Match Reaction: Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool

Excellent game.

In the end 1-1 was fair. It's annoying that we didn't take advantage of good starts in both halves, but considering Liverpool are a more settled team and we were missing Monreal and Sokratis, it's a very pleasing performance overall.

Torreira, Xhaka and Holding all superb today.

Bellerin and Kolasinac once again showed what difference two flying full-backs make to our play.

Auba, Laca, Mkhitaryan and Ozil flitted between devastating and wasteful for most of the game.

Iwobi made an impact and the goal was brilliant.

If Emery can get all the players back, decides on his best XI and we iron out the defensive sloppiness, the team can only get better. Considering we're on a fantastic run already, that's a really exciting prospect.

Torreira's heatmap:

https://i.redd.it/aagx5le246w11.jpg

Good result in that we didnt deserve to lose. Mikhitaryan really needs to do some soul searching and decide what he wants with the remaining years of his career. If he cant keep a novice like Iwobi on the bench then he needs to ship out. These are supposed to be the games that top pros yearn for. Ramsey can do one too.

Overall, Just relieved

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GP

Torreira's heatmap:

https://i.redd.it/aagx5le246w11.jpg

---

Liverpool didn't deserve to win, actually IMO they've been the poorest of the top 4 sides this season and they proved it again today, but they've got that swag that allows them to win games without playing particularly well.

I thought that was going to happen again today.

We've played better, far better this season, and maybe if we'd switched gears when it mattered we would have ended their undeserved run.

Torerria, best player ever, I wonder how we can handle any of these big boys without him.

I couldn't understand the sub of Auba and clearly neither could he. I'm not sure why Ozil played 90 mins in this game.

At the end I'll take a point, but we really need to get back to the way we were playing a couple of games ago.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Globalgunner

Good result in that we didnt deserve to lose. Mikhitaryan really needs to do some soul searching and decide what he wants with the remaining years of his career. If he cant keep a novice like Iwobi on the bench then he needs to ship out. These are supposed to be the games that top pros yearn for. Ramsey can do one too.

Overall, Just relieved

---

Your last sentence sums it all.

Very pleased with that. This is what Emery is doing with what is still a Wenger team.

Unbeaten in 14 now. Good across the entire team but Mikhi ain’t going last the distance by the looks of it.

We wanted to be competitive against the best teams and the work and shape of the team showed we are able to do that at the moment.

Looks like things can only get better.

Lacazette's goal was really enjoyable, the highlight of the game

If he could only complete the simplest of passses he'd be a world beater.

Very good game defensively, best I've seen Xhaka played, he read the game defensively, was committed with his tackles. Holding played with composure.

We still need to create more chances, we are too reliant on great moments from Auba and Laca.

Good game

Thought we finally played well in a first half, finally.

Backline played better than I thought they would today and Holding brilliant again as was our midfield. Auba should have stayed on though and I thought we might have won had he stayed on. Iwobi should always be on the left and was back to his best again.

Auba had space in the fist 30 on the left as did Salah on the right. The teams adjusted and both players were phased out of the game. Our goal came via the two players on the left and it made complete sense to take Auba off. He was no longer in the game.

Before the goal the ball came into prime tap in Auba territory but he wasn’t there to tap it in as he was watching from the bench. He’s had plenty of games where he has not been in the game and then Suddenly scored.

If you want a high touch high build up player there’s literally no point in him being at the club. If you want a player to score goals then he’s your man.

And he won’t score in every game. Sometimes a change is needed to make a difference especially when he’s not in the game. Worked a treat this time. Plenty of attacking talent that could’ve gambled and got into the box for those couple of crosses, but it’s also part and parcel of these games against the best teams where they are back protecting midfield. We had enough about us to win the game today, Auba or not.

None of them did though did they.

It's noaccident he has been the prems top scorer. He knows where to be.

