capable of – unlike last season all of the new signings are excelling, and when Sturridge comes back things can only get better. Certainly 7 points from the opening 3 is nothing to complain about: it is an excellent points tally, and with a decent run of games coming up it gives us an amazing foundation to build on. I believe we now more or less have the squad that we should have built last season, a squad which can more than make up for the absence of a talismanic striker like Suarez, and which, if things go well, can challenge for the title. If nothing else, we should definitely be able to put up more of a convincing fight than last year, and with a bit of luck we’ll be back in the Champions League in no time.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Arsenal 4-1 Liverpool: The Five Stages of Grief

Stage 1: We played very badly. Mignolet bailed us out, we somehow survived.

Stage 2: We played quite well. Should have scored, Markovic messed up a simple pass that would have left a tap-in for Sterling.

Stage 3: We capitulated, and having conceded three in eight minutes went into the break 3-0 down.

Stage 4: We didn’t come out with any real fight. Arsenal sat back, and we couldn’t break through. We got a penalty and just about converted it, but it was too late to think of a comeback.

Stage 5: Can picked up a stupid second yellow to compound our misery, and Giroud topped it off with a nice goal in stoppage time. The result leaves us nowhere near the top four, and realistically ends our hopes of Champions League football next season.

There really isn’t much else to say. Perhaps this result could leave Rodgers’s long-term future in jeopardy, and the missing out on the top four is bound to cut our work out for us in the summer when trying to keep hold of our best players and attract new ones, but those are articles for another time. Right now, the bottom line is that we lost: I’m sorry, but I can’t bring myself to write any more than this on what was a dreadful result with dreadful consequences.

Mignolet was one of the few players who put in a generally good performance

Arsenal vs Liverpool: Preview

Had I been writing this preview two weeks ago, I would have been brimming with confidence. Up until recently Liverpool were on a confidence high with results to back it up, but there’s nothing like a sound beating by a bitter rival to kill the mood. The Reds now come into the game on the back of an underwhelming display, knowing that nothing but a win will be good enough to keep the distant hopes of a fourth placed finish alive.

It is against this somewhat bleak backdrop that Liverpool will have to put on a performance. The situation will not be helped by the absence of Martin Skrtel – he can usually be relied upon to bang a couple in against Arsenal, as I’m sure their fans will remember if they cast their minds back to when the two sides met at Anfield last season! This could mean a tactical switch to a flat back four, or, dread of dreads, Lovren could be called upon. Rodgers has an undeniable streak of stubbornness, and this means that a recall for the Croatian looks worryingly likely. Can has also looked shaky in recent weeks, so it’s safe to say that the rearguard isn’t exactly inspiring. Ozil, who has finally hit form of late, could have a field day – there will be gaps to exploit, that’s for sure.

So Liverpool turn to their front-men to do the business. Things do look a little better on this front – Daniel Sturridge looks set to be available for the game, and while he’s never as lethal as he can be directly after returning from injury (so most games), even a Sturridge on 50% poses a serious threat to the opposition. Balotelli, too, is capable of making an impact if he gets a look in: he sank Arsenal’s London rivals, and has the quality to do the same on Saturday. Rodgers should convince him it’s a charity match before kick-off, then he’s bound to put in a quality performance! Sterling is also always problematic for opponents, and can be relied upon to be a real nuisance whether deployed at wing-back or up front.

Speaking of Sterling, the youngster owes us a performance after certain comments made in the press recently. His comments that he was “flattered” by Arsenal’s apparent interest in the direct build-up to this match were unprofessional, and, without meaning to take too much of a dig at Arsenal, baffling. He claimed that he wanted to win trophies – aside from one FA Cup, the Gunners have failed to win anything in the last ten years. In that time, Liverpool have won the FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League.

They also have a squad which is full of potential – Markovic, Ibe and Coutinho are just three examples of players who look like they could be world class within a year or two, and speaking in the longer term we have one of the best u21s sides in England. There is nothing Arsenal can really offer Sterling that he can’t get at Anfield; nothing, that is, except perhaps Champions League football. This adds even more importance to the clash at the weekend – while calling it a “battle for Sterling” would be absurd, Liverpool desperately need to claw their way into the top four if they want to hold on to their best players and attract top new signings.

In terms of my match prediction, I’m going to be optimistic and say 2-1 Liverpool. They will surely be eager to make amends – they know as well as the fans do that the performance against United was not good enough, and a quick glance at the league table should give them all the motivation they need to get a result in this one. Gerrard’s absence could prove a blessing in disguise – Allen has been playing very well of late, and he could prove pivotal in winning Liverpool control in the midfield.

Coutinho is in the form of his life, and a bit of magic from him is all it will take to breach the Arsenal back line. As long as the defence don’t totally capitulate – which, granted, is a definite possibility – I think Liverpool have the quality in the other areas of the pitch to get the better of Arsenal. While it may not be enough to get us a place in the Champions League, we can’t go out with a whimper: the Liverpool way is to give everything until the end, and that’s what Arsenal have to expect at the weekend.

