Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Video
Football really is a mad thing. At half-time yesterday, I was kinda hoping to get away without taking a real pasting at Anfield, and by the end there was a pang of real regret that Martin Odegaard’s low shot hadn’t crept in to give the 10 men of Arsenal (again!), an unlikely win.
Seconds later, my stomach flipped when Liverpool had the ball in the back of the net but Andy Robertson’s ‘winner’ was ruled out because of a foul on Myles Lewis-Skelly (and a probable offside). Perhaps it wasn’t a match that demonstrates why we all love football, but it was definitely one which showcases its capacity for drama.
Arsenal actually started quite well and should have scored. That sounds familiar, especially this week. A smart free kick routine presented a chance that Bukayo Saka should put away, but to me he’s not even close to 100% after his return from injury and couldn’t apply the finish. David Raya made a save up the other end, before we spurned another good opportunity in their box. Thomas Partey won the ball, then we seemed to stand around and wait for someone to take responsibility and by the time they did the chance had gone begging.
Then Liverpool scored twice in quick succession and the arse fell out of our performance. The first came from a quick throw that we weren’t switched on for, Cody Gakpo’s smart near post header making it 1-0; then we got undone by a ball behind the defence, William Saliba got caught on his heels and Luis Diaz finished from close range. Too easy. Really horrible goals to concede, not just because of the scoreline, but because they make you look crap and that’s not a nice way to feel.
After that, we were second best in every aspect of what remained of the first half. We were poor on the ball, poor off the ball, and I’m surprised the scoreline wasn’t more emphatic at the break. Raya made one very good save to tip a shot around the post, but Arsenal were punch-drunk until the half-time whistle. Hence my fear that things were more likely to get worse than better.
So, it was a nice surprise that the opposite was true. We were much better in the second half, and I’m sure part of that was – for want of a better term – some vigorous encouragement from the manager at the break, but tactically there were some changes too. On Sky they talked a lot about Leandro Trossard appearing more on the left, but throughout the team I noticed quite a lot of player rotation throughout the opening stages of the second period, and I think it unsettled Liverpool a little bit. They expected us to be one way, and didn’t quite know how to deal with it when we were the other.
Trossard provided the assist for our first, a nice cross from the left, but Martinelli’s movement is really smart in the centre-forward position. He creeps away from Virgil van Dijk and the header was very nicely taken to get us back in it. The second came after Odegaard really put his foot through a shot, he’s obviously had his vitamins this week because that power isn’t something we’ve seen often enough from him. It was well saved by Allison, but Mikel Merino was there to stoop low and head home his 9th goal of the season.
The Spaniard had an eventful afternoon, and having been booked in the first half, was shown a second yellow in the 79th minute and I don’t think he can have any complaints about the referee’s decision. What I would say is that he looked absolutely exhausted at that point, just a few minutes previously his legs just gave out in possession and he fell over out on the wing. So, even though options on the bench were limited, I think the manager should probably have taken him off before that second yellow, and I don’t think Raya did him any favours with that pass on the edge of the box that led to the miscontrol and the challenge that saw him booked a second time.
Still, playing with 10 men isn’t new to us. We sat in, Liverpool had a lot of the ball, and a couple of chances, but in the end the game could have gone either way as Odegaard’s late chance demonstrated. We probably deserved a point for the second half performance, and I think it was an important point for us too. Not just to complete the task of finishing second this season, but psychologically it meant something not to be beaten by Liverpool this season. Even if they are the champions, and deservedly so, it leaves some doubt in their minds about us, and that’s something we need to use next season.
I’ll admit, after what has been a difficult week, I was quite pleased with our response and the character we showed. I thought the first half was really poor, no doubt about it, but we dug deep and got something. However, I think it’s fair to say that Mikel Arteta was not quite as forgiving as I was, and he pulled no punches in his assessment of the performance, saying:
What we did in the first half is nowhere near the level, so to do it after is too late. We reacted, great, but the standards in those 20 minutes were unacceptable.
Very far off it, really upset. We had a reaction; I hate reaction, I like action.
Having watched his press conference, and his post-game interview on Sky, I think it’s safe to say we saw a very emotional Arteta yesterday. On Sky in particular he lacked his usual composure and coherence, and it was hard to make full sense of what he was saying. The bottom line was that he was absolutely furious with the first half, and I guess people’s opinions on his comments will vary. Some might think that anger is better channeled privately, in the dressing room or on the training ground; some might say doing it publicly sends a very strong message to his players.
Whatever he said at half-time – which I’m sure was well informed by the anger he felt – it worked, so perhaps it’s about being very blunt and open about what he expects in terms of standards. We know his commitment to that, he felt it wasn’t good enough so he has every right to call it out. Personally, I’d be a touch more inclined to give credit for the second half in the context of the week we’ve just had, but maybe that’s why I’m just some bloke with a blog and not a football manager.
What seems abundantly clear to me though is that Arteta, and the players, absolutely need this season to end so they can take a break, wipe the slate clean, and come back to go for it all over again. I think the stress levels, both physical and mental, are obviously manifesting themselves in various ways, and I understand that completely. It has been tough going almost from the first game this season, and with just two more to play, we’ve got to grind through it. I suspect the players will have a couple of days off this week before we start to prepare for Newcastle on Sunday, and hopefully they’ll be useful ahead of a game I badly, badly want us to win. It’s our last game at home, against a team who have hurt us this season, you want to go out on a positive note. I hope a little time off before the hard work of preparing for that that is beneficial.
What else? Well, the reception received by Trent Alexander-Arnold was a big talking point. Not much about football shocks me these days, but the booing when he came on really did, and that was compounded by the continuous booing every time he got the ball. The only time it stopped was when he had a chance to score from a free kick, something he’s very good at, so it highlighted the fundamental hypocrisy of it all.
From my perspective, I can understand fans feeling aggrieved that a favourite player has chosen to leave the club they support. We’ve all been there, it’s not unique to Liverpool by any means, but this is a guy who has been there since he was a kid, just helped his team to win the title, adding to the previous one and Champions League trophies he’s been part of, and he’s taking the opportunity to go and play for one of the biggest clubs in the world. Fair play. The old ‘He’s run his contract down’ argument doesn’t hold water for me either. He respected his contract, and he likely doesn’t get the move to Madrid if they have to pay a fee.
I also thought Arne Slot’s interview on Sky was poor. If I’m a player I want my manager to back me 100%, not come out with some mealy-mouthed, please-all-sides nonsense. His stock will probably never be higher with their fans, so it felt meek and conciliatory, and I don’t think any of it reflected well on Liverpool at all. Don’t even get me started on the weird banners that grown men paid actual money to produce. On a day that should have been a party for this season’s worthy champions, they turned it into something pretty grotty. But there you go, perhaps that’s modern football fandom in a nutshell.
Right, I’ll leave it there for now. We’ll have an Arsecast Extra for you but a bit later than usual, we’re recording around lunchtime today. We’ll put the call for questions in a while on BlueSky @gunnerblog.bsky.social and @arseblog.com with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.
Pod should be out mid-afternoon. Until then, have a good one.
