Alexandre Lacazette superbly secured Arsenal a 1-1 draw against Liverpool in an absorbing Premier League encounter.
Two of English football’s top sides slugged it out in search of three precious points as the Emirates Stadium bore witness to an entertaining clash on Saturday evening.
Liverpool’s Sadio Mane controversially saw a goal ruled out for offside in a goalless first half, which saw Virgil van Dijk hit the frame of the goal late on.
But the visitors would draw first blood in the 61st minute through the ever-dependable James Milner, only for Unai Emery’s Arsenal to peg them back with eight minutes remaining.
Lacazette wriggled free inside the box before curling home superbly from an acute angle to secure a draw that still sees Jurgen Klopp’s men move top of the Premier League.
Here is our report card from north London.
THE GOOD
Torreira the terrier – Liverpool really struggled to match Arsenal’s intensity and that trait was hallmarked by Lucas Torreira. The Uruguayan was electric in middle, charging up the hosts with crunching tackles, crisp passing and high-energy throughout.
Both he and Granit Xhaka, in the double pivot, protected the Arsenal back four and provided the platform for much of their success going forward.
Virgil is Vantastic – Criticism of Liverpool’s quite disjointed display will be void of Van Dijk because the Dutchman was a colossus. Quite simply, the visitors would have lost this clash were it not for his composed interventions, he made seven clearances. He might have even won it for them had he not been denied by Bernd Leno and the upright.
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool.
THE BAD
Keepers struggle – Both clubs made new goalkeepers a top priority in the summer window but neither Leno or Alisson covered themselves in glory. The Liverpool stopper was fortunate not to concede a penalty when he rushed off his line and clumsily clattered Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Leno likewise then repeated that negligence only for Van Dijk’s header to stroll towards the post.
Forwards do, too – It wasn’t just the men between the sticks who struggled, but ironically those trying to breach their goal did so as well. Lacazette and Mohamed Salah can be forgiven for their sparkling displays, however, profligacy cost the two teams.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was largely ineffective despite Arsenal focusing their attacks on his side. He failed to hit the target with three of his shots. Mane was a big feature in Milner’s goal yet was well off his best while Roberto Firmino was anonymous. Indeed, the forwards went backwards.
Brilliant goal by lacazette pic.twitter.com/hw21LbePNk
— ᴘɴᴇᴜᴍᴀᴛɪᴄ 🇸🇴 (@lkigai_) November 3, 2018
TACTICAL TURNING POINT
Mustafi targets right channel
One of the big features of Arsenal’s attacking play in the second half was Shkodran Mustafi targeting the right channel with several pinged balls over the top. Defensively, his actual job, he remains a liability and the fact he failed to mark Van Dijk at a corner – literally the biggest player on the pitch – is a testament to that.
However, he was hugely effective when pushing up from the back and then dinking delightful passes into Hector Bellerin and Mkhitaryan. Were it not for the pace of Andrew Robertson and the offside flag, Arsenal would have prospered from that tactic.
GRADES
Arsenal = B
Emery tactically won this clash. The 4-4-2 without the ball which then moved into a sort of 4-2-4 or 4-2-2-2 really enabled the Gunners to create overloads as the wider forwards switched inside. The tactics, married to tremendous energy and desire, probably warranted more than a point.
Liverpool = C
Klopp will be happy to have escaped with a draw in the end. On the balance of chances throughout the match, the German can point to Mane’s wrongfully ruled out goal and Van Dijk’s doubly close efforts as reasons for deserving the three points, but in reality Arsenal dominated this clash.
