In a week where José Mourinho has done nothing but moan about the fixture list, Arsenal played back to back games away against arguably the best team in Europe. On Monday night Arsenal lost 3-1 in the Premier League game with both sides at mostly full strength, but Arsenal got their revenge with a win on penalties in the Carabao Cup which sees them through to the last 8 with a slightly easier tie against Manchester City.
Monday night’s Premier League fixture served as a reiteration of what we already knew about both Arsenal and Liverpool. The Champions are the team to beat again this season and their ability on the ball and relentless pressing on the night highlighted this. Arsenal are a difficult team to beat, as they have been for much of Arteta’s reign, but ultimately lacked the quality and composure at key moments. Despite this, Arsenal took the lead following a flowing counter attack which eventually saw Robertson slice a clearance right to Lacazette whose mishit took the ball beyond the keeper. Arsenal’s lead lasted a matter of minutes with Mané tapping home from a Bern Leno save and Robertson turning in an Alexander-Arnold cross to make it 2-1 to Liverpool. However, Arsenal made things nervy and stayed in the game until Diego Jota sealed the game in the 88th minute with a strike from the edge of the box.
Lacazette vs Liverpool 1-0
(Credit: Arsenal)
Ultimately Arteta will be happy enough with the performance. Liverpool were fantastic on the day and despite the gulf in class, Arsenal hung with them and could easily have earned themselves a draw. The introduction of Dani Ceballos in the second half livened things up for Arsenal and his creativity culminated in two brilliant through balls to Lacazette. Both gave the Frenchman a 1 on 1 with Alisson, the first of which was offside and the second saw a fantastic save from Alisson. Lacazette received a lot of criticism from fans for not scoring and whilst it should be expected that a player of his quality should do better, Alisson showed why he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, not committing too early and giving Lacazette a difficult angle.
It’s also worth remembering the stages both teams are at with their respective managers. Klopp has been at Liverpool since October 2015 and it took him just short of 4 years to win his first trophy with the club. Arteta has won 2 trophies in under a year of management and has shown he is clearly the right man for the Arsenal rebuild but as we’ve seen with Liverpool, it will take time. Where the two clubs differ is that Liverpool have been nearly flawless in the transfer market for over 5 seasons, making quality additions and generating good money with their sales in order to build a team that matches the manager’s philosophy. This is the area that will hinder Arsenal during their rebuilding process. The club are struggling to shift on the deadwood with the likes of Özil running down his contract, Sokratis’ wages being off-putting to suitors and Torreira not attracting a large enough fee on a permanent deal – instead he looks set to join Atletico Madrid on a one year loan. For a club who are self-sufficient, the difficulty in generating income from player sales is hindering the potential for new signings. Arteta’s increased influence over transfers is positive but without sufficient funds, Arsenal will struggle to progress in the way Liverpool did. Whilst it is not expected that Arsenal replicate everything that Liverpool have done, they do offer a good model for progression.
Thursday night saw a replay of the fixture in different circumstances. Both teams fielded much changed sides, blending youth with experience. Arsenal had the pick of the chances early on but weren’t decisive enough once they reached the Liverpool box. Dani Ceballos continued from his impressive cameo on Monday, showing good proficiency on the ball and being Arsenal’s main creative outlet. The player who really caught the eye on the night though was Bernd Leno. Arsenal’s number 1 made several excellent stops, reminding us of his performances from last season, keeping Arsenal in the game and forcing penalties after the 90 minutes. Within the shootout Leno made 2 saves which put Arsenal in a commanding position which saw Joe Willock score the winning penalty. Although the Carabao Cup isn’t the most decorated of trophies, it was an important win for Arsenal in order to keep momentum and morale high. It also sees Arsenal through to the last 8 of the tournament and should they beat Manchester City in the quarter finals, Arsenal will surely be the favourites to win it all.
Arsenal learned of their opponents for the Europa League group stage earlier today with a favourable draw. The Gunners will face Rapid Wien (Austria), Molde (Norway) and Dundalk (Ireland). The group shouldn’t cause Arsenal too many issues and will allow for Arteta to rotate his side and experiment. It also helps that there is minimal travel which can help ease the pressure during the fixture congestion during the winter months. I’d expect Arsenal to top this group easily.
Up next for Arsenal is Sheffield United at The Emirates before the international break - where we’ll hope to see Bukayo Saka’s England debut. Sheffield United will look to frustrate Arsenal, hitting on the counter with their unique overlapping centre backs. But given the Blades’ poor start to the season, it’s difficult to see Arsenal slipping up here. Arsenal’s front 3 of Aubameyang, Lacazette and Willian all have at least 2 goal contributions in the first 3 league games and I’d expect they’ll be heavily involved in proceedings on Sunday at 2:00pm.
Prediction: 2-0 Arsenal
Adam Perry - 02/10/2020