Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal
Arsenal produced a truly
shambolic performance at Anfield on Saturday, as they capitulated from the very
first minute of the game. In fact the match was over within the opening 20
minutes as Liverpool comfortably raced into a 4-0 lead.
In many ways this was a result
that had been coming for several weeks. At the start of the season, one of the
most impressive features of this Arsenal side was the way in which they were
starting games on the front foot, more often than not scoring an early goal and
then controlling the game from there. Yet in recent weeks, this impressive
trait has slowly disappeared and the Gunners have started matches in extremely
sluggish fashion. However, as Arsene Wenger’s side managed to grind out results
from those games, the manner in which they had started had largely been
ignored. The recent away game against Southampton was a case in point. In the
first half the Gunners were absolutely abysmal and struggled to even get out of
their own half, as they failed to cope with Southampton’s relentless high
pressing game. In fact Mauricio Pochettino’s side could and should have been at
least three goals clear during the first period of the match. Yet Arsenal
somehow managed to claw their way back into the game and escaped with a 2-2
draw. It should have been clear that against a better side such as Liverpool,
the Gunners would not be allowed to get away with such a performance in the
opening 45 minutes.
Unfortunately Arsenal did not
seem to have learnt anything from their encounter with Southampton and began
the game against Liverpool in much the same fashion, with devastating
consequences. From the very first whistle, the Gunners were clearly off the
pace, with Per Mertesacker allowing a long ball forward to bounce rather than
simply clearing it away. The German’s hesitation allowed Luis Suarez to seize
possession before Mertesacker fouled him to give away a free kick. From the set
piece, Steven Gerrard’s delivery was good, but Arsenal’s defending was
shocking. Three Liverpool players were lined up behind Koscielny, all unmarked,
one of whom, Martin Skrtel stuck a leg out to divert the ball beyond Szczesny
and into the net to give Liverpool the lead inside the first minute.
Although this would have been a
shock to the system, there was no excuse for what followed. All over the pitch,
Arsenal were second best. Liverpool had the hunger, desire and commitment to
chase down every ball, easily outmuscling the Gunners at every opportunity. In
fact the Arsenal players weren’t even working together as a team to help each
other out, allowing their teammates to become isolated when they had the ball.
It was all too easy for the home side as they overwhelmed Arsenal in midfield
with Arteta seemingly out of his depth in the defensive midfield role. Once
Liverpool won back possession, they were direct, attacking with devastating
speed of movement and thought and as a result, every time Brendan Rodgers’ team
went forward, they looked as though they would score.
There was no real response from
the Gunners to having conceded so early in the game and within 10 minutes they
were two goals down thanks to more atrocious set-piece defending. Gerrard’s
delivery found Skrtel, who was completely unmarked once again and he duly
headed the ball home, with Oxlade-Chamberlain on the line, unable to jump high
enough to head clear. With Anfield jubilant, the Liverpool attacks kept on
coming and Suarez was unfortunate to see a stunning shot come back off the
post, the ball falling to Kolo Toure, but the former Gunner was unable to steer
it into an empty net.
Nevertheless Liverpool didn’t
have to wait much longer for the third, which arrived in the 17th
minute through Raheem Sterling. In a moment which encapsulated the game
perfectly, Ozil was far too easily outmuscled on the halfway line. The German’s
response was to sit on the turf and watch as Liverpool surged forward. Suarez’s
low ball across the area found Sterling all alone at the back post and he
simply couldn’t miss. Arsenal just couldn’t string two passes together in midfield;
it was as if those in yellow had never played with each other before. Whenever
they lost possession, there was no chasing back and Liverpool were having a
field day.
Only one Arsenal player appeared
to care, Jack Wilshere. The young Englishman was visibly frustrated and
irritated by his side’s failings and could be seen shouting at his teammates.
The others kept their heads down and simply accepted their fate. That’s what
hurt the most. Any side can lose to a top team, but it’s how you lose. There
was just no character or pride amongst the team on Saturday as several players
simply hid and went missing. These are not the characteristics of champions.
As the clock ticked over into the
20th minute, a misplaced pass from Ozil was easily intercepted and
Coutinho’s excellent through ball allowed Sturridge to race clear of Koscielny
before placing the ball past Szczesny. Arsenal were finished. Had this been a
boxing match, the referee would have ended it long before Liverpool had netted
their fourth of the afternoon.
In truth Liverpool could have
gone on to score as many as they wished but started to ease off from this point
on. Yet the Gunners still could not get themselves into the game and failed to
create anything of any note. Liverpool were just toying with Arsenal and in the
52nd minute a simple long ball caught the entire Arsenal defence
napping once again, with some defenders stepping up to play offside, while
others stayed back. Sterling waltzed through on goal, had his shot saved by
Szczesny, but had all the time in the world to collect the rebound and steer
the ball in at the near post to make it 5-0.
Arsenal’s consolation goal came
from the penalty spot after Gerrard had brought down Oxlade-Chamberlain in the
box and Arteta despatched the penalty to raucous cheers from the excellent away
supporters, who had left their homes at 4am to witness this debacle.
The Gunners now have it all to
prove in their midweek game at home to Manchester United. Their title
credentials took a real battering on Saturday and they must recover from this
setback as quickly as possible. Although the players have all stated that they
want to put this result behind them and prove that it was just a bad day at the
office, the fact that most failed to show any real character in adversity is
extremely worrying and certainly doesn’t bode well for the future.
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