–James Martin

Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal: Reds Gift Arsenal an Underserved Point

Liverpool a goal down after 90 minutes of play. Down to 10 men. Whilst the match facts suggest a heroic late effort from Liverpool to salvage a point from a game they had struggled in, the reality was quite different. It was in fact Liverpool who were on top for the entirety of the match, and the team will surely go into the Christmas period disappointed that they didn’t manage all three points against a very weak Arsenal side.

Right from the off Liverpool were all over Arsenal. They had all the possession, were working the ball nicely and spending a fair bit of time in Arsenal’s final third. The only problem was an admittedly major one; clear cut chances were at a premium, and we had no out and out finisher on the pitch. Throughout the game this was a problem – Coutinho did manage to bag one goal, but most of his efforts were scuffed or dragged wide. Lucas also had a couple of shots from good positions that failed to test Szczesny. However, by dominating the game this much it was only a matter of time before Liverpool got their goal, and it came in the 45^th minute. Coutinho’s aim was true this time, and he guided it in off the post after shimmying wonderfully past his man.

In typical Liverpool fashion, we threw away what looked to be a comfortable position within seconds through poor defending at a set piece. Gerrard tripped up Sanchez, who’s subsequent free kick was kept alive because of Sakho and Toure getting in each other’s way. The ball found it’s way over to the far post, where Skrtel failed to even get off the ground, thus allowing his man Debuchy to get his head to the ball. Brad Jones epitomised his talents by standing and watching as the ball flew into a distinctly saveable area, and thus we somehow went into the break with the scores at 1-1. Although this goal was much more the fault of Skrtel than Jones, it is absolutely ridiculous that the Australian continues to be played ahead of Mignolet. Of course Mignolet isn’t perfect, but he is a good shot stopper, and that has bailed us out more than once this season. Jones would struggle to get into most Championship sides, and if Rodgers continues to play him to prove some sort of point to Mignolet then Liverpool will pay the price.

Twenty minutes into the second half and the situation worsened again. It truly beggared belief; the opening twenty of the second period was all Liverpool once again, yet somehow they found themselves behind on 64 minutes. This time it was Giroud who got the goal, slamming Cazorla’s cross (which somehow found its way between Skrtel and Toure) through the legs of Jones. Rodgers rolled the dice soon after this, bringing on Borini and then Lambert to try and get the equaliser, Lambert had no impact whatsoever, to the point where I forgot he was on the pitch from time to time. Borini certainly had an impact, but not a good one. After not being given a throw-in which admittedy should have gone his way he got booked for dissent, and minutes later he was off after a high foot on Cazorla. The situation looked bleak – the ten men of Liverpool had just 9 minutes (the stoppage time was long due to an earlier head injury for Skrtel) to find a goal to bring them level. Despite having an extra man, Arsenal continued to sit back and absorb the pressure. This cost them dearly, as one of the corners they conceded was finally capitalised on by Liverpool. The goal was very reminiscent of last season: a good ball came in from the corner, and Skrtel charged forward to meet it with his head and rocket it past a helpless Szczesny. 

Whilst it was obviously relieving not to leave this game with nothing, the match will surely be viewed in hindsight as two points dropped. The attack were excellent all game apart from the finishing (Sturridge and Balotelli were both out, so this is understandable), but they were let down by an awful defence. At least the attack are now looking much more like last season than they were; if they can continue to cause opposition as many problems as they caused Arsenal, the top 4 begins to look a much more achievable goal.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal: Are we Title Contenders?

Yesterday, Liverpool pulled off yet another huge win at Anfield. This one was perhaps the most impressive yet- the home side smashed 5 past the then league leaders Arsenal, and could have had 10 or 11! The win moves them to within 4 points of Manchester City, and just 6 off top spot. The result has left many suggesting that Liverpool are genuine title contenders.

This claim is, at least, nowhere near as ridiculous-sounding as it would have been at the start of the season. The very fact that this article can be written is a sign of how far the club has come in such a short space of time. However, realistically, it is unlikely that Liverpool will win the league this season. Their home form is astonishingly good- they have won 11 games at Anfield, drawn 1 and lost 1. This leaves their home points tally second to only Chelsea’s. Where things start to fall down is form on the road- Liverpool have picked up just 16 points on their travels, the same amount as 12^th placed Aston Villa. Unless our away form picks up, it is hard to see a scenario in which we are topping the table come the end of the season.

