Lineups

Liverpool remained unchanged from their previous two matches, while Arsenal opted for Jack Wilshere over Lukas Podolski. Here are how the two sides started the match

Defying Conventional Analysis

Because of how quickly the Redmen found the back of the net (within 57 seconds), the match didn’t really offer me any way to conventionally analyze it. For instance, how the two sides would have played the beginning of the match remains subject to opinion as the game was effectively over within 15 minutes.

What Could Have Been

Had Skrtel not put in the very first attempt on goal, I would argue that the game would progress much like the Everton match, where Liverpool would be comfortable to afford Arsenal most of the possession. In fact, this did happen in some regard, as the Gunners took a hefty 57% of the clock on the ball. However, unlike with the Toffees, Arsenal were quite sloppy with their passes and were unable to have any sort of positive possession play for a majority of the match. The possession they did gather occurred right on the border between the middle and final third of play, whereas a more positive approach would have seen Arsenal swarming around the edge of the box. I say this because Arsenal’s midfield is widely comprised of players who like to pass and move, creating space through clever off-ball movement and exploiting passing lanes. This would have been most prominent in the midfield diamond of Ozil, Cazorla, Arteta, and Wilshere, where Sagna and Oxlade-Chamberlain would provide heavy attacks down the right hand side. Monreal did not do this to as great an extent on the left.

In the end, the scoreline may have actually ended up just as it was. Liverpool’s ferocious counters have looked unbeatable in the past few weeks, and it would seem that Arsenal were tipped to concede many goals regardless of how much possession they had. However, these goals would most probably have been spread out through the rest of the match, just as they were in the Merseyside Derby.

What Happened: 20 Minutes of Frenzy and 70 Minutes of Cruise Control

In theory, the team played a perfect hybrid of how they did against Everton and how they did against Spurs. The player roles were exactly the same as they have been the past two weeks; Gerrard sitting deep as almost a 3rd CB between the split Skrtel/Toure pair, Cissokho and Flanagan offering support on the flanks to create a 5 man midfield, and SAS taking turns in the front spot. Unlike against Spurs, Liverpool did not go for an all-out pressing style, as they allowed Arsenal to knock the ball about around the center circle without contention. This was most likely due to the respect Rodgers has for the quality of the Gunners’ midfield players, and the thought of leaving gaps in front of Gerrard which could have drawn the skipper into no-man’s land. Yet, unlike Everton, Liverpool did not give Arsenal the liberties of knocking the ball around farther up the pitch, especially on Cissokho’s side, where he was ruthless in every single tackle. It was a mixture in style that I have not yet seen from Brendan Rodgers, and one that impressed me more than both the Everton and Tottenham matches. The word of the day was: Flexibility

For the first 20 minutes, the pressing game came in trios. The triangles that Liverpool created were absolutely lethal and very effective in forcing errors out of Arsenal. Here you can see two of them in effect.

Here, Coutinho and Sturridge attack Ozil from both sides to cut off dribbling spaces, whereas Sterling cuts off the split passing lane, with Gerrard behind to monitor. All of this affords a retreating Cissokho time to position himself as best as possible.

In this instance, Henderson is the lone presser (due to his immense ability to run box to box), and the triangle forms in attack.

On set pieces, Liverpool exposed the weaknesses in Wenger’s “zonal marking” strategy. Below, you can see how each Arsenal defender is assigned to an area of the box to protect rather than a player. This plays an issue when 2 of the players, on the near post, are mispositioned. They are far too close to each other, and are using 2 bodies to do what a single player can. This leaves the gap for Skrtel to exploit. Koscielny is ill positioned to beat Skrtel to that ball considering how far behind he is from the play, and Ozil seems to offer absolutely no defensive role in the box.



These are all contributors to Arsenal’s downfall at Anfield, but the match can simply be boiled down to 20 minutes of furious attack from Liverpool. The Redmen smelled blood in the water, and went on a goal frenzy to end the match before it had even begun. After that, the match progressed into a cruise control mode of domination and positional excellence from Liverpool, with a solid structure keeping Arsenal from gaining any momentum.

(Sturridge and Flanagan are off picture on the far side)

After gaining the 4 goal cushion, Liverpool were able to knock about the ball using a structured diamond formation that was reminiscent of Pep’s Barcelona and Bayern systems. Every player on the ball had at least 2 options of passing as well as a third dribbling alternative. This was also coincidentally the defensive shape that Liverpool took as well, with Gerrard between Skrtel/Toure, except with Cissokho and Flanagan falling back. The rest of the midfield would offer the high press as they did against Spurs. As they say; diamonds are forever.