Liverpool 0-0 Arsenal Match Report
The lineups coming into the match were expected to be strong ones considering what is at stake for both teams. Unlucky for Arsenal that Odegaard tested positive for COVID-19 and would have to miss the match as a result. Arsenal were already missing Thomas Partey and Tomiyasu through injury as well. Liverpool approached the game pretty much at full strength. Only Salah and Mané were missing due to their involvement in the AFCON tournament held in Cameroon. If it wasn’t clear how seriously Liverpool were taking the match, Allison was set to make his first ever appearance in the competition. However, the question on everyone’s lips was how much would Liverpool miss Salah and Mané? The ninety minutes that followed seemingly gave us our answer, A LOT.
The first half started much like the previous meeting between the two at Anfield back in November. The match was cagey and scrappy to start with neither team able to grab a real stranglehold on the match. However within two minutes of the start of the match, Arsenal suffered an injury scare with Cedric Soares going down and requiring treatment after an earlier collision left him with what seemed like a sore hip. Although he did initially return to the pitch to try and carry on, he could not continue and was eventually replaced by Callum Chambers in the tenth minute. Ramsdale looked a bit shaky throughout the match with his decision making and after having his clearance blocked by Jordan Henderson on the edge of his area, Ramsdale was nearly caught out by the Liverpool captain’s attempt at goal which he was able to smother behind for a corner kick. Other than that, Liverpool were unable to create much in the opening twenty minutes and Arsenal began to get into the match.
Just as Arsenal grew into the match they were dealt a huge blow to their chances of winning. During a transition from back to front for Liverpool, Andy Robertson hit a long diagonal towards Diogo Jota who took it nicely on his chest before being completely taken out by the high boot of Granit Xhaka. Xhaka, who was last man, gave referee Michael Oliver no choice but to show a straight red to the former Arsenal captain who himself is no stranger to a red card. He may have had his own complaints about the decision but the referee got the decision spot on. Now down to ten men, Mikel Arteta decided to introduce Rob Holding to the match, sacrificing Eddie Nketiah in the process who started the game brightly. The remainder of the first half was seen off by Arsenal without Liverpool posing any serious threat to the Arsenal goal despite having most of the possession in and around the Arsenal final third.
Liverpool started the second half sloppily and with even less tempo and rhythm then they began the match with. Their best attempt before late on in the match came via a strong run from Minamino up the Liverpool left resulting in a miss-hit cross that worried Ramsdale in goal but ultimately went wide. Arsenal in the second half on the counter-attack carried a more potent threat through Bukayo Saka. His and Arsenal’s biggest opportunity came after great work from Lacazette to hold the ball up and spread it wide to Tierney. Tierney found Saka alone at the back post with a brilliant cross, however Saka’s first touch let him down and Allison was able to block the Arsenal man’s scuffed effort relatively easily.
Liverpool made substitutions to try and influence the game. The first was Curtis Jones on for James Milner. Jones came on and delivered clever passes only for his teammates to waste the opportunity. He had probably the only opportunity that worked Aaron Ramsdale after he cut inside and let fly from inside the area. The delivery from both full backs for Liverpool particularly from Trent Alexander-Arnold was disappointing which led to a triple change from Jurgen Klopp. Unfortunately for Liverpool, the introduction of Joe Gomez, Neco Williams, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain added very little to their attacking quality. The biggest chance of the match fell to Minamino just as the clock was approaching ninety minutes. Ramsdale had attempted to come for a cross, made a mess of his attempt to deal with the ball into the box and the rebound fell to Minamino right on the penalty spot with the goal gaping. In keeping with the quality of the Liverpool finishing, he blazed his half volley over the bar pretty much signaling to everyone at Anfield that this was not to be Liverpool’s day.
Another mistake by Ramsdale brought the last chance for liverpool after Williams fired in a low cross-shot into the area that was cleared nearly off his own goal line from Ben White to cap off a fantastic performance at the back from the former Brighton man. The result should give Arsenal loads of encouragement not just for the return leg in a week’s time, but also for future matches against the big six teams. They were able to show team spirit and resilience, the likes of which we are seeing more and more consistently from this Arsenal side as they make a run at clinching a top four finish this season in the Premier League. For Liverpool, this could be the start of a baron run up front for the Reds without Kop heroes Salah and Mané. Without the bit of magic those two normally supply, and Trent Alexander-Arnold starting to dip in form a bit, these next few weeks may prove to be a difficult period for Jurgen Klopp’s men.
