You don’t really need a recap of the game, you know we lost, you know we’re out of the FA Cup and you know we’re really struggling to score goals at the moment.
Here’s what the managers, players and pundits made of Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta on his side’s performance…
Against these teams, you have to capitalise if you want to win. If you don’t score in that box, and then you concede an own goal and the second one like we did, it is difficult to win. It’s football, and you have to realise the situation and know we’re going to have to generate more and shoot better and arrive in better positions, but today we had plenty. Today we were better than them, and we should have won the game, there’s no question about that.
Source: Arsenal.com
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William Saliba on the defeat…
We have to kill the game off before, because when we have so many chances like this, we have to score. We have to defend free-kicks better, we cannot concede them like this, so we can be really disappointed today. We have to stick together. We know we’re not in our best moment, but we won’t give up and we’ll come back even stronger.
Source: Arsenal.com
Arsenal have scored 1 goal from 6.47(xG) over the last three games.
— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) January 7, 2024
Jurgen Klopp on his side’s win…
I’m super proud. It’s a super difficult draw. Maybe the most difficult we could have got. With all the things we had to consider coming here, Arsenal lined up slightly different, that was smart. We changed a bit at half-time. We were really in the game in the second half. We scored the goals and brought the kids on. We fought for 95 minutes. We have a winter break now.
Source: BBC Sport
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Trent Alexander-Arnold on Liverpool changing their game…
I think there were times in the first half where we were a little bit naive, where we’ve got caught playing out from the back and they’ve had their chances from our mistakes and maybe a sloppy pass here and there. They’re a high-pressing team and they’re bound to do that. We stuck with the way that we wanted to play, we have an identity, we want to play football and use players’ strengths with the frontline that we had, obviously Harvey [we] wanted to get him on the ball.
Source: LiverpoolFC.com
4/5 – Liverpool have won four of their last five games against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, with an aggregate score of 11-3.
Arsenal 0-3 Liverpool
Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool
Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool
Arsenal 3-2 Liverpool
Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool 🆕Fly. pic.twitter.com/UONRgpRx67
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 7, 2024
Arteta on Gabriel Jesus’ knee injury…
He had some pain in his knee, so we did a scan and it showed something. Hopefully it is not something big, it’s the same knee that he had [previously injured] so we cannot take any risks. Hopefully not [a big injury].
Source: Post-game press conference
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Martin Keown on Arsenal’s defending for Liverpool’s opener…
I just wondered if Gabriel could have headed it the other way, he seemed to just collapse. The goalkeeper can’t get to it, Ramsdale is late to move off. Kiwior, I feel he should be doing a lot better. Of course he is not doing that deliberately. But there is always something you can do to improve that.
Source: BBC Sport
Jurgen Klopp: "It is difficult to prepare for what Arsenal did tonight, especially in the first half. Havertz and Odegaard, more or less as double 10s. A 4-2-2-2."
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) January 7, 2024
Arteta on supporters calling on the club to sign a striker…
What I beg the supporters is that they are behind the team, that they’ve done in difficult moments. Stick with the ones we have – they are incredibly good. If not, they don’t do what they’ve done again today, in Anfield and here. Stick with them, it’s exactly what they need, that we are fully behind them. Then they feel important, and supported because they deserve it, with their attitude they don’t deserve anything different. That’s my opinion.
Source: Post-game press conference
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Arteta on Arsenal’s difficult moment…
It is very difficult but if the team is getting hammered and not playing well, and not deserving to win football matches I would be much more worried. I am worried because I love winning and we have to win many more games. At the moment that is the thing we have to change and probably what has to be reset is up here [mentally].
Source: Post-game press conference
We need a killer. pic.twitter.com/BqnwJ0wFMO
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) January 7, 2024
Squad depth again an issue. Did us in at the end of last season and not helping now. Need a ‘killer’ but also some way not to tire out Bukayo, MO, Saliba, Declan and our other main players.
Not playing in the FA Cup will help.
Also we could/should have won against the leaders of the PL, to put the result in context.
“Leaders of PL”? You make it sound like we’re a mid table side punching well above our weight. It’s a very bad result.
I’m saying we couldn’t have had a much harder match agianst an in-form team. Most third round ties are against lower division teams, this wasn’t. That’s the context.
I’m sad about the result but the positive is that we can rest more to concentrate on the PL and CL.
I’m sure Liverpool would have hoped for an easier draw too.
I’m just worried. Absolutely no chance of PL or CL playing like this, well rested or not. And I can’t see a way out of it.
I’m just hoping we get some players back and our form picks up (hopefully it is temporary and once the players have a rest they will improve). If not it’ll be tough.
