Arsenal 3 Liverpool 1 (Feb 4 2024)

[tlw content]

 

Well that was shit. What a time to throw in a performance like that. Losing at the Emirates isn’t the end of the world as it’s one of the two or three most difficult fixtures on the calendar, so the loss in itself isn’t cause to be too despondent. It’s pretty hard to feel anything but demoralised though after seeing the performance. It was bad, bordering on terrible in fact.

 

The first half - as usual away from home - was shocking. Dreadful, clueless, sloppy, disorganised shite. The second half actually started well (as usual away from home) but then Klopp decided to make three changes when we were well on top and looking dangerous, and that was the end of that. We lost momentum, then made schoolboy mistakes at the back and ended up getting exactly what we deserved - nothing.

 

There’s a lot of blame to go around for this one. None of the players come out of it with any great credit but the gameplan and team selection was fucked up too. How is it possible for us to go there and do the exact same shit we did in the first half of the FA Cup game the other week? Even the game at Anfield saw Arsenal take control of us early on. How have we not learned from that?

 

Klopp said “we didn’t play football” in the first half. Well yeah, that’s true, but why is that? Because it was really fucking hard to play football when all of our players seemed to be marked and we had no pace up front to turn them around. So what we got was exactly what we got in the FA Cup game (another one that Darwin was left on the bench for by the way).

 

I’m not going to make too much of it, but I’ve said before that I don’t enjoy watching us when Nunez is not on the pitch as we just don’t look anywhere near as threatening. This is a good example of it. No Darwin no party. The difference in how we look when he’s on the pitch to when he isn’t is night and day. That said, we were just as shite when he did come on in this game, but I’m convinced if he’d started we’d have posed much more threat. We couldn’t have posed any less, could we?

 

We did absolutely nothing in the first half. It was completely inept and Arsenal were in complete control despite not really doing anything special themselves. They were decent and we were shite. Had they been anywhere near their best we’d have been in big trouble.

 

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[Anubis]

Kelleher would have saved that.....

 

(c) Dave Usher.

[Anubis]

Nobody should get star man. Jones was innocuous.

[Carra_is_legend]

Pretty much how I feel. I thought both yellows for Konate were unwarranted and bullshit, I am glad you see it the same way.

 

[TheSire]

There's a pattern to these shit starts away and we always look nervous and hesitant with the ball and passive without it. Arsenal put us under pressure and didn't allow us any time on the ball.

 

When that happens you just have to be aggressive and at least stop the opposition building any momentum and getting comfortable so it evens things out, it also seems to open up the game too as the crowd tend to get much louder and it definitely rubs off on both sets of players.

 

I thought we'd get control and win 3-1 as the second half developed but subs were made when we had gotten into a good rhythm and looked ourselves.

[Fowlers God]

The one that was just very very shit............

 

Nailed everything on the head there Dave. 

 

Only question I have and thats with leaving Nunez out the equation as I think he should have started also but with Dom and Connor being names that would have started if differing circumstances; did Klopp really get the team sheet that wrong? Would you have done differently?

 

Thought the subs myself were all quite planned and didnt play into the game. It was more like we are gonna make these changes at this time and not take into account as you said how we were playing that first 10 mins...

[TheSire]

8 minutes ago, Anubis said:

Nobody should get star man. Jones was innocuous.

 

8 minutes ago, Carra_is_legend said:

Pretty much how I feel. I thought both yellows for Konate were unwarranted and bullshit, I am glad you see it the same way.

 

Taylor seems to let a lot of fouls go, allows gamesmanship but will get out cards if someone says a naughty word at him. Petty gimp.

[sir roger]

The xg was 3.52 to 0.41, sums it up really, and not sure why the ref is even getting mentioned.

Konate was a bit unlucky with the first yellow  but he regularly does that ' arm around their neck /chest and throw them down ' move when he is tussling for the ball, and it looks over-aggressive.

[moin k]

As night turns to day and day turns to night, it is inevitable at some point that City will go on another 10-15 game winning run which usually happens around this time (they are on a four game winning streak at the moment). We need a fit Salah (even when he is shit he can still produce something) and Nunez to be starting most if not all of our remaining PL games as realistically we need to win every single game just to match what City are going to do. I think we will finish above Arsenal this season but it's going to be a really tall-order to finish above City. 

[Jordy Brouwer]

Can't have been fun to write so thanks for that. 

[Tarwater]

You had me at Disney Prince haired cheerleading cunt.

[Barnesey]

I assumed Darwin was left out because of his swollen foot rather than tactics. He destroyed white in the cup game. But his terrible decision late on (to shoot rather than cross) was the best opportunity we had to salvage a point. I don’t normally criticise forwards for shooting but jota looked free six years out. Maybe if he’d had a few more minutes/opportunities he would’ve tried to find him. 

[El Rojo]

Burnley, Brentford, Luton, Nottingham Forest is very good run of fixtures for us before City.

 

Someone mentioned on here that we've only beaten Aston Villa in the top six, which by my reckoning seems to be true.

 

We've done well at burning off 'lesser' sides though, and we'll have a strong bench again from next weekend with Salah, Szloboszai and Endo back in the squad. Even Thiago's back! 

