Arsenal 3-2 Liverpool - Sunday 9th October, 2022

[Rick]

That second half performance was an abomination, dreading City next week. 

[Chickasaw]

Well that was very touch and go and could have gone either way.

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 minute ago, Rick said:

That second half performance was an abomination, dreading City next week. 

Should be dreading City regardless  - this Benny Hill style defending against them is going to be an absolute nightmare.

Gonna have to hope these players can remove their heads from their arses ASAP. It might take until after the World Cup though tbh.

[Happy Blue]

We don't even play Arsenal till February the jammy bastards 

[Gunnersaurus]

3 minutes ago, Happy Blue said:

We don't even play Arsenal till February the jammy bastards 

Mate you've got a goal scoring cyborg playing for you stop moaning 

[RandoEFC+]

Liverpool obviously aren't great at the moment but it still feels significant for Arsenal to get over the line there, especially as they lost to Man Utd.

I don't think anyone will be able to compete with Man City over the season but Arsenal have to be considered a good shout for 2nd. This run of form is starting to look more convincing and less of a flash in the pan.

Hard to put your finger on what's wrong with Liverpool. They've been quite clinical tonight but otherwise just too many big players not on their best form. Considering how close they got to winning the lot last year it's a bit mental seeing them 14 points off the top already.

[6666]

Knew it was gonna be close. Liverpool still have players that can hurt you if they have space.

Salah has been embarrassing since signing the massive contract. Now Liverpool have a job on their hands if they wanna get rid.

[Happy Blue]

11 minutes ago, Rick said:

That second half performance was an abomination, dreading City next week. 

We are averaging 3.6 goals a game 

[Happy Blue]

6 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

Liverpool obviously aren't great at the moment but it still feels significant for Arsenal to get over the line there, especially as they lost to Man Utd.

I don't think anyone will be able to compete with Man City over the season but Arsenal have to be considered a good shout for 2nd. This run of form is starting to look more convincing and less of a flash in the pan.

Hard to put your finger on what's wrong with Liverpool. They've been quite clinical tonight but otherwise just too many big players not on their best form. Considering how close they got to winning the lot last year it's a bit mental seeing them 14 points off the top already.

Klopps teams implode after 7 seasons, it must be a curse, very strange

[Happy Blue]

9 minutes ago, Gunnersaurus said:

Mate you've got a goal scoring cyborg playing for you stop moaning 

Not on tell we are top of the league 

[Bluewolf]

Again to be fair Liverpool wouldn't have been expecting to take points off a top 6 side in the running for the title.. I thought they did well to get it back to 2-2 but couldn't hold on.. 

[Stan]

1 minute ago, Bluewolf said:

Again to be fair Liverpool wouldn't have been expecting to take points off a top 6 side in the running for the title.. I thought they did well to get it back to 2-2 but couldn't hold on.. 

I think it was quite telling that the younger Arsenal side, for a spell, ran Liverpool absolutely ragged. For a period of about 5-10 minutes Arsenal were too quick for Liverpool and they just couldn't keep up. I think that took a lot of energy out of Liverpool.

Liverpool seem to have lost their spark somewhat. As if they've lost their edge and the very thing that made them tick. 

[Bluewolf]

3 minutes ago, Stan said:

I think it was quite telling that the younger Arsenal side, for a spell, ran Liverpool absolutely ragged. For a period of about 5-10 minutes Arsenal were too quick for Liverpool and they just couldn't keep up. I think that took a lot of energy out of Liverpool.

Liverpool seem to have lost their spark somewhat. As if they've lost their edge and the very thing that made them tick. 

Yea, not sure what's gone on but when you set the bar high anything less than that is seen as poor and this particular run could be seen as abject failure so far.. TAA was to blame for that second goal allowing himself to get dragged out of position and allowing space behind him.. He has really been in awful form so far.. Scoring the odd great free kick does not cover the poor defensive decisions he has made 

[Stan]

7 minutes ago, Bluewolf said:

Yea, not sure what's gone on but when you set the bar high anything less than that is seen as poor and this particular run could be seen as abject failure so far.. TAA was to blame for that second goal allowing himself to get dragged out of position and allowing space behind him.. He has really been in awful form so far.. Scoring the odd great free kick does not cover the poor defensive decisions he has made 

Probably goes to show how valuable Mane was for them. His defensive work to drop in to the midfield and press from the front is missing. Salah not really hitting the numbers of previous seasons really affecting them too.

[Happy Blue]

30 minutes ago, Bluewolf said:

top 6 side in the running for the title.. 

