Arsenal Vs Liverpool Pre Match

[redhorizon2]

Arsenal vs Liverpool: A defining clash

Will the battle for fourth place be decided this weekend? Or are both teams aiming higher?



Published 2 days ago by Shaun Harrison, read by 3,946 people.
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Liverpool are in great form this year. (©GettyImages)
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Arsenal vs. Liverpool.
This fixture has had it's tasty encounters over the years and hopefully this Saturday will be no different. But will it have implications on the top four and, maybe even, the title race?
Both teams are in-form coming into the game and it should be a great spectacle to watch, taking into account both teams styles of play. If there is one man wanting to make a difference it's Liverpool's Luis Suarez.
Since his return from his ban he's been like a man possessed. Many have praised his motivation, determination and desire to win; all for the same club he wanted to leave in the summer.
He's banged in all sorts of goals against opposition, including a spectacular 38mph header against West Brom last weekend, which was one instalment of the first Anfield hat-trick of his Liverpool career.
His rejuvenation has been partnered and assisted by Daniel Sturridge. SAS (Suarez and Sturridge), as they are now known, have been firing on all cylinders since the Uruguayan's return netting 14 goals, in the league, between them.
What's more remarkable: Suarez is already third top scorer despite playing only four games. The two ahead of him? Arsenal's Olivier Giroud and Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge.
Liverpool also welcome back Philippe Coutinho from injury. Although he isn't likely to play the full game he could definitely make a cameo appearance causing Arsenal another problem if SAS weren't enough to deal with. He could prove pivotal in changing the game late on.
Arsenal are no pushovers though. They're top of the league and playing sensationally.
The difference between Arsenal and Liverpool is strength in depth. On first XI alone, it's a close battle. Each team showcase their own talents all over the pitch but the key focus of this game will be the Gunners' midfield.
Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Mathieu Flamini, Lukas Podolski, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tomas Rosicky and Serge Gnabry can all play in the Arsenal midfield. If the right five are on their day it'll take something special to stop them.
Mesut Ozil, in particular, has been part of almost every Arsenal goal since his arrival and he's helped players like Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud to a healthy amount of goals, as well as bagging a couple for himself.
Arsenal have played wonderfully throughout the first nine games of this season and it'll take some defence to stop them.
The talismanic striker Oliver Giroud has spearheaded their attack with some surprisingly neat and nimble play from a man who stands over six feet tall. He's helped himself to six goals this campaign and he'll be on the hunt for more at the Emirates in the late kick off on Saturday.
The last time these two heavyweights met, the game ended all square at 2-2.
An early goal for Luis Suarez followed by a Jordan Henderson strike put the Reds two up after the hour mark but two quick goals from Arsenal's Walcott and Giroud had the game levelled up by the 67th minute.
This was quite a standard game for this pair as several years previous, during Liverpool's title charge of 2008/09, they played out an epic 4-4 thriller in which Andrey Arshavin netted all four of Arsenal's goals.
This time around anything could happen. These two are arguably the most in-form teams in the Premier League and either winner will send out a message of danger to the onlooking pack to tell of their ambitions this season.
The result? I honestly can't call it. I want Liverpool to win but I'm just not sure. However there is a comments box below, you tell me. Who will win?

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[Red Bird]

A tense one this. Last season we let Arsenal off the hook with some really poor goals-- those were the days when Liverpool was as likely to concede 2 or 3 after letting in the first goal.

Arsenal is collectively going to be hurting after getting done by Mourinho. Schwarzer hardly had a save to make and already there is a hysterical reaction in the media as if the sky has fallen. Those players will want to put it right and we'll be facing a side looking to redeem itself. I also hear that Podolski may well be back for this one.

As for us, I think it ought to be the same starting line-up with Coutinho on the bench, surely? The only worry I have is at the back. Skrtel tends to wobble when he has players (no matter how good or not) running at him and against WBA Cissokho was letting to many crosses in; Giroud will devour those.. And we need to press their ball players and cut off supply lines (Palace did that quite well).

Roll on Saturday.

