Liverpool 0 - 2 Arsenal: What's happening to our Arsenal?!

Given our rather slow start to the season, fans can be forgiven that thinking that a trip to Anfield would be an unpleasant one. Say what you want about the quality of Liverpool's side, they're a team that can hurt you and Anfield can be a daunting place for players who haven't played there before.

There were a couple of question marks about who would start for Arsenal. Much debate was had about who should play in order to help the team to score more goals, and there were genuine concerns about Mertesacker's ability to cope with a more pacey and tricky set of forwards.


For a tactics buff like me, this game was full of intrigue. Which midfield - both so adept at keeping the ball - would dominate? How would Arsenal's defensive system adapt from the aerial bombardment of Stoke to the pacey, slick play of Liverpool? How would Arsenal's attack find its way to goal? Well, let's explore all three questions:

Arsenal's midfield had more influence on the game

Although we feared Liverpool's midfield would allow them to have control over possession, it was Arsenal's midfield that proved the most effective. Liverpool's trio of Allen, Sahin and Gerrard looked like it lacked cohesion. While Allen recycled the ball, Sahin looked like a player who hadn't played a competitive game in months and Gerrard never looked comfortable in a system that required him to keep the ball. Arsenal's midfield, on the other hand, looked like it was developing an understanding.

Out of the six of them, the one that stood out the most was Abou Diaby. The performance from Diaby today was exceptional; he was strong, he won the ball back, he carried Arsenal forward with his amazing ball control and gave Sahin and Allen a torrid time. Compare that to Gerrard, who frequently gave the ball away and had little influence on the game, and you can see where the difference is.

There was also a difference in mentalities. Arsenal's midfield looked to keep the ball and use it sensibly. Liverpool's midfield looked to get the ball forward to their front three quickly. This meant that Liverpool would look the more threatening side, but in reality they found it difficult to play through Arsenal's defence. Moreover, they couldn't sustain pressure in our third and seemed more dangerous trying to counter us than play their way through us.

Arsenal's rock solid defence

There's a world of difference between the way Arsenal are defending now and how they were defending all throughout last season. Today, Arsenal were deeper, had men behind the ball and were more willing to hoof the ball away. Compare this to last season, where our line was always dangerously high, we committed too many forward and always looked to play out the back.

It didn't start out well, though. Mertesacker was turned by Suarez and received a yellow card, and he and Jenkinson frequently gave the ball away in their own half. This is where, I think, we changed our approach. Instead of playing it out, our defenders hit the ball long more, safe in the knowledge that Giroud would be able to get on the end of them. When Jenkinson and Mertesacker stopped trying to play the ball out, they looked more solid.

Liverpool frequently attacked down the flanks and committed their fullbacks forward. This meant that our widemen had to track back. Podolski and Chamberlain did this brilliantly, especially the German, who always covered for when Gibbs' positioning failed him.

The midfield played it's part, too. With our backline playing so deep, the midfield had to be defensively aware otherwise there would be too much space in front of the defence. Arteta and Diaby both did this well. They got back, they helped cover for their defenders and congest the centre of the park, making it difficult for Liverpool to play through us.

Finally, the two centre backs had Suarez under control. Mertesacker and Vermaelen were seldom beaten and were always on hand to make key tackles and interceptions.

Overall, this was an Arsenal that defend extremely well as a unit. Players are working hard to keep a solid shape. Players are more willing to get blocks and tackles in; to do the hard graft to ensure the sheet is kept clean. It's refreshing and the main reason why we won today.

The attack - has it clicked yet?

It's difficult to judge if Arsenal's attack has improved any from last week. What we can say, though, is that this attack can be dangerous when given space.

One area of weakness that I thought we could exploit was the space behind Liverpool's fullbacks, since they like to push up to help Liverpool's possession game. This was how we scored our first goal.

After Vermaelen intercepts Gerrard's pass, there is suddenly room for Arsenal to exploit. Podolski plays a good pass inside to Cazorla, who had acres of room. Cazorla ran with the ball at Liverpool's defence, keeping them occupied while Podolski made a run in behind Glenn Johnson. Podolski rounds the move off with a clinical finish.

The second goal was a result of poor tracking by Liverpool. Johnson was caught in two minds between closing Podolski, or going with Cazorla. He was easily beaten by a one-two between the two attackers, and really needed help from Downing and Shelvey. Reina should have saved Cazorla's shot, but it was his link-up with Podolski that created the opportunity.

One thing that is evident is that Podolski and Cazorla are building a good understanding.

Giroud should've scored, too. What seems to be the problem with him is that Arsenal are still adapting to his style of play. We're trying to use his aerial prowess, but he's often left isolated up front. When Arsenal play that ball long, one of the midfielders needs to get closer to him.

There's still a lot to work on in this front, but there are signs of improvement.

Tough tests to come

So we've done very well against a tough, physical side and a pacey, tricky side. What's next? Well, we've got to play Man City, always comfortable in possession and a side who can play through most defence, in a few weeks, then we play Hazard and co against Chelsea. Very hard tests against good, potent attacks. Better attacks than what we've faced already.

