Back To Reality

This is a bit late posting. Sorry; I was travelling all day yesterday...

And so we Arsenal fans come back to earth. 

Whilst it’s clear that progress has been made under Mikel Arteta, this match revealed the gulf in class between the very top sides - and I don’t think that there can be much doubt that this Liverpool are one of the best club sides that there has ever been - and where Arsenal are at the moment.

Of course, Klopp’s Liverpool project is 5 years (and the best part of £350m) old now, and Arteta is only just starting out and is only part way into his first transfer window, but there is a huge amount of ground to make up. While there seems no reason why Arsenal cannot compete for a Champions League spot this year, my feeling is that a title challenge is going to remain out of reach for at least another three seasons.

If anything, however, it gets people’s feet back on terra firma, and reinforces Arteta’s need for... er... squad reinforcements with the ownership.

It is clear that Liverpool have better players than Arsenal in every single position - I’m not sure that even Aubameyang gets into their side (it would be harsh on Firmino) - and they dominated Arsenal pretty much from start to finish. 

Which we expected, of course; and whilst Arsenal took the lead it was totally against the run of play and merely a blip - that Liverpool would score more than once was frankly inevitable.

And so to the game, when before it started Arteta sprang a couple of selection surprises. I suspected that AMN would start, but wasn’t expecting Holding to keep his place and Gabriel to be dropped to the bench. And I’m not sure that anyone could have expected Elneny to start alongside Xhaka. 

The thing about the midfield selection is that this is where Arsenal are most in need of reinforcements; where apart from Ceballos there is a distinct lack of both creativity and the ability to move the ball quickly in transition. Long balls from Luiz or Xhaka cannot be the solution, and what Arsenal do here in the next week is crucial to the development of the squad.

And so to the match itself; and the first and most obvious thing to note was the hyper-aggression shown by Sadio Mane early on. In the second minute he went in hard and completely unnecessarily from behind on Bellerin (to my eyes an immediate yellow card, irrespective of the fact that it was so early in proceedings), and a mere minute later fended off Tierney with what looked to the naked eye - confirmed by the replays - to be a hand/fist to the face. Immediately booked by referee Pawson, but not reviewed by VAR and if it had been would surely have meant a straight red instead. 

The infuriating thing for Arsenal fans was not just the failure of VAR here, but the fact that Sky also failed to highlight it. And far be it from me to ever agree with Jose Mourinho, but his pointed comments the previous afternoon about the most ‘titled’ clubs getting the rub of the green more than others could be seen to be borne out by this incident.

Whether playing with 10 against Arsenal’s 11 would have made the difference by the end is moot, considering Liverpool’s domination, but it would certainly have helped! 

Of course, Arteta’s game plan against the top sides is weIl-known now, and to counteract it Liverpool pressed Arsenal hard, fast and deep throughout. Out balls were at a premium, as a red tide swarmed all over Arsenal’s continued efforts to play out from the back. All the way to minute 90 and beyond. And for them to be able to do that so early in the season is testament to their fitness and the fact that every single player knows his job so well; plus they’re all so very good. 

I’d particularly like to mention Salah - a world-class talent - who at times was completely unplayable. But he’s just one of several absolutely outstanding individuals on the Liverpool side. (The fortunate to be on the pitch) Mane and Alexander-Arnold were also superb, and Fabinho dominated in midfield.

Yet, miraculously, Arsenal took the lead just before the half hour mark, on one of the few occasions when playing out from the back actually worked. A swift break, and Lacazette had the benefit of a sliced Robertson clearance from Aubameyang’s cross that dropped at his feet inside the six yard box. 

Totally, totally against the run of play, and it was disappointing - but no surprise - that Liverpool got back into the game almost immediately. The strength, determination and skill of Salah leading to a shot that Leno failed to deal with sufficiently, and it dropped at the feet of the unmarked Mane two yards out. As much as anything, too many Arsenal defenders were attracted to the ball and that was what left Mane on his own. Less than three minutes. Hey ho.

And for 2-1, Willian failed to see or track Robertson’s late and clever run to the far post. A lovely dinked finish, and Liverpool were ahead, but an Arsenal mistake nonetheless.

And so to the second half, where Arsenal came out early with more aggression and - for a short while - pushed Liverpool back a bit. But it was short-lived, and it was thereafter only the introduction of Ceballos that helped to stem the continuous red tide for a short while. 

But despite the home side’s domination, Arsenal had their chances. Lacazette was offside for the first, but fluffed his finish, and for the second - created by a wondrous through ball from Ceballos - he again showed the gulf in class between a very good striker and a great one. Credit the keeper, but had that been Aubameyang he would probably have scored. However, our star striker was stranded out on the left wing all night. I’m not sure if it is going to be a priority in this transfer window, but getting Aubameyang playing down the middle is critical for me. 

When he was substituted with a quarter of an hour left, the Frenchman hid his face in his shirt. He knew how key that missed chance was. And his replacement Nketiah missed a decent half chance late on. But here’s the difference - Eddie is a callow youth compared to the Liverpool strikers, and they had the luxury of bringing on Diogo Jota. Who duly scored late on to give the score line a more realistic feel.

However - and whilst the score line was identical to last season’s - Arteta and Arsenal can take pride in the resilience that has been instilled in the past few months. They were still in the game until very late on, and that’s progress. This is a Liverpool side that is almost unbeatable anywhere - and even more so at home - so we can take heart that our club is moving in the right direction. But the road is long (with many a winding turn)... - I keep slipping in song lyrics, don’t I?!?

And so to an important week. Mainly centred around the transfer window that closes next Tuesday, but there are a couple of matches too. Firstly, a Carabao Cup game (again at Anfield, and there’ll be lots of changes to both sides but this is a tough one) and then a Premier League game at home to a woefully out of form Sheffield United. An opportunity to get back on track.

Just a quick mention for the new handball rule and VAR here. The rule needs to be changed - because when Arsenal fans have sympathy (sort of) for Tottenham Hotspur it must be serious. And when VAR can miss obvious things like the Chelsea handball that led to their late winner, that only goes to indicate its continued shortfalls. Come on IFAB/Premier League; get a grip.

Until next Monday, then. #COYG