These are the sorts of games you win if you're going to win titles.
But I think we all know we're not there yet and, as such, I'm pretty happy with a point. Particularly because we weren't hanging on, we weren't lucky to escape with a point. We went toe to toe with a team largely feted as title contenders.
Good game, good performance and, mostly, good defence. Fantastic goal.
We have got a lot of points this season from losing positions, the next trick we need to learn is to stop getting into losing positions.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blink 1nce Quince 2wice

Thought we finally played well in a first half, finally.

Backline played better than I thought they would today and Holding brilliant again as was our midfield. Auba should have stayed on though and I thought we might have won had he stayed on. Iwobi should always be on the left and was back to his best again.

---

yes to all of that

also really love Kolasinac - solid in defence and a real danger going forward.

only Monreal could keep him out of the team for me.

Laca can be frustrating when he's not in the box when a cross comes in but you can't argue with his ability to score

Entertaining game as usual against Liverpool and a fair result in the end. We rode our luck at times but fought hard for the point.

Torreira is such a gem of a player.

Not impressed with Mkhi and I can’t say I’ve been that hot on him since he joined us. Think he’s quite flaky and too easy to nullify. Can see why United turfed him.

Klopp reportedly said this after the game about Emery’s offensive changes during the game : “but of course in the 2nd half, like Arsenal has already do it often this season, they’ve put all of they’re forwards on the pitch, I was even expecting to see Van Persie and Bergkamp coming in”.

Karius is Boss: im starting to seriously go off your boy. Call him to order pls

“They did what they've done a few times this season and brought pretty much all of their strikers, I was waiting for (Robin) van Persie and (Dennis) Bergkamp to come on as well!

“Because first half we were not compact enough, the three in midfield had to do too much. Then the one time we don't close the half space, they play the ball through and they scored the goal.

“That's not nice. But a point at Arsenal will always be absolutely a good result. We take that, now let's carry on.”

:shrug:

Draw was fair, by all accounts. I'll be honest, I didn't actually watch it.

Draw was fair, by all accounts. I'll be honest, I didn't actually watch it.

The Wenger defence......Uhm ok.

Twas a good game, but both sides looked a step below City Im afraid

City are comfortably better than everyone in this league. As they should be given how expensive their squad is.

Top 4 dog fight for everyone else. I don’t see us finishing higher than 4th though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

City are comfortably better than everyone in this league. As they should be given how expensive their squad is.

Top 4 dog fight for everyone else. I don’t see us finishing higher than 4th though.

---

Aye agreed.

I do think there appears to be two layers in the chasing pack though, Liverpool and Chelsea are marginally better than us, Spuds and Man U IMO.

Despite that I think we are firmly part of the group this season, I think top 4 is a real possibility, but as you said 4th is most likely the highest position we can achieve.

The top 3 looks like its locked out. If we had drawn the game with Chelsea we could have been just a point behind them, but anyways, those 2 games just came too soon for us. The last CL spot is a straight shoutout between us, Utd and the Spuds. We desperately need to win those crucial 4 games against those 2 or at worst not get beat in any of them. At least now fans can enter any of those games with little trepidation. Sokratis and Holding need to be our central defensive pairing going forward.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Globalgunner

Sokratis and Holding need to be our central defensive pairing going forward.

---

Good luck convincing Emery of that, he's Mustafi's biggest fan

So just watched the second goal against Liverpool from red star.

Very frustrating that we didn’t get any shots on target and from a slight bit of range.
Alison couldn’t cope.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aubameyang's Wang

So just watched the second goal against Liverpool from red star.

Very frustrating that we didn’t get any shots on target and from a slight bit of range.
Alison couldn’t cope.

---

Probably more a case of an off game for him, otherwise this would have been apparent this season. Just think Liverpool had an off night, after having to travel, it can happen, plus they probably expended a fair amount of energy playing us at the weekend. Terrible result for them, no doubt about that, but probably just an off day.

He could have had an off day against us too but we didn't test him.

Which I feel is a nebulous argument as Liverpool were playing Red Star after playing us, which was a tough game for them. I don't think we can retroactively pretend that sequence didn't happen.