daredevil Liverpool 59% - 41% Arsenal in possession. We were out possessed for what I suspect is the first time this season, and it was largely due to how insecure our players were on the ball.
Brighton actually outpossessed us 68% to 32% in December.
Arteta's substitutes didnt work out, especially taking off Odegaard for Kiwior and the delay in bringing in Tierney and to help Zinchenko on the flank resulted in us sitting further and further back and posing less and less of a counter attacking threat.
However I agree, the player went into their shells well before then and were constantly clearing the ball to the halfway line as if we were in the final few minutes, unable to hold onto the ball for more than 2 or 3 passes, and looked very panicked. There were a number of times you could see Arteta visibly telling the players to calm down and slow it down but I guess the pressure and the occassion got to a lot of the players.
It's something that we'll have to learn and improve upon but luckily it isn't a regular feature in our games which leads me to believe it's less tactical and more mental.