 

[Rory Fitzgerald]

Counter-attacking Arsenal

In recent seasons, Arsenal was a team that played football that was pleasing on the eye. However, at times they were criticized for trying to score the perfect goal as they would take too much out of the ball which meant they lacked penetration. They would look to wear teams down and push & probe in their attacks . However, recently they have become a team more willing to embrace the counter-attack. They have moved away from playing football in a congested midfield with slow sideways passing and are now attacking with real pace & purpose. A number of Arsenal's goals this season have come from moving swiftly up the pitch after winning back possession. Below are a few examples of Arsenal breaking swiftly when the opportunity arises. Its a tactic which is serving Arsenal well so far as they have the players that can run with the ball, pick a pass and have the touch and awareness to play in their colleagues.

Arsenal's almost perfect goal against Norwich is shown below. Firstly, they get numbers behind the ball with Giroud and Ozil coming back and force Norwich into making a stray pass by overloading their own defensive third to squeeze the space. They then break up the pitch by continuously passing the ball forward , the only square pass was when Carzola squared to Wilshire outside the box just before he engaged in the double one-two with Giroud. In the space of 18 seconds, Arsenal managed to choke the space for Norwich and then get 7 players up the pitch to give options to the man on the ball including having both full backs out wide to provide width.

Other goals that Arsenal have scored by dispossessing the opposition and immediately playing forward passes with runners supporting the man in possession;

- Fulham. Ball won back in the left back area and clipped up to Giroud who takes it down and lays it off for Walcott who passes to Carzola who then pulls it back for Podolski to smash in.

- Palace. Under pressure, Arsenal clear the ball to Giroud who is just inside Palace's half. With Palace pushing for an equaliser his 1st instinct is not to control the ball to relieve pressure but to pass it down the line for Ramsey who is running off him. Ramsey clips the ball into Giroud to head home to make it 2-0.

- West Brom. Mulumbu gets dispossessed about 25 yards from Arsenal's goal. From there, the Gunners pass the ball forward always trying to get behind WBA before they re-group. With men getting behind the ball, Wilshire equalises with a deflected shot. This is not the greatest example but it still rewarded the team with a piece of luck.

- Norwich. Both Wilshire and Ozil's goals came from direct running and passing up the pitch.

Out of Arsenal's 20 league goals, I would class 9 of them as goals scored by moving the ball with continuous vertical passes up the pitch from defence and scoring a goal inside 15-20secs, though with most of them as quickly as 7 to 13 secs. This style is reminiscent of Wenger's best teams of countering in waves with Patrick Viera saying that he would always break forward when Bergkamp was given the ball on the counter-attack because he would always pick the right pass with Bergkamp recently saying of Ozil that "Behind every pass there must be a thought.....you see that with his control and his movement and that’s what I like".

Full backs

With the injuries to Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Podolski, Arsenal have been filling the 5 midfield slots with players that are more comfortable playing in the central areas rather than out wide. As such, with the likes of Ozil, Carzola, Ramsey, Wilshire and Rosicky getting games behind Giroud. The graphic below shows that Arsenal play more football in central areas than most teams though 32% on the face of it is not a huge number, what is more telling is that alot of their play seems skewed to the right .

With no proper outlet in wide areas, this is placing a huge burden on the shoutders of Gibbs and Sagna to get through a great deal of work during games as they are the players that have to provide the width. Recently this was acknowledged by Carzola who said "I believe that full backs have a pivotal role in our team, Jack Wilshire, Tomas Rosicky or myself are not sticking strictly to the touchline. Therefore we open up spaces so our full backs have a corridor where they can go up and down. Our ball possessions are long but they can break through by surprise. That’s why full backs are really important for our team. You can see that every game". Below are a few examples of just how high up the pitch Gibbs and Sagna are willing to go which helps to overload the opposition with numbers in the final third. However, as shown later on, its also an opportunity for the opposition. Also, its no surprise that both full-backs were rested against Chelsea in the League Cup given the work they are required to get through.

