Zonal Marking: Arsenal 3-2 Liverpool

Liverpool were defeated 3-2 by Arsenal in an eventful meeting on Sunday. Jürgen Klopp stuck with the same formation (4-4-2) and line-up that provided him with a victory over Rangers, but this time, didn’t live up to expectations – The North London side was out of reach.

Goalkeeper and Defence

What Alisson Becker is thinking, once he goes between the sticks is anyone’s guess. Not so long ago, had he been fighting for the Golden Glove award. As of this moment, he hopes the shaky defensive play inside his penalty area will draw to a close. He was steady and can’t be blamed for failing to save the goals. Had it not been for his intervention in the second-half, shortly after the game resumed, Odegaard could have made it 3-1.

Another bad day at the office, another shocker at the back. Nothing is working when the Reds try preventing their opponents from bagging goals.

Trent Alexander-Arnold had an off day. Mikel Arteta identified right-side as a vulnerable point, having said so, the born and bread Scouser was awful for Bukayo Saka’s goal. Another niggling issue is Virgil van Dijk’s form. He was indecisive in some moments, miscommunicated with Alisson regarding knocking the over the top ball. He made some crucial intervations, but still isn’t a mainstay like before. The other two defenders Joel Matip and Kostas Tsimikas were unconvincing and looked lost in the penalty box.

Score: 1

Midfield

The midfield has been a subject of debate since the end of the last campaign and it still is. Arsenal proved this area is their driving force with the likes of Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard in the squad.

Saka’s goal that gave the home team the lead, shortly before the half-time whistle, raised a few eyebrows within the Reds’ squad. The execution action began in the Gunners’ penalty box, where the ball was intercepted and a quick counter-attack was produced that resulted in them taking a lead again. Liverpool’s middle of the park was non-existent in this situation, the opponents were at ease to break it. Jordan Henderson dug deep to help Alexander-Arnold cancel out Arsenal’s quick movement up front, but it was ineffective defending.

Thiago Alcantara and Henderson struggled to take control in the midfield. The London side was more aggressive and set the tone for the flow of the game there. Although Thiago’s display alone was decent, he showed his quality on the ball again and was one of our best players.

Score: 2

Attack

Klopp stuck to a brave attacking system in hope of eradicating defensive struggles and producing something special in the final third. He deployed the likes of Darwin Núñez, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah up front.

It’s fair to say, the Egyptian King lacks the end product. There’s no more telepathy between him and his team-mates. He was low-key for the overwhelming majority of the performance, was subbed in the second-half for Fabinho.

However, positive and silver lining moments came through the other three frontmen plus the substitute Roberto Firmino. The Brazilian linked-up well with Diogo Jota for the Reds’ second goal that was bagged against the run of play. Moreover, both Diaz and Núñez posed a constant threat for Arsenal’s defence. The former left the pitch prematurely after sustaining an injury, hopefully it’s not serious.

Score: 3