Arsenal Vs Liverpool: The good, the bad, the ugly

On Wednesday, Arsenal pulled off one of the most unexpected results of the season, defeating Liverpool in a 2-1 victory. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the shock win.

Project Restart has been a roller coaster for Arsenal. Losses to Manchester City and Brighton were followed by four consecutive wins, including an impressive victory at Wolves. Then, just three days after a dismal defeat in the North London Derby, they go and beat the champions, Liverpool, who are chasing down a record points total. It was a surprising victory, to say the least, one that brings a little positivity to the club.

In this recap, we take a closer look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from a wild and bizarre evening at the Emirates.

The Good: Alexandre Lacazette, Reiss Nelson, and Rob Holding

We saw effective pressing from Eddie Nketiah and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang result in goals against both Southampton and Norwich. This time, it was Alexandre Lacazette and Reiss Nelson who reaped the rewards for their efforts. Nelson’s pressure on Virgil van Dijk led to a rare error from the Dutchman, who did his best Sead Kolasinac impression by passing it straight to Lacazette. The Frenchman then rounded Alisson before slotting home the equalizer.

Both were involved again for the second goal. This time, Lacazette intercepted Alisson’s careless pass to set up Nelson, who calmly picked his spot to give Arsenal the lead.

While Lacazette has not been at his best this season, he deserves plenty of praise for this performance, and he seems to be one of the few players in this Arsenal squad who performs in the big games. As for Nelson, what a way to get your first league goal: a match-winner against the champions.

Meanwhile, in defence, Rob Holding returned to the team and was mostly solid. Looking at the stats, he won five out of six ground duels, two out of three aerial duels, made six clearances, and blocked two shots. Arsenal’s defending still wasn’t exactly secure and was last-ditch at times, but they looked far less error-prone with Holding back there than with the likes of Kolasinac and Shkodran Mustafi.

<p>In this recap, we take a closer look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/53330142">a wild and bizarre evening at the Emirates</a>.</p> <div id="attachment_103538" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-103538" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1227407046-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Arsenal’s French striker Alexandre Lacazette (L) celebrates scoring a goal with Arsenal’s Uruguayan midfielder Lucas Torreira (R) during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in London on July 15, 2020. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by GLYN KIRK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h4>The Good: Alexandre Lacazette, Reiss Nelson, and Rob Holding</h4> <p>We saw effective pressing from Eddie Nketiah and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang result in goals against both Southampton and Norwich. This time, it was <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=alexandre+lacazette%22>Alexandre Lacazette</a> and<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=reiss+nelson%22> Reiss Nelson</a> who reaped the rewards for their efforts. Nelson’s pressure on Virgil van Dijk led to a rare error from the Dutchman, who did his best Sead Kolasinac impression by passing it straight to Lacazette. The Frenchman then rounded Alisson before slotting home the equalizer.</p> <p>Both were involved again for the second goal. This time, Lacazette intercepted Alisson’s careless pass to set up Nelson, who calmly picked his spot to give Arsenal the lead.</p> <p>While Lacazette has not been at his best this season, he deserves plenty of praise for this performance, and he seems to be one of the few players in this Arsenal squad who performs in the big games. As for Nelson, what a way to get your first league goal: a match-winner against the champions.</p> <p>Meanwhile, in defence,<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=rob+holding%22> Rob Holding</a> returned to the team and was mostly solid. Looking at the stats, he won five out of six ground duels, two out of three aerial duels, made six clearances, and blocked two shots. Arsenal’s defending still wasn’t exactly secure and was last-ditch at times, but they looked far less error-prone with Holding back there than with the likes of Kolasinac and Shkodran Mustafi.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The Bad: Another cheap goal conceded </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_103571" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-103571" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1256366304-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 15: Sadio Mane of Liverpool scores his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC at Emirates Stadium on July 15, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Glyn Kirk/Pool via Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h4>The Bad: Another cheap goal conceded</h4> <p>Andrew Robertson, Roberto Firmino, and Sadio Mane effectively combined to give Liverpool the lead, but question marks can be asked of several Arsenal players.</p> <div class="recent-posts "> <h4>More from <b>Pain in the Arsenal</b></h4> <ul> <li> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/10/arsenal-interest-miguel-gutierrez-girona/"> Fabrizio Romano confirms Arsenal interest in Girona star </a> </li><li> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/10/when-will-martin-odegaard-return-from-his-injury/"> When will Martin Odegaard return from his injury? </a> </li><li> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/10/2-midfielders-arsenal-could-sign-in-january-transfer-window/"> 2 midfielders Arsenal could sign in January transfer window </a> </li><li> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/10/thomas-partey-unlikely-to-play-for-arsenal-again-in-2023/"> Thomas Partey unlikely to play for Arsenal again in 2023 </a> </li><li> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/10/predicted-arsenal-lineup-vs-burnley-saka-fit-to-start/"> Predicted Arsenal lineup vs Burnley: Saka fit to start? </a> </li></ul> </div> <p>Emiliano Martinez played an uncharacteristically poor ball out from the back. Cedric Soares carelessly ran towards a high ball that he was never going to win, leaving loads of space behind him. This drew Rob Holding and David Luiz out of position to try and close down Firmino. Their advanced positions opened up space in behind for Robertson and Mane to fly into.</p> <p>And then there was the role of Granit Xhaka, who was perhaps the most at-fault. He completely failed to track the run of Mane, who sauntered to the edge of the penalty area and converted Robertson’s pull-back. For a defensive midfielder who should have a sense of danger, it was yet another illustration of his lack of instincts in and around his own penalty area.</p> <p>So although it was certainly a result for the Gunners, there was still a lot of room for improvement at the back. They will not be so fortunate again.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The Ugly: An abysmal opening half-hour </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_103543" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-103543" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1256373282-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Granit Xhaka" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Arsenal, Granit Xhaka (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h4>The Ugly: An abysmal opening half-hour</h4> <p>Even disregarding the opening goal, Arsenal were incredibly passive prior to the first water break. It was a lesson in lethargic, absent-minded play against a ruthless opponent, who, for the first 30 minutes, were at the top of their game.</p> <p>Arsenal dropped far too deep into their own half in an attempt to play out from the back, which is almost suicidal against a side like Liverpool, one of the best pressing teams in the world. Emiliano Martinez nearly pulled a Loris Karius, dwelling on the ball for too long as Roberto Firmino closed him down and blocked his kick. There was no control in midfield to keep hold of possession. Liverpool entirely dominated the match and were excellent, if but for the final finish.</p> <p>Nonetheless, Arsenal did get to grips with their opponents as the game progressed and were somehow able to grind out a win. The victory itself was an ugly one, which is sometimes necessary when playing against a superior team. Arsenal had just 31% possession and three shots compared to Liverpool’s 24.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Arsenal Vs Liverpool: 5 things we learned" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/15/arsenal-vs-liverpool-5-things-learned-knocking-champions/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/16/arsenal-vs-liverpool-good-bad-ugly/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2020/07/15/arsenal-vs-liverpool-5-things-learned-knocking-champions/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Arsenal Vs Liverpool: 5 things we learned </a> </div> </div> <p>Despite the fight shown to win, however, if Arteta’s side played as they did in the opening half-hour against Manchester City, the FA Cup semi-final will be over before it has even begun.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">