Fingers crossed.
New training equipment ordered: barn door.
Havertz.. you’re up first.
You forgot the banjo
He was such a bad signing.
I can’t believe we willingly spent £60M on him. He’s showed enough for Chelsea and Germany that he wasn’t going to offer much else. Such a poor scouting decision.
Maddison was there for £40M…
That was the signing we should have done.
Have to start asking questions of the likes of Kiwior, Vieira and Raya too, a lot of money spent on those players for very little return, include Havertz in that and it’s a good part of £150M imagine having that kind of cash now?
Dunno why this has a down vote.
Well naturally people are welcome to their opinions. Clearly a fair few rate Havertz, and I don’t see how they can. I haven’t see him play well once, he’s had little moments where we looked okay. But other than that, he’s been hugely sub par. He can’t hold the ball up, he can’t run, he can’t pass… and he can’t finish with either foot … and fuck me he can’t finish with his head either.
That was a really shit one tonight, no way to sugar coat it. Really worrying to see that we couldn’t beat that Liverpool team, Klopp basically waved the white flag as well by putting on Conor Bradley and Bobby Clark, he wanted us to beat them… and we couldn’t do it. 1 win in 7, and you have to kind of say, a lot of our issues are Arteta related at the moment as well. A bit bizarre he waited till the 87th minute to throw on Nketiah and Smith Rowe. Like if you weren’t bothered about the game, why… Read more »
I didn’t plan on commenting cause normally I only comment when I have something positive to say or when I feel I need to support some players but your last paragraph really struck a chord with me coz I feel exactly the same …. 61 shots vs 1 goal sounds a lot right ttt..but the trouble is I don’t ever remember feeling we were unlucky or don’t deserve to lose any of the matches we have lost so far…..People talk about our finishing but hey ..how about creating some isolations and fucking good chances first…It has been as easy for… Read more »
The players have to become ‘killers’!! All of them …no more buck passing…same players scored 88 last season….
Agreed, was using Ian Wright’s quote.
Failure to address the lack of depth in central midfield is going to cost us this season (and some of next because of adjustment periods for new players). This is something many of us saw over this past summer, so it’s not really a surprise at this point and surely shouldn’t be one to edu
Injuries have been a problem. If Partey, Timber, Vieira, Tomi and ESR were fit (plus Jesus and Zinny) then it would have made a big difference.
… and if Salah and Endo and VVD and Matip and Thiago and Szoboslai and Tsimikas had been available ?
I think it boils down to just partey. Partey unlocks everything, line breaking passes, Rice as double pivot, Rice as 8, odeguard further up top. If I could have one player guaranteed fit and in form for rest of season it would be partey.
He was unplayable last season until final phase. If city crumble without Rodri how can we not be the same without partey
150 touches in opponents area in last 3 games and just 1 goal. That suggests midfield working but forwards not.
I don’t care what everyone thinks or where they think we need to improve, I am 100% with Ian Wright. WE NEED A KILLER and we needed him like yesterday or last season. We wouldn’t be here talking about all this for the last how many games. We would be top of the league and waxing lyrical about everything that’s good about us. We just lack one thing and that’s a killer in the number nine position. Period
Saka was absolutely awful the past 2 games, i thought he was the one who whould have been substituted instead of Nelson, why not try Trossard or smith rowe on that side, or even Martinelli, switch things up, try something different, it is just all so predictable and so slow, it all boils down to Arteta and the way he has slowed us down tactically, the players have no confidence. Arteta is also leaving his substitutions far to late in a game. I don’t even believe buying a striker will change the team unless he goes back to the style… Read more »
I agree with saka not having a good game but he has been the difference so many times and often manage to produce an assist or a goal at the end even when having bad games. So understand why he isn’t substituted when we need a goal
We have a problem if Sakas undroppable and either physically or mentally he’s running on fumes. I don’t think he is undroppable its just Arteta wants him to be a Salah. But he’s much younger than Salah and hasn’t had a break since he came onto the scene
Salah was sat on bench couldn’t get a game at Chelsea at sakas age …
He’s been kicked for 90 minutes twice a week for three years. Even guys like Neymar and Hazard got worn down by that treatment eventually, which is why it’s frustrating to see Saka play every minute of every game.
It’s a bummer if your job goes from “brilliant young footballer” to “someone who will keep two defenders occupied for 90 minutes kicking you.” Kind takes the joy away? Oh — and there’s another league, two cups, and international duty. Sorry you haven’t seen your girlfriend for two months.
Saka has a girlfriend?
Agree with a lot of that but thought our passing today was noticeably quicker without Zinch and playing 4 at back.