Our next three games are Southampton (h), City (a) and Chelsea (h). If we can pick up seven points from those three games, our start to the season will have been a very good one. At the minimum, I would expect four points from those three games.

Player Ratings

Vito Mannone - 7
Per Mertesacker - 8
Thomas Vermaelen - 8
Carl Jenkinson - 7
Kieran Gibbs - 7
Mikel Arteta - 8
Abou Diaby - 9
Santi Cazorla - 8
Lukas Podolski - 8
Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain - 6
Olivier Giroud - 6

COYG

Though I knew Pepe Reina and Santi Cazorla were good friends at Villareal,never knew they were this close

Great performance. Other than Jenkinson who can't pass and Giroud who is doing his Chamakh impression, it looked great.

Don't know if it was only me,but I thought Giroud looked shocked and quite out of place even vs. Stoke,last match...

I guess Soton could be the game for Giroud to break his goal-duck...
Seemed to seriously lack confidence today.Hope he does well for France at least.

It"s his first 3 games in a new league AND coming off a shortened summer. Give Giroud a couple of months before hammering him lol. I think his movement is good and he occupies the CBs... which is why others have space to score on the sides. He's not getting enough chances in a game. Arsenal crossing is very, very poor.

Giroud needs 6 months to Settle in according to wenger. It's much harder for strikers to settle in.

sportsczy wrote:It"s his first 3 games in a new league AND coming off a shortened summer. Give Giroud a couple of months before hammering him lol. I think his movement is good and he occupies the CBs... which is why others have space to score on the sides. He's not getting enough chances in a game. Arsenal crossing is very, very poor.

If you are replying to me,I am not hammering him as you can very well see in my post.I just felt that he looked out of place,vs. Stoke.I know that if he can score a goal,he will be on and running,scoring goals left,right and center...Eagerly waiting for THAT goal...

RealGunner wrote:Giroud needs 6 months to Settle in according to wenger. It's much harder for strikers to settle in.

6 months is too much,AW is underestimating OG.Even Chamakh had started scoring by this time(I guess).OG is quality.I am sure OG will make us go OMG sooner or later...

RealGunner wrote:Giroud needs 6 months to Settle in according to wenger. It's much harder for strikers to settle in.

I also think Arsenal's style of play is difficult given Giroud's makeup. He's much more of a kick it wide and crash the box kind of CF. He has good technique; but his physical presence and box presence are his number one assets. Arsenal likes those one-two linkup plays to send people through. Very, very different for Giroud.

I don't think it will take 6 months. His runs are good. It's just getting a couple of goals and getting that goalscoring sharpness.

He just needs one goal and rest will come. I've seen him a lot for montpellier and the chances he missed for us, he scores them in his sleep.

Just need that one goal

Diaby was top top top class. Complete upgrade to Song and if he could stay fit then we'd have our midfield settled. Terrific game.

It's a bit easier for Podolski to settle in, given he is on the wing, and has much more experience than Giroud. Giroud just needs a goal.

Btw, our strength in depth is very encouraging:

An alternative starting XI: Szczesny; Sagna Koscielny Djourou Santos; Ramsey Wilshere; Walcott Rosicky Arshavin; Gervinho.

Podolski
GOAT

Anyways on the match

It was a great great performance. Weird that we were able to dominate at anfield but Diaby and Arteta deserves to be applauded for their efforts. Excellent work by them all match. We all know how good Cazorla is and his partnership with podolski was excellent today.

Mannone made few decent saves. I hope Szczesny isn't given a spot straight back because Mannone has worked really hard to get to this stage. Dropping him will be bad.

Giroud was poor. Oxlade was ok. Our defence impeccable. Mertesacker was poor for the first 20 minutes but after that he was unbeatable. Vermaelen likewise. Jenkinson is pretty poor going forward but he managed to keep Sterling at bay. Some decent tackles. Gibbs is getting better with each games.

My Motm is porbably Diaby. My ratings

Mannone - 7

Jenkinson -7
Mertesacker - 7
Vermaelen - 8
Gibbs - 7

Arteta - 9
Diaby - 9

Oxlade - 6.5
Cazorla - 9
Podolski - 9

Giroud - 6

One of the best performances in 2012 all around.

I had this feeling after the first half that we wouldn't concede a goal.
This back four should stay for the next game,maybe Santos on for Gibbs if we need another attacking outlet down the left side.

Can't wait for Southampton.

Jenkinson is just poor... one-on-one we all knew he's good, but his positioning, concentration is just awful. He's too nervous for such a big match.

Podolski is a god, Cazorla has replaced Sagna as our most consistent performer and Giroud showed positive runs and movement. I kinda feel bad for him, gets one chance per game and everyone calls him a flop and such things van Persie himself used to miss such chances but got other chances to fill in.

Diaby is great whenever he gets forward and was and Arteta was fantastic again. Vermaelen, Mertesacker defended well. Gibbs despite his poor positional sense wasn't bad at all. Jenkinson the only who was poor and Ox slightly. Ramsey and Santos were both good.

