Match report – Player ratings – Arteta’s reaction – Video
Fourteen years is a long time to wait for victory at any stadium, but Arsenal yesterday ensured they returned all three points from Anfield to North London for the first time since 2012.
A surprise addition to the squad was the return of Christos Tzolis, who has been out for a month or so with a hip injury. If Eberechi felt a bit harsh on Eze at the start, Mikel Arteta’s post-match comments about him struggling to complete the game due to his own injury problems made it all the more meaningful.
We used to be really good. Lots of ball, good play in their own half and lots of control. Liverpool were a little off the pace and in the opening minutes young midfielder Trey Nyoni had the chance to get away with no sanction for a bad foul on Martin Odegaard. I think it was more of a mistake than a detriment, but Achilles tendons are never good and we saw Crystal Palace striker Jean Philippe Mateta see red for something similar on Saturday evening.
Early pressure paid dividends when Liverpool were a little sloppy at the back. Odegaard flicked the ball back, Bruno Guimaraes passed it to Noni Madueke and when Declan Race overlapped, his pinpoint ball found Kai Haverts at the back post to make it 1-0. That makes 5 assists for the midfielder so far this season, all from open play, and his presence in this team reminds me a lot of Patrick Vieira. It’s not that they’re the same type of player, it’s just his importance and height that’s important to us. The desire he shows with this overlap is actually what turns this game in our favor.
There was another back-post chance for Havertz, almost getting on the end of a curling Guimaraes shot, but after that – as so often happens at Anfield – the momentum changed. This time there was no Granit Xhaka-style confrontation that would act as a catalyst, the game simply changed and we ran out of luck a bit in the last 20 minutes of the first half.
Liverpool started to play around our box and deliver dangerous balls. Alexander Isak was almost found, but the combination of David Raya and Ezri Konsa was enough to see him flow wide. Florian Wirtz hit the post with a free-kick and Liverpool asked for a penalty when Tzolis tried to pull back Cody Gakpo, but I don’t think it was enough. The next one, though, oooof.
Liverpool made another dangerous pass, Isak was there to head home from close range and Jurrien Timber’s shirt pull completely prevented him from making contact with the ball. You know my rule of thumb with penalties: how I’d feel if it was awarded or not at the other end, and I’d be proud if we didn’t get it. It’s a penalty all day, and even if the referee didn’t see the foul well enough, the VAR officials really should have offered a review on the pitch. I found the focus on Isak’s reaction a little odd. Obviously, the onus is on the officials to recognize what we’re seeing without any players pointing them in that direction, but we’re very lucky there.
Like when Alexis McAllister came into the box and missed the mark from 10 yards, when we put the ball over the bar when he should have scored. It was a poor run from Liverpool and a great chance to equalize before the break. We needed a break and Liverpool looked less dangerous early in the second half despite enjoying plenty of possession.
I explain that we relied on one of our great strengths, our defensive organization and discipline. I thought Konsa was great, but so was left-back Riccardo Calafiori, whose one-on-one defense has improved a lot. He dealt with Gakpo, then had to deal with Rio Ngumoha and I just loved the concentration as he concentrated on the ball and stopped Liverpool from creating a threat.
Myles Lewis-Skelly came into midfield, Odegaard’s pressing was relentless and, as I mentioned later on BlueSky, if this team attacked as well as it defended, we’d be the best team in the world by a mile. There were moments when we could have responded better and quicker, but we still found some danger in the second 45. The best chance fell to Tzolis, set up by Madueke, and his first-time shot was headed for the bottom corner but a brilliant save from Alisson.
Liverpool threw the kitchen sink at him from the bench but it made little difference. Mac Allister then got a bit naughty, slapping Odegaard on the back of the head before Madueke fell to the ground to look like he was headbutting him. Replays showed it didn’t happen and it was pretty pathetic from the Argentina international. I think there was an element of desperation as well as it being a frantic game of play, as Liverpool huffed and puffed but couldn’t knock us down because of how good we were defensively as a team.
For the first time in Premier League history, Liverpool have finished a home game without a shot on target, which tells you something. It probably says just how much impact the Timbers shirt pulling had, as a forward like Isak would have at least tested David Ryan from there, but more broadly it says a team laser-focused on their goal of defending the title this season – something we’ve never done in the modern era.
I then thought the manager’s turn of phrase was interesting when he called it a “mission” and said:
Just loving the mission and the mission was something we hadn’t accomplished in 14 years. You should really enjoy it. If you don’t, there will be a moment when you turn off and you will be punished. I think the way we competed and played and the chances we had were really impressive, so I’m very happy.
He’s obviously referring to winning away at Liverpool for the first time in so long, but I think it’s also about the season. And as I referenced in yesterday’s blog, there was a response to the midweek defeat to Fleetwood Town. If that was a result we as fans found relatively easy to compartmentalize, I don’t think the same is true for this manager because we know he wants to win every game and we know how frustrating it is when we don’t – especially against lower league opponents. Expecting his side to surrender, he said:
It was a feeling, how could it be? How to get out of the cup when you shoot 27 times? We had chances against a team that hit one yard, and then you look pretty stupid. Then you have to go to Anfield and say how can I get those players up? I had a feeling and said now is the time. We have to dig deep, have an element of luck at times and definitely have high quality in key moments and we did that.
I think that’s a pretty fair assessment. We did very well, we had moments of luck – you often need all three points in a game like this – but I don’t think anyone should be under any illusions that this is anything other than the champions showing our title credentials again. Every season, no matter how good you are, you need occasional greens, like Ruud van Nistelrooy missing a penalty at Old Trafford or Mateus Fernandes missing a great chance for West Ham. It doesn’t change the quality you have or what you can do, and in the cold light of day it should motivate you more to ensure you widen the margins – and by that I mean perform a bit more in the opposition’s final third.
But no complaints this morning. We had work to do, and we had hard work to do, and we did it to put us back at the top of the table. It’s a nice place to be, but it’s still early in the season, so I think we have to dismiss any talk of what that means at this point. We may be impressed, but we realize we still have a long way to go.
Well, I’ll leave it there for now, but we’ll have an Arsecast Add-on for you later today. We have already called for questions BlueSky @gunnerblog.bsky.social and @arseblog.com so stop firing using the hashtag #arsecast added – or leave your question here if you’re an Arseblog member on Patreon #arsecast-more questions Channel on our Discord server.
The pod should be around noon or just outside. Until then, good luck.