Do not tell us to get behind the team, seriously. We’ve been doing this for over a decade while going through the latter Wenger years until now of football without every really challenging fit the league or other trophies.
Please also do not tell us that asking KSE to sign a striker (or why we didn’t instead of Havertz) is not NOT supporting the team!
One of our greatest ever strikers has said the same and he knows a thing or 185 about scoring goals for the Gunners.
in which part did he say asking for a new striker is not supporting the team? he just said his current players would benefit from support. how can anybody be against that statement, and how can anybody upvote this shit? that’s mad
I don’t believe for a second that Martinelli and Saka have suddenly turned bad. They are still unbeatable against their fullbacks, but how often does that happen? Every manager just puts two men on them because we effectivity have no fullbacks. Last season White used to combine much more with Saka, and on the left Xhaka provided options, pushing to the touchline allowing more freedom too Martinelli, or dropping deep allowing Zinc to overlap, or even Tierney for a moment. Finally, even when the wingers best their men the movement in the box is atrocious and apart from Ode coming… Read more »
Martinelli skinned Trent twice in 10 minutes and both times looked up to see nobody attacking the box. If we had a true 9 or Xhaka making late runs we’d be talking about how Martinelli changed the game off the bench with two assists, but here we are.
Esr
People seem to miss the fact that if you ave someone dangerous upfront the opposite cannot afford to double up on both wingers. That position is more HPN just goals. We are making it easy for the opposition to shut us down.
*more than
Yeah Konate got man of the match . Havertz got six shots in against him. Alison spilled two ,noone following up.
Rice could have got forward more at left 8..?!
MA is constantly contradicting himself. He wants to be more unpredictable but also have more control? He wants competition at every position but has many un-dropables? He’s just spewing nonsense to divert criticism..be a man and take it on the chin and admit you made mistakes.
In defence of Arteta, we clearly spent pre season working on a second system (the box midfield) and then lost two key players within 2 weeks of the season starting meaning it got shelved. He’s not perfect and the onus is on Mikel to prove how to adapt now to the new circumstances, but there clearly was an effort to diversify and become less predictable in summer.
We were unpredictable alright, I mean Partey at right back? that fooled everyone, Partey included.
I’m struggling to understand how a newly signed, foreign player, coming from a foreign league and having played a total of one (1) match for the club, becomes a key player.
Tactic name: the horse shoe Description: ball is shuffled slowly from one wing to the other as many times as possible in periods of “sterile possession”. Key points: – ball must move slowly to allow retention of opposition defensive shape – wingers need to wait until marked by more then one defender before attempting to play the ball (backwards) – full backs must drop inside to allow aforementioned ball shuffling across midfield area – if, by mistake, player breaks lines and finds themselves in a good position to cross, all attackers must compensate by not attacking that cross, to allow… Read more »
Stick with the forwards we have? Jesus may not be available if it’s the same knee he had surgery on…
Yeah oh yeah, we need a gun for hire… atm Clint would do, even at his age…
Oh Wrighty lace up those boots, how we could use someone like you
Maybe not on the pitch any more but I ‘m sure a session or two with Wrighty would help these players to find their shooting boots again. He’s the top Arsenal legend, a fantastic striker and person and would be fun and serious at the same time.
Over to you Madness https://youtu.be/P23Gqn6y8AI?si=ImsHwxmfZ0t95luq
Good to see Reiss on and the way it allows fresh Martineli to come on as a sub.
https://youtu.be/xNp6c5oxKnE?si=LRO6-Ud_fjKHW9SV
I agree with everything this guy says
We really need a clinical physical striker with an eye for goals, not a striker who fluffs chances and does back passes
This season, Arsenal have 21 open-play goals from and xG of 30 (rounded). Liverpool, 33 from 35. City, 32 from 32. Villa, 33 from 33.
Every player we purchased are injury prone. Partey has not failed to screw our chances at critical moments every season. Jesus availability is also unreliable. Zinchenko too to a lesser extent, but just when we need his incisiveness, he goes injured. And of course not to mention the biggest joke signing Justin Timber. All these coupled with Arteta’s stubbornness and inexplicable players choice.
It’s Jurrien. He’s a fantastic player who’s going to be a huge asset for us next season. It was horrible luck that he was injured so badly before he even got going in the league. It’s a crying shame, not a joke.
I was amused when everyone was upset that Jesus could not play. What are you upset about? He has scored like 3 goals all season.
It’s never nice to see or have a player injured, but it’s not like he’s been our answer to any problems. Quite the opposite. His finishing is below par. Ok, he might contribute going forward but it’s not like it ever results into anything.