 

Starting XI for me (I'm conflicted on Mac Allister/Endo. Trent doesn't deserve to start in any position right now) 

 

Alisson, Bradley, Virgil, Konate, Robertson, Mac Allister/Endo, Szlobszlai, Jones, Salah, Nunez, Jota

 

Great bench:

Kelleher, Gomez, Trent, Endo/Mac Allister, Elliott, Diaz, Thiago, Gakpo, Gravenberch.

 

Also: Quansah, Clark, McConnell

[Kevin D]

It is great for the public here at Arsenal to see us. They must have been wondering what this team everyone is talking about are all about and now they’ve seen. We were wonderful.

[King Kenny 86]

Says something about Arsenal when we literally stank the place out but got a flukey equaliser that they virtually gave up. The way they celebrated is fine but look at what happened, they huffed and puffed in the second half, WE gifted them a goal and they score a late one when we are down to 10 men and just 2 defenders. We were a sorry shambles but they still struggled to put us away. Yes they won, but as Dave says different set up, different mindset, plenty of legs... we would have beaten them. We know we can be miles better, can Arsenal say that? DeFo Man City spanking them at the Emptihad.

We were shit but they were miles from great.

Agree on the Trent My Farts don't stink performance, look like he was not arsed and weird to say but its night v day him and Bradley defending. Stick him as the right side 8 and move on.

The one thing weirdly that bothered me before the game, and assuming a positive result was City and their game in hand, and us in the League Cup Final when they play PL game, i assumed that would turn us into "chasers with a game in hand" which i feared, even more so now. Wish PL would get stuck into them right now. Cunts

[DaveT]

Nailed it, Dave. Shit first half performance, somehow got back into it, started second half well and looking increasingly dominant. At that point I was starting to feel comfortable and confident of at least a point. The Virgil/Ali fuckup changed everything, played completely into their hands and allowed them to manage the game out.

The Trent situation is tricky - Bradley's defensive performances have highlighted Trent's barely adequate defending. Bradley just loves the dirty work of harrying, chasing, getting a foot in. Trent plays like it's beneath him. Trent's vision and passing range are world class, but I think we'd have to radically change our shape to accommodate him, if we were to have a conventional (Bradley-type) RB in the team, as I don't see Trent as having the energy or work-rate to thrive as one of our 8s in a 4-3-3.

Finally, Taylor. He became more Taylor-like as the game wore on. Blatant (Yellow-worthy) fouls on Jota and Nunez ignored late on, probably denied us easily 6 clear fouls over the course of the game. The first yellow for Konate was bollocks - 2 players being physical, Konate simply outmuscles him. And anyway, what were the grounds for a yellow in that instance? Sure, he wasn't the reason we lost, but he helped make sure we couldn't salvage something out of it. 

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

A Trent decision will be made by the next manager although doing it now could help us win trophies, whatever happens it will upset someone. Trent does seem to think his shit doesn’t stink even more than usual.

As for the team dust off, players are coming back and go again and again.

[beejay]

Honestly don't think the subs were the difference, everyone taken off was the right call but Allison (way more culpable than VVD) has his once-in-a-season shocker that killed us alongside Anthony Taylor's slam dunk.

 

We were poor 1st half but that's nothing new and the game was there for the taking until Allison flies out and air shots. 

 

Move on. Players coming back will help, Klopp tends to use the squad heavily but when we reach the business end, he consistently starts with his best side. 

 

For me, that should include Bradley and Gomez as full backs; rotation between Jones, Trent,  McAllister, Szoboslai, Endo and Thiago in midfield and Nunez, Jota, Salah and Diaz up front. The rest can feature in cups or to see out games. 

[Supremolad]

The biggest culprit for me was Van Dijk. Not even because of the errors. But in recent games he had started slipping back into the "too cool for school" sloppy mode. Not being sharp, not wanting to close down properly and not wanting to throw himself into last ditch challenges. Goals we conceded against Norwich and Chelsea are evidence. And on another Paul Tierney/Coote day, he would have given away two penalties against Chelsea.

 

Basically, this shit show from Van Dijk had been coming. And I was fuming with him in the first half yesterday because he was slowing our tempo massively, playing at walking pace rather than setting the tone as captain. Being ultra-cool wasn't going to cut it yesterday. When we had Quansah and Konate in the FA cup, we got out with a clean sheet because of defenders who were ready to throw themselves at everything and get dirty. Fair play to Van Dijk for taking full responsibility after. Now he needs to humble himself on the pitch and deliver high levels which he had done this season until recently.

[stringvest]

It was poor from just about every player - Gomez can probably be excused, as can Jones, who was no better than bang average, but the rest had a game to forget.   

 

Klopp needs to slap the complacency out of the team, and himself, and get back to winning football matches.

[Anubis]

The biggest culprit yesterday was our attitude to the game. A complete contrast to the Chelsea game.

[halewood pete]

Perspective...

[piphomer]

I love Harvey and have so wanted him to succeed here but it's becoming increasingly obvious that he doesn't have the physical attributes to do so :(

[Creator Supreme]

11 hours ago, halewood pete said:

Perspective...

If City had no games in hand, this might be relevant, but they do and when they win it they'll be top and they'll stay there.

[halewood pete]

1 hour ago, Creator Supreme said:

If City had no games in hand, this might be relevant, but they do and when they win it they'll be top and they'll stay there.