{"id":1821,"date":"2020-07-16T22:30:30","date_gmt":"2020-07-16T22:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/?p=1821"},"modified":"2020-07-16T22:30:30","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T22:30:30","slug":"beating-liverpool-is-arsenals-lifeline-to-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/beating-liverpool-is-arsenals-lifeline-to-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Beating Liverpool Is Arsenal’s Lifeline To Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A lifeline to Europe?<\/p><\/div>\n

Arsenal have beaten the League and European champions. I repeat Arsenal have beaten the League and European champions in arguably our worst season of living memory. The game in which many had casted the Gunners out, they went on and did the unthinkable. The whole thing was so surprising that Klopp\u2019s image on the bench was something to behold.<\/p>\n

Gunners won. That\u2019s one side of the coin. How we won is the another and on that the less we talk the better.<\/p>\n

One theme that we have seen so often since the restart is the habit of gifts being given and then dispatched away. Wednesday night at Emirates can easily be classified as a new episode of this series.<\/p>\n

Sloppy play<\/strong><\/p>\n

It all started when Tierney played a simple pass to the ever impressive Emi Martinez and the Argentinian showed his first signs of youth when he took his attention off the impending run of Firmino and tried to play the ball forward even though the line was covered. The ball bounced off the Brazilian onto the post and out for a goal kick. It could have been the opener.<\/p>\n

That opener soon arrived for Liverpool. After continuous pressure, which saw the Gunners drop deeper and deeper, Firmino instigated a move on the left allowing a simple Robertson run on the inside channel which caused all sorts of trouble to the backline. It allowed Mane to attack the open 6-yard space with no pressure and a simple finish to apply to take the lead.<\/p>\n

Number of things went wrong in that little play but none more so than the basic rule of defending which is to always be aware of space around you and the danger. These are the things you coach to young kids, but when you see an international making these kind of errors, then really there isn\u2019t much to talk about.<\/p>\n

This theme of sloppiness continued and for a period it looked like Arsenal would be on the receiving end. But midway through the half the tempo suddenly changed. Virgil Van Dijk was pressured into playing a simple back pass, which he made a total mess of. Lacazette was able to intercept, round the keeper and score, putting the Gunners on level terms.<\/p>\n

That seemed to have shocked Liverpool and their manager as suddenly the control and authority went out of their game and mistakes started to creep in. Soon afterwards on the brink of the half time, Allision took inspiration and failed to execute a simple pass out to Robertson and Lacazette cashed-in, setting-up Nelson for Arsenal\u2019s second.<\/p>\n

I believe a simple thank you note is now in order to Liverpool Football Club.<\/p>\n

Managerial control<\/strong><\/p>\n

The second half was all controlled by Arteta as he looked to block off any threat from Liverpool by making Arsenal\u2019s team shape more structured and compact. This included some \u201codd\u201d tactical decisions including the introduction of Joe Willock as False 9 with Auba and Pepe on either wings but it paid off as it put more focus on blocking the wings of Liverpool and forcing them more central where they often found that extra person with one too many to beat.<\/p>\n

Even then, Salah had some decent opportunities, which on any other day he might have dispatched but not on this occasion. Arsenal dropped deeper and gave away any intent of attacking the Liverpool goal, showing how defensively drilled they have preparedto tackle these kind of situations. At times it did look like that pressure will eventually break the backline but in tough times they held on.<\/p>\n