Do we have ANY competition this season? 

[Cicero]

Didn’t all we hear from Liverpool fans that they wouldn’t miss Mane and that he was on the decline? 

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 hour ago, Cicero said:

Didn’t all we hear from Liverpool fans that they wouldn’t miss Mane and that he was on the decline? 

Tbf Mane doesn’t play in defense or midfield where the biggest issues have been

[Gunnersaurus]

Starting to feel confident of top 4 now. Still a long way to go  but we have a 14 point lead over liverpool (who have a game in hand) 4 over spurs,5 and 6 point lead over chelsea and man utd respectively if they win their game in hand. So I think we should be able to finish ahead of two of those teams which would get us top 4. Still a long way to go however I would say I think it is more likely than not we will get top 4 at this point 

[Danny]

27 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Tbf Mane doesn’t play in defense or midfield where the biggest issues have been

No but he did offer an outlet to move the ball forward, so when you can’t keep pushing the ball forward like you used to someone like Mane is perfect 

[Reluctant Striker]

Firmino was already being phased out. Salah seems to have gone off the boil. As a casual observer, it would seem harsh to suggest there's a huge amount wrong with Jota, Nunez & Diaz.

I would question if having all of them in the starting line up, at The Emirates, was a bit too attack minded. Thought they usually have a 4-3-3? It was more 4-2-3-1?

On balance though, whoever was selected in whatever side, this Arsenal side have shades of Bergkamp era Arsenal for me. Much like Gabriel Jesus at City, he was not having a great time at Inter Milan, with opinions that he was not being used correctly when they signed him.

[Devil-Dick Willie]

59 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Tbf Mane doesn’t play in defense or midfield where the biggest issues have been

If he did you might shore up the defense a little TBH. Said for years trent was a shite defender, and now that you're not bossing every game it's happening, everyone else is catching up

[Mel81x+]

I don't think Mane was ever on the decline and Diaz is turning out to be a good replacement for him. The problem lies in the middle of the pitch where you have Thiago who plays well when fit but realistically you can't rely on Bobby to do the link play as much anymore and I feel like Jota should be the one to play in that space consistently. He is always running into open spaces and creating a lot of opportunities. The other player that needs to make his way back into the starting XI is Fab.  Trent being out will now force Klopp to make choices on who plays on that defensive wing for us and Joe should get a run there because he's naturally defensive-minded and has played there before.

[Michael]

5 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

This is not going to be a close affair we’re going to get torn apart. Have you not watched us this season? We’re shit.

Look at that.

Well, it was a close affair in the end wasn't it. I thought both teams generally speaking passed the ball around very well and had some good movement going. Arsenal started the match very strongly and scored in the very first minute through Martinelli. But Liverpool responded well, creating several dangerous chances before equalising through Darwin Nunez. Liverpool though, were then handed a blow in the 42nd minute when Diaz got injured and had to be replaced by Firmino. Arsenal then struck Liverpool with a killer blow as Saka scored just before the half-time whistle, as Arsenal scored through a swift counter-attack.

However, to their credit, Liverpool kept battling in the 2nd half and were rewarded with another equalising goal, this time Firmino struck the ball into the corner of the net with an accurate finish, giving Ramsdale no chance. However, it was Arsenal who would have the last laugh, as they were awarded a penalty in the 76th minute and young Saka stepped up to coolly score his 2nd goal of the match and seal the precious win for Arsenal. It was a very entertaining match all-round, with both sides creating dangerous, but alas it was the hosts and the Premier League leaders who snatched victory in this vital match. Arsenal followed up their 3-1 win against fellow rivals and big boys Tottenham last week, with another win against a top side, this time Liverpool were the victims.

[Michael]

3 hours ago, 6666 said:

Knew it was gonna be close. Liverpool still have players that can hurt you if they have space.

Salah has been embarrassing since signing the massive contract. Now Liverpool have a job on their hands if they wanna get rid.

Exactly what I said as well, it was always likely going to be close with two top sides like these, even if Arsenal had the better form and home advantage. Liverpool's Diaz and Nunez looked particularly impressive in attack, Firmino did his part as well when he came on, but Salah really needs to find his mojo again. Arsenal though delivered the win when the pressure was on and are starting to prove themselves to be worthy leaders of the Prem table.

[Cicero]

Jordan Henderson being investigated by the FA after his fight with Gabriel & Xhaka. 
Both Klopp and Arteta have been told ‘not to speak about it’. 
 

Rumors Henderson made a comment about Partey.