Liverpool 4-0 Arsenal: Beginning of the End? Or Business as Usual?

Liverpool 4-0 Arsenal
Premier League – Anfield – 27th August 2017

Well, well, well….

What the hell was that?!

That stunk. That hurt. That was pathetically abominable.

From a Liverpool standpoint, this is an excellent performance. They bossed it from start to finish, and looked sharper in attack, midfield, and in defence looked surprisingly strong. They were upset with the dropping of Mignolet, but Karius was a more than able replacement. Klopp looks like he is hitting his stride at Liverpool, finally.

For Arsenal though…well, wow…..

I must confess. As a Gooner, I am Wenger Out, and have been for years. I was not happy with him staying for two more years. However, I do not seek to abuse him, since I respect what he has done for our football club. He’s brought us titles, cups, unbeaten seasons, and has turned us from being a big British club to a large global club.
I believe though he has to go, or I should say today’s performance has reinforced my prior beliefs.

First half

A few Arsenal half-chances were wiped out once Firmino scored. More badness came near half-time, where an attack by Arsenal was countered, and Mane got into a good position on the left and curled it in past Cech.

Second half

Ozil and Alexis looked bright in the opening minutes, though another break-away led to Salah scoring. Moreover, we conceded again with Sturridge.

These descriptions are pretty short, since there are some general themes here representing the match outcome:

Lack of energy
Liverpool won this game due to better tactics and energy in the midfield. Arsenal was leaving gaps in the midfield, which Liverpool were keen to exploit. They looked more up for it, and Arsenal had nothing to match them.

Poor organisation
The defence looked its characteristically shaky self, though there was no pressing from the front either. The team looked like it lacked cohesion, and (as per the usual recent clichés) bereft of leadership.

Baffling team selections
Welbeck is a top player, though his finishing ability is subpar. Lacazette came on with the game effectively lost, and we may still have lost had he started. However, Wenger said that he had to still adapt to the English game pre-match, which is an odd statement. Morata is adapting well. Didn’t Ibra adapt well last season? He is now back at United, having adapted well in 16/17. What about Salah? He’s adapting, is he not?

All of Liverpool’s attacks came from poor defending, lack of organisation, and a poorly instilled mentality by Wenger.

The term “same old Arsenal” is apparent here, and has been for years. So what will or can change? For me, despite his new contract,  Wenger needs to go.

I won’t ever berate him.

But then the ideal solution, even after a few games, is for:

– Him to hand in his resignation
– The club to name a stand after him
– Build a statue
– Rename a nearby street after him (akin to Sir Alex and Sir Matt at Manchester United)

This seems harsh, but then it’s pretty much time for change.

This review doesn’t touch on the game that much, granted. But it’s symptomatic of the continuously present issues we’ve seen for years now.

Credit to Liverpool though. Klopp got his tactics right, and his pressing and high energy won the game for them. Wenger, if he does stay, needs to seriously reconsider his place and vision. If not, then the result will not be pretty.

Marble Halls

MarbleHallsTV is an Arsenal social media account on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. Been a Gooner since the 90s, inspired by Ian Wright, then Bergkamp, Vieira, Henry, Pires, Campbell, Rosicky, Koscielny, Ozil and Sanchez. A digital marketer/entrpreneur by profession, born in UK living in the Americas now.