That said, when you look at the standard of play Liverpool have shown they are capable of, it is extremely hard to rule them out altogether. Arsenal, who as I just said are usually so good away from home, got absolutely ripped to shreds in yesterday’s match. Liverpool came out quickly and ferociously- within the first minute they had taken the lead through a Skrtel header. Inside 10 minutes the lead was doubled; Liverpool’s intensity did not slip for a moment, and Arsenal simply couldn’t deal with it. Skrtel provided it again, heading the ball extremely well right into the top corner. Sterling got the 3^rd just minutes later- he got on the end of an excellent ball by Suarez and poked it home. Before the 20 minute mark had been reached the game was as good as over- Coutinho produced one of the passes of the season for Daniel Sturridge, who finished extremely well. Early in the second half Sterling scored the 5^th and final Liverpool goal, beating Szczesny on the second attempt.

When the team play like this, it is hard to imagine them not winning the title! Coutinho was excellent throughout the game- his passing and dribbling were second to none. It appears he is finally fully back to his pre-injury form. Despite not scoring for once, Suarez was also in inspired form. Sturridge was excellent as usual, once again getting on the score sheet. Sterling’s electric pace caused the Arsenal defence many problems. The defence was also generally solid when called upon, something that hasn’t been the case all the time this season for Liverpool. If we can find a way to carry this form into our away games, then you would be a very foolish man to rule us out of the title race.

Sadly though, the fact is that we don’t play like that every game. The side that took apart the league leaders so effortlessly had been held to a 1-1 draw at 18^th placed West Brom the week before. Consistency is something that Liverpool are really struggling to find- it seems that they perform better against the bigger teams, and take it too easy against what should be easy opposition. We have an advantage over our rivals this season in that we are not in the Champions League- we should be making the most of this by ensuring that our intensity stays at the very highest level in every game we play.

There is also the issue of stupid errors- we saw one in the draw to West Brom when Kolo Toure gifted Anichibe the equalising goal, and we saw one from Gerrard yesterday. Although the latter was completely inconsequential in the grand scheme of the match, it was still an example of the kind of rashness that makes our potential push for 1^st much more of an uphill struggle. His sliding tackle in the box was needless- he was never going to get there, and he left the referee with one of the easiest penalty decisions he’ll ever have to make. This is the sort of thing that must go from Liverpool’s game sooner rather than later.

To sum up, we certainly have the potential in our squad to compete for the title, but whether or nor we will is another story altogether. The away form isn’t currently good enough for us to mount any sort of serious assault on 1^st place, and we will need to find a way of winning more often against the ‘smaller’ teams. Brendan Rodgers put it very nicely in the post-match interview: the Premier League this season can be considered a four-horse race, but Liverpool are just a foal.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Arsenal 2- 2 Liverpool: 2 Points Lost, But It’s Not All Over

On 30th January, Liverpool faced Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. After going 2-0 up with 30 minutes to go, they conceded twice in three minutes and the game ended 2-2. This leaves us 7 points off 4th, the same as before the game.

The game started well for Liverpool. Suarez looked very lively, and Sturridge was making good runs. They capitalised on this in the 9th minute, with Suarez’s deflected shot looping past Szczesny and into the net. Arsenal were also looking strong in attack though, and Reina was forced into some excellent saves. Liverpool still looked on top however, and Agger saw his header cleared off the line. Minutes later, Sturridge was denied by a smart stop from Szczesny.

Liverpool came out for the second half and continued to play strongly, resulting in a great goal for Jordan Henderson in the 60th minute. He got through two Arsenal defenders (although to be fair, one of them was Andre Santos!) and after seeing his first shot saved coolly slotted in the rebound. However, Arsenal hit back quickly and efficiently. Giroud scored from free kick in the 64th minute, followed by a great hit from Walcott in the 67th. The game then quietened down until towards the end, when Arsenal had a huge chance to win it. The ball was crossed invitingly into Giroud, who couldn’t get the ball out from between his feet. Seconds later, Suarez had a chance to win the game, when he got clear of the defence after a nice ass from Downing and saw his shot saved by Szczesny. The rebound then almost fell nicely to be tapped into an empty net, but it didn’t quite go in.

Liverpool were playing better than Arsenal for the majority of the match, and on balance probably deserved the win. However, our defence was poor (although nowhere near as poor as Arsenal’s), and going into the game I think most fans would have said a draw would be reasonable. Fortunately, Tottenham could only manage a draw at Norwich, meaning Liverpool remain 7 points off 4th. Admittedly the gap will be hard to close, especially with a tough fixture against Manchester City at the weekend, but it is certainly possible. If we tighten up our defence for our game against City and become a bit more clinical with our chances, we should be able to manage a win.

Overall, I think that Liverpool performed reasonably, but there was definite room for improvement. The defence needs to tighten up a bit, and Sturridge especially needs to work on his finishing, but in general the signs are promising. Also, with Coutinho available for us next game, our midfield should be tightened up. Hopefully if we can make these small adjustments, and the new signings gel well with the team, then we will be able to make 4th place a reality.