Finding Space

I believe that the best opportunity to find some space will be behind the full backs when we win back possession and I believe it was part of our tactic when we went to The Emirates last season. Here is a look at where our longer passes were aimed and the heat map of both Sagna & Suarez. This was one game in which Suarez's roaming tendencies were curtailed and he remained on our left. Its hard to think that Rodgers did this for defensive reasons but rather he put our best player in a position where he was likely to find the most space when Sagna went forward .

Here is an example from that game last season. The run by Suarez and the ball played by Henderson without looking would suggest that there was specific plan of attack at the break downs and that the aim was to exploit the space behind Sagna when he got forward.

As there are only 5 images allowed per post, the rest of the preview is continued here;

The Inside Right

 

[Brizzle]

Looking forward to reading this on my lunch break!

 

[Brizzle]

I think we will score goals (i.e. more than 1) so this game hinges on us cutting out any comedy defending. If the 3 at the back stay strong and organised with the required support from Lucas and Hendo ahead of them, I think we can get a win here.

 

[Pesam]

Arsenal's achilles heel is still their defence and we should start with Coutinho if he's fit and go at them. Without Flamini protecting their back 4 Coutinho, Gerrard, Suarez and Sturridge could have a field day against them.

I don't see Arsenal as serious title contenders and haven't bought into the hype surrounding their start to the season. Ramsey & Ozil will cause us problems but Giroud is nothing more than decent and Carzola is very hit-and-miss.

Balls on the line..................We'll win comfortably 1-3.

 

[Judge Jules]

I'm afraid I disagree. While it's true that their defence isn't all that, IMO they're still definitely contenders (a) because of the quality of their attacking play and (b) because the Prem isn't massively strong overall at the minute.

As for this weekend, I'll go as far as saying I don't think we'll lose, but we'll not shut them out for the whole 90 mins.so I'm going 1-1.

 

[Fabio]

Arsenal's achilles heel is still their defence and we should start with Coutinho if he's fit and go at them. Without Flamini protecting their back 4 Coutinho, Gerrard, Suarez and Sturridge could have a field day against them.

I don't see Arsenal as serious title contenders and haven't bought into the hype surrounding their start to the season. Ramsey & Ozil will cause us problems but Giroud is nothing more than decent and Carzola is very hit-and-miss.

Balls on the line..................We'll win comfortably 1-3.

I enjoy your balls position

 

[Mystic]

Sorry guys I've jinxed this, I've taken Giroud out of my FF team and bought in Suarez.

 

[RolandG]

Coutinho should definately start and we should play our strongest team from the off. There is no way we should sit back against the Gooners,they'll hurt us.

 

[Pesam]

I enjoy your balls position

If I had a £1 for every time I've heard that........

 

[Mystic]

Lucas is key this match, he needs to need to do to Ozil what he did to Silva. With the three at the back, I actually think we'll be quite suited to deal with Giroud and company, however if Santi and Ozil are allowed to pull the strings, they'll cut us to pieces, so Lucas must stop that from happening. Sturridge, Suarez and Coutinho should be very effective against them, they're without Arteta and Flamini, thats a huge bonus for us, it's harsh, but I think Henderson is the one who should make way, his energy could be very effective against them though. Oh and for the love of god please start Enrique, Cissokho is a nightmare defensively.

 

[Pesam]

Lucas is key this match, he needs to need to do to Ozil what he did to Silva. With the three at the back, I actually think we'll be quite suited to deal with Giroud and company, however if Santi and Ozil are allowed to pull the strings, they'll cut us to pieces, so Lucas must stop that from happening. Sturridge, Suarez and Coutinho should be very effective against them, they're without Arteta and Flamini, thats a huge bonus for us, it's harsh, but I think Henderson is the one who should make way, his energy could be very effective against them though. Oh and for the love of god please start Enrique, Cissokho is a nightmare defensively.

I think Arteta is available for them.

I would love us to have signed Wanyama but no point crying over spilt milk; Lucas can be pivotal in this game but rather than playing him as a regular DM'er I'd tell him to man-mark Ramsey. No team has effectively stopped Ramsey this season, his late runs into the box have been incredibly effective and I reckon a man-marker is the best way to nullify this.

