Football News: The Liverpool v Arsenal Game

The Liverpool v Arsenal Game

I'm not one to get too high or too low based on the result / performance from one game, and it seems to be something I have in common with Arne Slot. The Liverpool boss stated after the game that if you play this game, with those tactics, you will draw 8 times and each team will win once. That's a very astute assessment for me and somewhat lines up with his team's season so far.

The previous two games, Liverpool were minutes away from 2-2 draws and a 0-0 on Sunday just gone would've left LFC on just 3 points going into the international break. It is said, "It's better to be lucky than good", but to be great you must be both lucky and good. At the moment, Liverpool are both.

There is no doubt in my mind, that presently Liverpool are a team in transition. The switch from Klopp's squad to Slot's has gone at breakneck pace this Summer, with arguably too much going on to retain any sense of stability.

For me, it feels rushed and it will take 3 or 4 months for the shifting sands to settle. Prepare yourselves for a bumpy ride. At present, the team looks disjointed, lacks cohesion and just seems a bit off. What it does not lack, is quality, heart, effort and mentality. That's what I've taken from these first three games and it's why I'm prepared to accept the problems along the way.

Liverpool has backed Slot to the tune of around £600M this Summer. That is staggering, yes, it's been offset by sales in the region of £250-300M. With that, comes increased pressure and increased expectations. Liverpool and Slot had neither last year (in comparison) and by the time everyone realised they were the real deal, they had slipped the field and built an unassailable lead.

This year is different, everyone is going to raise their game against the Champions. The affable Slot will be expected to deliver and any defeat or poor performance will be amplified. The English media will smell blood at the first sign of weakness and Slot will be first in the firing line.

My personal expectation is that, this is going to need time and patience, and I hope the title he earns in season 1 will be enough to get him through any rough patches this term, should they emerge.

Back to the Arsenal game; Arteta came with his Everton mentality head on, arguably due to the loss of Saka and Odegaard not ready to start. He parked the bus, with a 7 man defensive wall with a midfield three of Zubimendi, Merino and Rice. Reminiscent of a Klopp midfield, be it Henderson, Milner and Oxlade-Chamberlain or Wijnaldum, Fabinho and Henderson.

They had come to dominate and frustrate, and for 45 minutes, did just that. However, Martinelli, Madueke and Gyokeres is not a front three that is going to scare anyone and the Gunners lacked any firepower up front.

Interesting point, last season, over the whole season, Arsenal had 4 'out swinging corners' on Sunday they had 8 but only one 'inswinger'. The inswinger is where the goals come for Arsenal as everyone huddles around the GK. Arsenal's set pieces were poor on Sunday.

The second half saw the game change on its head. Slot, as he is prone to do, made a couple of tweaks and Liverpool took the game over and started to play some cohesive football. They bundled the ball in for a (rightly) disallowed goal and continued to probe until Szoboszlai's stunning free kick.

Liverpool's fourth goal with 10 minutes or less left on the clock in just three games. Dominic was already likely to be Man of the Match prior to the goal, the goal removed any doubt. He has raised his game following the arrival of Florian Wirtz and is currently in the form of his life.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was a 'Unicorn'. No-one played RB like Trent and despite his defensive deficiencies, his creativity was going to be impossible to follow. However, in Szoboszlai, Liverpool have a player that seemingly can follow in Trent's footsteps and defend as well. It could be argued that circumstances dictated Gravenberch becoming Liverpool's holding midfielder a year ago - has the same scenario unfolded for Szoboszlai to find his natural position in this team?

Kerkez and Konate were much improved but will need to remain at that level against better opponents than Madueke and Gyokeres. Allison had little to do bar saving at the feet of Exe, he'll be pleased to finally have another clean sheet.

Virgil continues to play at his elite level and Joe Gomez reminded everyone just how important he can be when needed. In midfield, Gravenberch was superb, Mac Allister grew into the game and was looking more and more influential prior to his substitution. Curtis Jones had the sort of cameo appearance that Liverpool fans would love to see more of.

The Wirtz enigma? And how to solve it. In his first two games, Wirtz averaged a kilometer more running than when he was with Dortmund. I think he's feeling the pressure and expectation. In the first half he seemed tentative with his passing and then tended to overcompensate and put a little too much on his passes. In the second half, the game slowed and we started to see what he can do. He's still learning where the players around him want to receive the ball and at what pace. When he gets there, this team will go up a level.

Ekitike had his quietest game yet but still applied the finishing touch to the disallowed effort. Has he done enough to allow Slot to start Isak on the bench as he regains match fitness - maybe so. Gakpo looked the main threat with the occasional glimpse of Salah's genius.

On the whole, Liverpool just shaded it and probably did enough to earn the 3 points. Top of the League, two points clear and about to enter the UCL group stages and the Carabao Cup. Exciting times.

Written by RedAK September 02 2025 13:04:04