Match report – Player ratings – arteta reaction – Video
Arsenal top the Christmas table after a 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield yesterday afternoon.
Mikel Arteta chose an unchanged team from the one that beat Brighton 2-0 and we came out flying. Gabriel Jesus had an early attempt deflected over the bar, there was another header on goal which was easily saved by Alisson, before Kai Havertz was fouled in the Liverpool half.
Martin Odegaard delivered, Gabriel timed his step back to stay in play perfectly and his header was very well executed as the ball fell marginally behind him at the point of contact. 1-0 to Arsenal. Jesus fired over the bar after another good move, and at the other end Mo Salah fired into the side netting after getting away with some ease from Oleksandr Zinchenko. A harbinger of what was to come.
There was a big penalty appeal when Odegaard touched the ball in our area and if that had happened at the other end I would have been angry if they hadn’t awarded it. I think we were lucky there, and although you could say that a decision in our favor is a little overdue, for me that is absolutely a penalty. I know it slipped a bit, but if there’s an ongoing debate about what is and isn’t handball these days, that’s a no-brainer for me.
Shortly before the half-hour mark, Liverpool were level. I think we have to acknowledge the quality of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s pass and Salah’s shot, but Zinchenko’s defense was terrible and I think Gabriel could have come out quicker to block him out. He had already instructed Saliba to take care of the middle man, and if he had the chance to do it again, I’m sure he would do it differently.
Liverpool were forced to change when Kostas Tsimikas collided with Jurgen Klopp after a 50/50 with Saka, and ended up breaking his collarbone. Unfortunate and unfortunate, and I hope he recovers as quickly as possible. I think Saka probably should have done better when Jesus sent him in behind, but a combination of his touch wasn’t quite right and some good defending forced him wide. From there, however, Gabriel Martinelli shot wide with the goalkeeper half-down and it was a great moment that we let slip away. There aren’t many such good opportunities at Anfield.
I thought it was quite interesting how happy Mikel Arteta was after the match, and I suspect the start of the second half is a big part of the reason. Arsenal were really sloppy, our pass completion dropped from 81% in the first half to just 70% in the first 10 minutes of the second half. We gave it away in dangerous areas, we did stupid things with the ball that allowed Liverpool to win in our half, and in the live blog I made the comment that “the game is leaning too much towards Liverpool.”
It felt like the momentum was changing, we’ve experienced it before at Anfield, and it’s very difficult to get it back the other way. But that’s exactly what we did. ‘Control’ is a buzzword at Arsenal this season, and last night we saw how it can be applied in a different way. It’s not just about dominating possession and territory against the so-called “smaller” teams, it also allows you to stem the tide of increasing pressure against the better teams, and that’s what we did.
Zinchenko’s yin and yang were on display last night. Defensively poor at times, sloppy during that 10 minute period at least twice (maybe three times), but then when we got back into the game he was pretty instrumental to that element of our performance as well. Most teams won’t be able to exploit defensive weakness as well as Liverpool, but I’m sure it’s something Mikel Arteta is well aware of. I think Tomiyasu would have started this one if he was up to it, so it’s not like we’re ignoring him, we just didn’t have a choice last night.
I must mention the defensive triumvirate of Declan Rice, Gabriel and William Saliba. Although it was Odegaard who made more tackles than any other Arsenal player, those three were very dominant. Saliba in particular was imperious, unflappable, unflappable. He defends as if he has some kind of ability to slow down time, like a shooting mechanic in a video game that allows you to put the real world at half speed and aim. His absence at the end of last season must be the biggest ‘What If’ in Arsenal’s recent history. A word also for Ben White, whose form has been a topic of discussion, but neither Luis Diaz nor Darwin Nunez did anything all night, and his aggressive defense was perfect from start to finish.
An Arsenal corner turned into a brilliant opportunity for Liverpool when Zinchenko removed Odegaard and they made it a 4-1 break. Salah found Alexander-Arnold, and I make no excuses about the ball being bobbled before he hit it, You should absolutely score there and it’s a serious mistake. He said the same thing on Sky afterwards. If the penalty decision was a truce, so was this one. Sometimes, however, it takes a break or two to get a result, and I think a draw at Anfield is a very decent result for Arsenal.
I was a little surprised by the talk in the TV coverage about this being a good weekend for Manchester City at our expense. This was a very different game to last season, when we almost managed to draw after the momentum swung completely in Liverpool’s favor. Those Ramsdale saves, ugh! I just think there’s more to take away from this than going up 2-0 last time, and while there are obviously things we could have done better, this is a positive result.
Arteta later said:
It was an incredible game of football, one of the most intense and frenetic games I have seen in 20 years in this league. The quality, the intentions of both teams… It was magnificent to see and we, as a team, with the boys willing to play at that level, to have the courage to play at that level, the determination and the faith to do what we have made. done here, I think my players deserve a lot, a lot of credit.
I thought the contrast between his comments and those of a frustrated Bukayo Saka was quite interesting, but I think it speaks more to the player’s desire to have done more than a couple of moments rather than discontent with the result itself. So, it wasn’t exactly the victory we wanted, but a draw is nothing to sneeze at, and that ability to cope with that unstable second half is something very promising.
And we are the best at Christmas, ho ho ho.
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This morning we’ll be recording a festive Arsecast Extra for you, but due to the day, it may be a little shorter than usual. We’ll have it for you at all the usual locations around noon.
Until then.