I wouldn't be against the idea of just playing Lucas OR Henderson as the man-marker and leaving the other on the bench to accommodate the return of Coutinho. "What about Ozil, Wilshere and Arteta?" I hear you cry, well let them worry about covering our marauding attacking 4 of Suarez, Sturridge, Coutinho and Gerrard.

Gunners are gonna get mullered!

 

[Brizzle]

I don't think Coutinho will be able to start, he'll likely take his place on the bench which means we don't have to worry about the new conundrum of how we line up once Coutinho is back and we need to pick from 4 of Coutinho, Hendo, Gerrard and Lucas for the midfield 3.

 

[Pesam]

I don't think Coutinho will be able to start, he'll likely take his place on the bench which means we don't have to worry about the new conundrum of how we line up once Coutinho is back and we need to pick from 4 of Coutinho, Hendo, Gerrard and Lucas for the midfield 3.

I don't think Rodgers will start Coutinho to be honest but I think he should. If he's fit enough for the bench (injury-wise) he should be fit enough for the starting 11 and his aerobic fitness should be fine given he's young and only been out for a few weeks. I'd start him and maybe sub him when we're 3-0 up after 70 minutes.

 

[Delinquent]

The article included in the first post is dreadful. It's like a child wrote it.

As for the game - Arsenal have lost two in a row now, both at home, so hopefully we can capitalise on their wavering confidence. I agree with Mystic; no Arteta or Flamini is huge, and if we get physical with them and close them down effectively, we should nullify their midfield.

Late kickoff means I can get nicely sloshed for this one, without having to worry about the day ahead. Looking forward to it.

 

[Pesam]

Arteta got a one game ban which meant he missed last night's game against Chelsea and will be available against us.

 

[Mystic]

Yeh, Arteta is back, thats a shame.

 

[RolandG]

Coutinho has 2 weeks training behind him. He'll be fit. Lucas and Gerrard will be key to stopping the Gooners in midfield. Our defence needs to cut out the silly mistakes and we need to defend set pieces better. We must show initiative and go at them from the start.

 

[refugee]

I agree with the "Arsenal will miss Flamini" crowd. he's quite integral to the way they play.

 

[FoxForceFive]

I agree with the "Arsenal will miss Flamini" crowd. he's quite integral to the way they play.

He really is.

MOTD showed it (think it was last weekend) quite thoroughly, he has a very big impact.

 

[FoxForceFive]

@Rory Fitzgerald
Great preview.

The new site looks nice too, very slick.

The points you make about their counter attacking & balance being so important help to bolster my opinion about Henderson.

 

[Pesam]

Mignolet = Szczesny (sp)
Johnson > Sagna
Toure > Mertesacker
Skrtel = Koscelny
Gibbs = Cissohko
Lucas < Arteta
Gerrard = Wilshere
Henderson < Ramsey
Coutinho > Carzola or Rosicky
Suarez > Ozil
Sturridge > Giroud

I realise I've done this with an LFC bias and you could line them up differently to give Arsenal maybe an extra <> in their favour but I still reckon we've got a better first 11.

Also, I guess we're gonna play 5 at the back but I gave us a 4-4-2 formation because I couldn't match our 3rd CB against one of their midfielders.

As previously stated...... We iz getting 3 points off these mugs.

 

[My_Blood_Bleeds_Red]

I think playing a long-passing game might be the way to go for this match, even if I dislike that style of playing.

It might just stifle Arsenal's midfield tempo especially when they counter with pace. Slow the game down.

If we hit those long balls to the middle, we can play Sturridge as the CF. He's pretty good at holding the ball, while Suarez and Coutinho (i'm hoping he'll be fit...he must be) attack from the flanks. Arsenal's fullbacks are slightly suspect and irregardless, Suarez and Coutinho on the flanks will give them lots to think about and will pacify their attacking runs.

