On Saturday 4th April, Arsenal romped to a 4-1 victory over in Liverpool.
The first three goals for Arsenal came in a fast paced period of eight minutes, from the 37th to the 45th. The first was courtesy of Hector Bellerin, who cut inside and easily beat Alberto Moreno before finishing coolly. The second a fantastic free kick from Mesut Ozil that crept into Simon Mignolet’s near post. A lot of people will say that the keeper should have got to the ball, however with the slight movement that Mignolet made to his left, there was no chance he would achieve the right level of balance in order to be able to move back and get to the ball in time.
The third goal was a frankly unstoppable effort by Alexis Sanchez, the man who needed a goal. Alexis’ season had gone a tad quiet in terms of goals and assists, but against Liverpool the Chilean was at his best, collecting a pass from Aaron Ramsey (who was also fantastic) and touching the ball inside before taking another touch to allow himself the space to unleash a rocket into the back of the net.
This eight minute period was as good as Arsenal have been all season, however I can’t help but admit that the poor Liverpool defence made it a touch easier for the Gunners.
So what did we learn from the clash at the Emirates?
Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla have a very good, deep lying partnership in midfield-
The Frenchman Coquelin is a revelation in midfield for Arsenal. He has brought a calm and cool defensive nature to an attacking Arsenal midfield. We all know that Mathieu Flamini was not cutting it at the top level anymore, so for Coquelin to step in and make that position in the team his own has been as impressive as anything we’ve seen from the Gunners all season. Santi Cazorla meanwhile has all the footballing ability in the world and that was on full display on Saturday, his tricks, passing range and defensive work showcased a side to him we have all seen before.
The two as a duo have proven that they do in fact have a good partnership in midfield. Cazorla has been deployed in a much deeper role this season, one which allows him to be creative in midfield, but he is also expected to lend a hand to his midfield partner (Coquelin) when doing the ‘dirty work’. When Coquelin pressed forward (very rarely), Cazorla was always on hand to ensure stability in midfield and vice versa, a very important but often unseen luxury in football.
Cazorla may not be the long term partner to Coquelin in a deep lying role as he continues to age and rumours linking Morgan Schneiderlin with a move to the Emirates become stronger, but he is showing week after week that he has what it takes.
Bellerin still has a lot to learn defensively-
Hector Bellerin had a good afternoon of football at the Emirates stadium on Saturday, but the 20 year old still has a lot to learn about defensive positioning and the importance of timing a tackle to perfection. Bellerin could and should have been sent off for a rash slide tackle on Raheem Sterling that awarded Liverpool a penalty (converted by Jordan Henderson).
Bellerin is an extremely quick footballer, his burst of acceleration is unbelievable and once he hits top speed is allegedly quicker than Theo Walcott, so in his mind he must think ‘I’m quicker than you, so I can afford to be a bit out of position, I’ll make up the space in no time’. However, when Bellerin fouled Sterling, he was too far away from his man and the English forward knew exactly what to do, touching the ball past Bellerin forcing him to commit a foul. It is an easy mistake to make, but the young right back will no doubt learn as he gains more experience.
This happened on a few occasions throughout the game, Sterling was afforded a lot of space because of Bellerin’s poor positioning. Next season we will likely see Mathieu Debuchy slot back into the full back role if he can stay fit and Bellerin will be able to learn from the Frenchman the vital components that make the best full backs.
Moreno should convert to a left midfielder-
Alberto Moreno is a decent footballer, but not a good defender. Similar to Bellerin, the Spanish full back has a lot of pace, but unlike the Arsenal defender, Moreno has committed three errors that have led directly to goals (Bellerin has committed none) and that is a lot for a top side like Liverpool.
However, as Liverpool attack, Moreno is often a vital point of it, providing a fantastic wide outlet. The left back has created 30 goal scoring chances this season, whilst making 443 total forward passes. A successful full back needs to have the perfect mix of attacking threat and defensive stability and Moreno does not have that.
Again, as with Bellerin, Moreno is still young and can learn from his mistakes, but it is clear that his best periods of football come in attack and he could prove himself to be a very useful left midfielder if utilised well.
Mesut Ozil is quietly effective midfield genius who is well on his way to winning the critics over-
The Arsenal midfielder’s performances speak for themselves and critics are now beginning to understand what vital importance Ozil holds in this team’s success. Players who play with Ozil cannot speak highly enough of him and Manager Arsene Wenger says that the player is a joy to coach and that “when you play with him in the team, you would love to play with him.”
Ozil displayed his talent against Liverpool, initiating attack after attack, slowing play down to his tempo and using his skill/burst of pace to raise it as and when he pleases. Scoring the free kick (Arsenal’s second) typified the afternoon for Ozil, receiving plaudits from pundits, critics and surely deemed Michael Owen’s argument of ‘Sterling is better than Ozil’ a moot point.
Liverpool need to wave goodbye to three at the back-
It is time for Brendan Rodgers to revert from the three at the back with two wide full backs formation. Despite being very good defensively in 2015, the Liverpool Manager needs to be able to adjust his team and formation to the occasion. On Saturday, Liverpool’s full backs were Lazor Markovic and Alberto Moreno, two very attacking full backs who left space open for Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to exploit.
In the lead up to Bellerin’s goal, Ozil’s pass into Ramsey dragged Sakho out wide, catching Moreno out of position and the left back could only fill in for the out of position Sakho at centre back, meaning Bellerin was able to make up the space left over with his pace before getting beyond Moreno with a drop of the shoulder. It was almost too easy for Bellerin to score.
Emre Can is a very good footballer and is easily Rodgers’ best signing this season, but the fact of the matter is that he is not a centre back and it is evidently clear considering the sheer number of times that he finds himself moving up the pitch with the ball (leaving space in the defence wide open) as opposed to collecting and passing it forward.
If Liverpool are to continue deploying three at the back, they will need to find much more disciplined defenders. Kolo Toure had one of his worst games of football as he set the tone for his afternoon by giving the ball away early on and Ramsey could have easily scored.
Dejan Lovren was signed from Southampton in the summer to provide that defensive stability for an apparent fee of around £20m, however his signing hasn’t quite worked out as Liverpool would have hoped.
Martin Skrtel is by far Liverpool’s best defender, the only one with real defensive maturity and discipline, but he needs support from his fellow defensive partners.
Mamadou Sakho’s role is becoming increasingly important for Liverpool, but at times he looks as though he has just learned how to walk and often mistimes tackles. It is difficult to martial a three man defence when two of the three are often out of position and the full backs are often found in positions too high up the pitch.
Liverpool are much improved defensively under Rodgers with the back three, but in order to win the ‘big games’, the Liverpool Manager must be able to adjust his side when required.
