ANFIELD — This was always likely to be the true acid test of Arsenal‘s improvement. Mikel Arteta‘s side arrived at Anfield, emboldened by an eight-game unbeaten run that had seen them rise from 20th at the end of August to fifth at the start of the weekend. Impressive as that sequence was, the pertinent question to be asked before kick-off was whether it was proof of evolution or yet another false dawn, given Arsenal had beaten teams they would expect to beat and taken advantage of dreadful displays from Spurs and Leicester in the other two matches.
After half an hour, it looked as though the answer might have been the more positive scenario. Arsenal have been more susceptible than most to the Anfield onslaught, conceding 18 times in their previous five league visits to the stadium, including 11 in the first half. Arteta, meanwhile, played and scored in a 5-1 defeat in 2014 in which Arsenal found themselves 4-0 down by the 20th minute. In recent meetings between the two, Liverpool have overwhelmed Arsenal with their intensity and worn them down with their quality.
On this occasion, though, it took a while for Liverpool to find their usual tempo. Ironically, it was a touchline skirmish involving both managers that appeared to snap them into life, with Arteta and Jurgen Klopp each earning yellow cards for a heated exchange. It was as if the players were angry that someone had dared take on their own boss in his own house.
And as has been the case so often in recent weeks, it was Trent Alexander-Arnold who seized the initiative. The 23-year-old is a handy cheat code for Liverpool when their usual strategy of ripping teams apart from open play is in some way inhibited. Having one of the best set-piece experts in the Premier League is a handy ace card. With 39 minutes played, Alexander-Arnold flighted in one of those un-defendable free-kicks of his onto the head of Sadio Mane for the opening goal. Arsenal knew what was coming, but were powerless to stop it.
It was at that point that Arsenal’s resistance began to creak. In the second half, it fell to pieces. The Gunners had attempted to play themselves into trouble on a few occasions, before Nuno Tavares generously set up Diogo Jota for Liverpool’s second, with the Portuguese deceiving Gabriel Magalhaes and rounding Aaron Ramsdale, before side-footing into an empty net.
Mo Salah got the third, putting the finishing touches to a mind-blowingly rapid counter-attack that involved his strike partners Jota and Mane. And then Alexander-Arnold provided the fourth, sliding the ball across the six-yard-box for substitute Takumi Minamino to tap into an empty net. It was Alexander-Arnold’s sixth league assist of the season, a total that puts him second behind Salah and Paul Pogba (both on seven) in the charts.
On the balance of the final hour, a 4-0 victory was a deserving one for the home side. It was the fifth time Arsenal had lost by four or more goals at Anfield, setting a new, unwanted Premier League record. It was also as many goals as they had conceded in their previous eight matches combined.
The disappointing aspect of this latest Merseyside massacre is that Arsenal actually started quite well. With the exception of the two old-stagers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in attack, this was largely an Arsenal side unburdened by past failures. Takehiro Tomiyasu initially edged his individual battle with Mane on the wing; a confident Ben White looked to gallop into midfield with the ball at his feet; the in-form Ramsdale initially looked as though he was having one of those games that visiting ‘keepers only usually dream about.
But as has happened so often for Arsenal on this ground, they contributed to their own demise, inviting Liverpool on to them and paying the ultimate price for it. Arsenal have made progress but this result means that in three matches against the Premier League’s three best teams this season – Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool – they have lost by a combined score of 11-0. That is an indicator that while a promising young core of players is emerging, there is still plenty of work that still needs to be done.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3oG2ghi
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