Done with the first post. Apologies it's taken so long. It is a bit long...

My ratings:

Mannone 7 - Growing in confidence, and looks a very able deputy for Szczesny. Spell at Hull seems to have done him good. Nothing spectacular, but looks more confident than before.

Jenkinson 7 - Began the game nervously, losing the ball twice carelessly, but grew into the game and his battle with Sterling was very good to watch. Won several tackles and was solid overall. Encouraging.

Mertesacker 8 - Arguably his best performance in an Arsenal shirt. Excellent last week at Stoke, and superb again today. His selection ahead of Koscielny was doubted, but used all his experience to stop Suarez throughout. Lost the ball a couple of times poorly, but defensively solid.

Vermaelen 8 - Captain fantastic. A rock in defence, some vital clearances (particularly after Mannone's save in second half). Naturally, very good going forward too, not afraid to drive into opposition half and link play or shoot.

Gibbs 8 - Getting better and better with every game at left-back. Solid defensively against Borini and got forward on every occasion, even having a shot saved by Reina.

Arteta 8 - Outstanding again from the Spaniard. The metronome ran the show with Diaby in the middle of the pitch. Did his job defensively too, shielding players, tracking back, making tackles. So important to Arsenal.

Diaby 8.5 - This is the player that Wenger (as well as Blanc, Deschamps) have raved about for years. When fit, on his game, and playing every week, Diaby can be an outstanding midfielder. Ran the show. Drove forward, won tackles and won headers. Diaby and Arteta had a joint-passing completion rate of 93%. Splendid.

Chamberlain 6.5 - Surprisingly quite quiet afternoon at Anfield. Never got into his game, and posisbly showed why he will play central long-term, as on the wing he didn't look at his best today. Defended well though.

Cazorla 8 - An assist, a goal and another majestic display. The little playmaker is the star man at Arsenal right now. Never loses the ball, conducts play, his movement is top-class. Amazing performance. As Wenger said post-match: "We're lucky to have him."

Podolski 7.5 - It was only a matter of time before someone with Podolski's experience settled in, and today he did just that. All-action performance from the left-wing. A well-taken goal - which he started and finished via Cazorla - and a fine assist, for Cazorla. Superb.

Giroud 5.5 - The only negative of the day. The big man missed a few great chances to open his Arsenal account. Will improve with time, but needs a goal quickly. Works hard, and defends brilliantly at corners, which is a positive.

cheers guys.. was really happy.. but P**sys hatrick took some toll.. anyway forget about him and pray he gets injured...
great match and team performance..
*
Mannone - 6.5 showed good shot stopping skills.. but was nervous too jump and catch high balls.. potential weakness/nervousness which should not be allowed to exploit
Jenkinson - 6.5 showed his nervousness with some poor passing at the start.. but once he grew confident he was solid.. great tackling.. managed sterling quite well later..
Metskr - 7 thought he would get raped by Suarez after seeing the initial 10 minutes.. looked solid after that.. fact we are not playing high line helped him..
Cpt.Verminator - 7 threw his body and blocked everything.. great presence and speed..
Gibbs - 7.5 awesome perormances.. good defensively.. controlled the left side.. good to see Podolski playing more centrally and Gibbs as the winger..
Arteta - 8 Mr.Consistent.. broke up pool attacks and protected the defence..
Diaby - 8 one of his best performance.. held the ball well.. showed his strength and impresssive passing..
Ox - 6 not best.. but worked hard and helped in the defence.. better than Walcott and Gervinho..
Podolski - 8 clinical finishing..good linkup play with Cazorla and Gibbs.. great defensive work too.. what more ? man of match for me..
Cazorla - 8 great performance.. good assist and gifted a goal.. he looks on song when he has the ball.. but i would like him to track back and collect the ball from others like Cesc and Rosicky does..
Giroud - 6 held the ball well.. opened spaces for others.. will be disappointed again not to score.. and friends dont expect him to play like RIP.. he is wc after 8 years with Arsenal.. so give him atleast a few months before jumping into conclusions..
Ramsey - 6 just brought to have more possession.. looked lively..
Santos -
Boscielny - Guest appearance.. hope Verminator is fine..

Where's all the Diaby hate now?

Enjoyed the win but we seem to play more like stoke these days then we do Arsenal. Seemed to be a lot of bus parking counter attack football. A win is a win though.

Giroud will follow Wright, Bergkamp, Henry and RVP in scoring his first goal for the club against Southampton.

encouraging but i still wanna see how we do against more compact sides who restrict us

Diaby now lets pray he stay healthy with int break
we dont play with proper DM
credit to Arteta and Abou today
but watching that last 10 mins and chances Pool had then
maybe if we had and option to bring for periods like this to protect the lead that couldnt be bad(i mean like the way Barca introduced keita in the games)

Really wanted Giroud to score lets keep supporting him he will do well and
its just first goal that can take a lot of pressure of him