This game has annoyed me so much that I got in this evening and watched an Arsenal game back for the first time in maybe a decade.
It was definitely different to how it seemed at the time.
The first 25 minutes the game was going how I assume we wanted it to and if our forwards had executed better we could well have been a goal ahead. A goal disallowed for offside, Saka had van Dijk one-v-one 3 times, Aubameyang got the ball in dangerous positions a couple of times, and they made last ditch challenges to stop a us gettong through on the counter, but we didn't make it count.
Then sloppiness set in. They started forcing errant passes out of Lokonga and the fullbacks, Gabriel and White lost their composure a tiny bit and played long, and Liverpool managed to work a few overloads in the wide areas. The ball stopped sticking with Lacazette and they looked dangerous zipping through the centre with quick counters because of this.
Their pressure tells with the first goal. Partey doesn't track van Dijk and Gabriel hesitates for a split-second because the big Dutchman is free and it's enough for him to get caught under the ball. Btw - it looks a little bad, but it would have been a wonder save if Ramsdale had palmed that one out. It was a real bullet header from the cheaty little prick Mané.
We respond really, really well. White and Gabriel are up the pitch, the fullbacks are getting crosses in, we've got them defending and looking for the half-time whistle. Lokonga has a good shooting chance, and we get in very good positions a few times without making it count.
The second half starts with us doing quite well, it's all pretty even for the first few minutes and we look like we can pose a threat as a few dangerous moments that come our way slip by because of sloppy offsides or a poor pass.
Then Lokonga has a total meltdown, to the point AMN is warmed up and ready to come on before Tavares plays the ball to Jota. White and Ramsdale won't want to see that goal back after selling themselves too easily.
We then regroup, and to my great surprise because I certainly don't remember it that way, we are on top in terms of territory and possession in the 21 minutes between the 2nd and 3rd goals. Aubameyang misses a good chance, partey has a good shot well saved, a number of times the passing out from the back cuts through Liverpool's press. We create some hairy moments for ourselves with slopppy passing 3 or 4 times - Tavares seemed hellbent on giving them another goal.
And then because we're getting on top, we push the fullbacks higher and that proves our undoing. Tomiyasu gets naively drawn to a floated pass out to the halfway line by Alisson, takes himself out of the game, Mané gets a yard on White, and Tavares very foolishly tries to stop the cross and leaves Salah free for a tap-in. Game done.
The fourth is just sloppiness. Salah had started getting a lot of room by this point because Tavares was trying to get forward and make up for his error. Tomiyasu was too far ahead of the ball and was too late in trying to bust a gut to get back, and Minamino gets a goal with his first touch.
The things I noticed:
Ben White was seriously good in the first half. He was very dominant physically, intercepted excellently, picked some really good passes and was the one getting his head on set-pieces that were coming in. He has the British centrehalf tendency of trying to make a hollywood block, and he needs to improve that because
it cost us with Jota's goal. He also lost his cool a bit in the periods when Liverpool were counter-pressing us and the ball just wouldn't stick with our forwards. But for long periods of that game you could see what a top centreback he is going to become.
Gabriel barely put a foot wrong. He didn't have tje highs of White's performance, but he was very solid.
Tavares wasn't that bad. Sure, he gave the ball a way too many times in the spell in the second half, but he also played Salah well for the most part. I'm more convinced this will prove a good day for his development than I am Lokonga.
Partey was basically a bystander for most of the match. He upped in when we got on top for a bit, but he was caught ball watching a more than a few times, was slow into the tackles and a non-factor on the ball. I don't want to judge too harsly because I don't think he was fit, but he was damn poor. And I gotta say, I'm really disappointed with the lack of intelligence, presence and leadership I've seen from him in the year I've been watching him every week. He's just another player in the team when I had hoped he would become much more than that. I'm seriously doubting whether it's ever going to ever get much better than what we've seen from him.
Lokonga was totally out of his depth from the beginning. He offered absolutely nothing, aside from playing his part in some of the slick training ground sequences to escape their pressure on our goal kicks. There's every reason to think he'll learn, but I'm not seeing too much in the way of standout talent at this point. Atlhough, I do think he will be a very different prospect when he can compete physically.
Smith Rowe and Saka are still undercooked. They need to get stronger, faster, smarter, and more aggressive. I have no doubt they will, but for now we're going to have to be patient. Mané and Salah they are not, especially at the real pointy end of the pitch.
Lacazette and Aubameyang are what they are. I don't think either will play in another league game at Anfield. Not for Arsenal anyway. They just don't offer enough and it costs us terribly. It hurts to say that about the latter because he has been a great player for us, but he is not what he was.
I'm also worried about Ødegaard because he doesn't cut it as a 10 for me, but the playing him deeper experiment seems to be done for now. Looking a lot like a spare part atm.
And I think that problem is linked generally to the midfield structure and this blighted Number 10 position continues to be a huge headache. I think we need to go with three proper midfielders in there, certainly not 4-4-2, even if that has worked for a few weeks. That is not the answer. Can Ødegaard play as an 8? I just don't know any more. I'm back to thinking he's too slow and weak to thrive in the PL, but then that's why I hoped he would be moved deeper and we haven't seen him there since Burnley.
It's absolutely imperative we get in an intelligent, passing centre midfielder because there's just nothing there right now. Maybe Partey can offer more than he has, but we need some top quality there badly. And then a striker. I don't know if it's Isaak or Vlahovic, or someone else. But we need someone to give the team a focal point and score a shedload lf goals to compensate for ESR and Saka's relative lack of goals whilst developing.
Sorry for the long post! A load of self-indulgent catharticism.
