Happened like a half dozen times. He worked his way out of the situations without turning the ball over, which is good, but it stunted the attack a few times. Not really a criticism. He's a young dribbler, it happens. Nearly scored there though. Maybe should have.
i thought/think he's done a solid job filling in for tomiyasu - significantly better than i expected - but, holy balls, he was not to be found in that sequence.
FT ARS 0-2 LIV We played valiantly for the whole match but in the end were outclassed when it counted. But for long periods in 1T we had them on the back foot. A glass raised to the end of two cojoined streaks: Arsenal and @Tonerl Onward!
Credit to the Reds, they won fair and square. But we didn't come in scared and we didn't wilt. We're just a notch below. Three quick takeaways: Laca tries, but we need a striker. We need an upgrade over Xhaka. We miss Tomi at right back. Those are all issues we can solve. Having a bad team culture is the deadly flaw, and we're clearly in good shape there. The squad held together. Just not at Liverpool's level yet.
Liverpool are going to be a tough match up no matter what we do: even in the first half, our build up just isn't dynamic enough to create chances against them. We played well, but two mistakes cost us big time.
Not a whole lot in this match. Liverpool showed the touch of a massively experienced side. They crushed the few chances they had and arsenal didn't. Maybe that's the difference between us and them right now. All good.
I just saw the replay of their 2nd goal for the first time. I wasn't sure why Cedric was getting so much stick, but now I see. He was being positive and starting a counter attack, when it seemed that Saka had control of the ball. Surely that made their goal much much easier then, but can we fault him 100%? I'm not sure what the protocol is in that situation. Was he stupidly and foolishly abandoning his station? Not considering the potential outcome of him vacating his defensive zone? Or was he being positive and creative in trying to initiate a fast counter? In hindsight it's clear that it would've been best if he's stayed at home, and I'm generally more on the side of a fullback's duty is primarily defensive. But today's game is so much more dynamic than the one I learned eons ago, especially in the FB position.
My take away from this game is that we don't create enough chances good chances, even now. Part of that is that Martinelli and Saka will get better, part of that is that we'll sign a midfielder. But this game highlighted the need for a striker.
Hmm. This game was remarkably even in the stats. I'm not sure they created many more good chances than we did. I don't know what xG would say about those 3 or so super dangerous low crossing passes that Martinelli made from the byline, but those were very excellent chances in my book... it's just that nobody was quite in front of the goal to latch on to them. Our shots stat was 9(2) compared to their 9(3). But that was against Liverpool! Arguably the best team in England right now. And we went toe to toe with them... credibly I thought. In other recent matches our shots have been more like 25(8)... give or take (I'm not looking them up). This game was won on pretty small margins, and a team which is a class above us. But the gulf in class tonight was not as big as it's been in past matchups. And yes, we need a real lethal striker! Or two?
We need to not pick up a red card or injury, and give a good accounting of ourselves - and on that front it was a job done. Move on and focus on Villa. That game is a must win if we are going to get top 4.
True enough, but as it is we weren't all that far from being level regardless. Plug a top-level bona fide striker into this side and it's anybody's game. We were right there a couple times and just didn't score. We can't afford to do that against a side like the Reds. Anyway, lots of valuable lessons learned today. And we hung in there all the way, same as against Manchester City. Personally, all I was really hoping for out of this campaign was the "best of the rest" designation, and I think we're very, very close to being able to claim it.
I’m struck by the difference in the end product between Robertson’s dribbling run where he turned the corner on Arsenal’s defense, carried the ball along the end line before playing a pass into the six yard box for Firmino’s goal and an even more impressive dribblingrun by Martinelli whose pass, in a very similar area ultimately came to nothing. The primary difference would appear to be the near post run that Firmino made across Ramsdale to get to the ball first. Based on how crowded the box was when Martinelli played the ball into the 6 yard box it would make sense for someone in an Arsenal shirt to make that run, but no one did
Yeah, I was going to say (but you covered it in the end) that the goal was as much if not more about Firmino's movement than Robertson's pass.
Saka is the one who should have made the run. Gabriel should have done better. I can’t say that he was ball watching per se, but he wasn't tight enough at all.
Yes, yes, my children. I’ve decided to abdicate my throne. Figured it would be best to do so when nobody expected a win anyway. Time for a new, long, benevolent reign to start.
Yeah, like most goals, the inquest will show several authors (apology for the mixed metaphor). Saka probably should've seen the ball out instead of trying to hoof it down the line (a bit harsh maybe), Cedric was caught pushing up too far, anticipating the breakout, and then Firmino ghosted in between White and Gabriel, neither of whom were quick enough to react. And yeah, since Firmino was in front of Gabriel, he probably is the one who needs to react or at least call it out.
I don't know if you mean this to come across as critical as it sounds. There are very few players in the world who can single handedly create goals versus a squad as good as Liverpool and Martinelli came close. I would phrase it differently, I thought he played very well and at 20, he's only going to get better. Not sure if this is 100% rational, but I don't think Liverpool score either goal if Tomiyasu is playing RB instead of Cedric. Awful is a bit harsh, I don't think this was his worst performance, the problem is even on his best day he isn't good enough. The talk of him in the Firmino role should be put to bed, he drops deep into the midfield, he's not elite at doing so but it's what he does, and he doesn't score. Firmino showed what makes him different. Please, please, do not give Lacazette a new contract this summer.
It wasn't intended as a "Martinelli sucks" if that's how it came across. It's more that as he plays more: 1. His decision making will improve AND become faster, 2. He won't cut inside every single time. Liverpool really took advantage of this in the second half. That's a harsh criticism of Cedric, who had an almost impossible task. I disagree with this - we saw Lacazette's limitations yesterday, but the value he provides as a linkup is really valuable and, if we make the CL, we're going to need a much bigger squad. A one (or even two) year deal makes sense - he's going to be better than anyone we can sign for under 25 million.