Zonal Marking VIII – Arsenal F.C. v Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at the Emirates on Wednesday night ended their hopes of beating Manchester City’s record of 100 points from a single Premier League campaign.

Goalkeeper and Defence

Liverpool dominated possession throughout the opening 30 minutes, but poor passes gave away possession and allowed Arsenal to take advantage of the Reds. It was Virgil van Dijk’s awkward pass to Fabinho which allowed the Gooners to draw the game level – a rare mistake from the Dutchman after he came under pressure in the box. Then, on the brink of half time, Alisson’s pass back to Andy Robertson presented Reiss Nelson with a golden opportunity on goal which he struck into the left-hand corner.

Jürgen Klopp’s bemused reaction said it all, and as the worried grin on his face grew wider in the second half, Joe Gomez presented Arsenal with even more chances before Trent Alexander-Arnold picked up a yellow card after his poor challenge on Bukayo Saka.

With that being said, Trent still had the best performance from Klopps men in this area of the pitch and he set up the attack with some great chances (one of them being his cross in towards the box which allowed Mo Salah to get a shot on goal before Emiliano Martinez tipped it over the bar) The 21-year-old has not been perfect since the restart, but this was one his better performances so far this season.

Score: 3

Midfield

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was almost non-existent for large portions of the game before he was replaced by Naby Keita in the second half. After good performances against Everton, Aston Villa and Brighton, it was a surprise that Naby didn’t start the game, and I can only assume that Klopp expected the Reds to brush Arsenal aside (even with a more defensive midfield). With that in mind, he was much more creative than Gini Wijnaldum when he came on the pitch and the Reds looked much more likely to grab an equaliser with him in the midfield.

The Midfield partnership of Fabinho, Gini and Oxlade-Chamberlain seemed to miss the leadership and presence of Jordan Henderson who remains out of action with a knee injury. Fabinho looked the brightest in this area of the pitch – his pinpoint passes over the top were consistently excellent and he was able to fulfil the defensive duties of his role when called upon.

Score: 5

Attack

Sadio Mané’s goal came as somewhat of a surprise given how lacklustre Liverpool had been up until that point. Roberto Firmino (who looked inventive throughout the first half) made a good run towards the box before Robertson caught the Arsenal defence off guard and Mané tapped one in to put the visitors 1-0 up – a goal which was topped off with some more awfully dull commentary by Martin Tyler.

Firmino also came close to scoring himself in the first half after he blocked Martinez’s outwards kick which caused the ball to backfire and hit the post. Meanwhile, Takumi Minamino was held back in the box after he came on in the second half but the Japan international stayed on his feet which lost him any appeal for a penalty as a result.

Like Everton earlier on in the season, Arsenal sat deeper as the game went on and ended up with 10 men in the box. The Reds have shown that they’re able to break sides down who decide to do this throughout the current campaign (the late win against Aston Villa being just one occasion), but how Liverpool do this on a more consistent basis will be something for Jurgen Klopp to think about.

Score: 7

Man of the match (Liverpool) – Trent Alexander-Arnold

Jordan Henderson will lift the Premier League trophy in the kop after the Liverpool’s game against Chelsea next Wednesday, and despite the recent confusion surrounding Liverpool’s transfer plans this summer and a number of dull performances which have occurred after the title was wrapped up last month, it’s all lined to be a night that supporters will remember for quite some time to come.