Next alternative, if we hit those long balls to the flanks, Suarez and Coutinho will have to flank both sides of the pitch and chase those balls down. I would then give Sturridge a free-role instead of operating solely in the middle. I noticed whenever Coutinho plays, SaS and Coutinho play in triangles. This will stretch Arse's defence, with their centrehalves having to double up on the flanks. This will leave the middle exposed and our midfield players will have to exploit this. However, we don't have a midfielder who runs into the box to attack. We used to have Stevie do that but he's playing a lot deeper these days. So Brodgers will have to figure this part out.

Either way, I think a long-passing game is the way to go. Or a nicer term for it would be - play direct.

Engage in a tiki-taka game with the Arse and we will be screwed. Not especially if we play with 3 at the back. They will burn us with pace. So no short passing game please.

Another way to play this game, is a classic counter-attack formation. Sit deep, back line tight, defend like lions and hit them on the counter. And if I were to set up a counter-attack team, I would set it the way Mourinho set Inter Milan up when they beat Bayern in that CL final.

it would be interesting to see how Brodgers will setup the team. Can't wait for this weekend !

 

[Mystic]

Engage in a tiki-taka game with the Arse and we will be screwed. Not especially if we play with 3 at the back. They will burn us with pace. So no short passing game please.

I'm not convinced by that. We've looked most vulnerable when teams attack us directly, not when teams have tried to control the game against us. Personally I think having three at the back will be beneficial against Arsenal, there is going to be much less room in the box for them to exploit, and they don't play particularly wide, especially with Walcott and Podolski out. I'd love nothing more than to play them at their own game and play them off the park, that's very unlikely though. I don't think we should be afraid to play our game, coming into this game, both sides will be scared of the way the other plays, that's why it's looking like it'll be such a great game. Personally I would take a draw, but it could go either way, with Arsenal having the advantage.

 

[Mystic]

I agree with the "Arsenal will miss Flamini" crowd. he's quite integral to the way they play.

Yet Arsenal fans don't seem to rate him, it's absolute madness. I said at the beginning of the season (to much abuse from Arsenal fans on twitter) that I think Flamini is their signing of the season (over Ozil). I still think that.

 

[Mystic]

Mignolet = Szczesny (sp)
Johnson > Sagna
Toure > Mertesacker
Skrtel = Koscelny
Gibbs = Cissohko
Lucas < Arteta
Gerrard = Wilshere
Henderson < Ramsey
Coutinho > Carzola or Rosicky
Suarez > Ozil
Sturridge > Giroud

I realise I've done this with an LFC bias and you could line them up differently to give Arsenal maybe an extra <> in their favour but I still reckon we've got a better first 11.

Also, I guess we're gonna play 5 at the back but I gave us a 4-4-2 formation because I couldn't match our 3rd CB against one of their midfielders.

As previously stated...... We iz getting 3 points off these mugs.

As a defensive midfielder, Lucas is better than Arteta, it's a strange comparison anyway, Lucas should be compared to Flamini, and Allen compared to Arteta

 

[Rory Fitzgerald]

@Rory Fitzgerald
Great preview.

The new site looks nice too, very slick.

The points you make about their counter attacking & balance being so important help to bolster my opinion about Henderson.

Yeah, I came around to that view as well with Henderson over Coutinho. Not an easy thing to say but having Coutinho on the bench with the pace and running of Moses and Sterling, it allows us to start solid in an away game and then decide when/how to make attacking changes.

 

[Mors]

I don't think Coutinho will start. But if he did, Suarez, Sturridge, Gerrard, him and Moses should be enough to fucking ruin arsenal. We've got enough players to ruin them between the starting 11 and the bench.

The only problem is when they've got the ball.

 

[Pesam]

As a defensive midfielder, Lucas is better than Arteta, it's a strange comparison anyway, Lucas should be compared to Flamini, and Allen compared to Arteta

I was trying to compare likely line-ups on Saturday; Flamini and Allen will not be playing, Arteta will play DM for Arsenal as will Lucas for us which is why I paired them. The only concession i made to the likely line-ups is i replaced Sakho with Coutinho to make each line-up 4-4-2.

It was a pointless exercise but meant just to emphasise that I believe our best 11 is better than theirs.