When I, and I believe so do many others in the world of\nglobal Arsenal fanbase who had started following and supporting the team from different\ncorners of the earth in the early days of Ars\u00e8ne\u2019s singular regime, think back\nabout why specifically we fell in love with this great football club, a gritted\nteeth rearguard defensive display doesn\u2019t appear anywhere in the list. However,\nas times went by, and the great Arsenal teams that so dominated the English\nfootball in the late 1990s and early 2000s started to lose their steeliness to\nmorph into a still entertaining, often breathtakingly so, but no longer\ninvincible team \u2013 for a myriad of complex and much debated reasons that will\nalways pain our memories, even if we acknowledge nothing lasts forever \u2013 the\nmore seasoned Arsenal supporters who have been through the thick and thin of\nHighbury terraces would ruefully reminisce about other Arsenal vintages where\nthe no-nonsense defensive display was the minimum standard expected and almost\nalways delivered by the team, even in seasons where the creativity and goals\nwill make only rare appearances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We too, along with those wise and experienced guides to the\nworld of Arsenal, started feeling nostalgic about a past that we ourselves never\nexperienced. After the umpteenth time some expensively collected hoofball team\nhad played two lines of defense against our technical wizards for much of the\nmatch to snatch a slender win gifted by our increasingly wayward defenders, we\nwould feel that maybe now and then it will be okay to play this way. When you\nsupport a team, you support a team, and even though you support them for the\nquality of football they are capable of playing, you just want them to win. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That technical wizardry too ran its due course, leaving\nbehind some delightful memories and a few domestic cups. Increasingly erratic\nperformances in the league as we slipped further and further down the rung of\nelite teams in Europe put the spotlight more on a defense which was now capable\nof delivering the absurdly comic on a predictable basis. Funny, not funny. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As this strangest of season winds down and we learn to\naccept a final league position in the lower strata of the top half of the\ntable, we also realize that climbing back up will require time, patience, and\nno small amount of inventiveness and dedication. But whatever be those pathways\nback to excellence are, we simply can no longer afford to defend the way we have\nbeen doing in recent past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coming off yet another defensive horror-show in NLD which to\nbe fair was a relapse of the old habits after a run of relatively robust\ndisplays since the season resumed, the expectations were grim against the\nalready declared champions: a high-pressing high energy team with a mobile and\nefficient front three that have been scoring freely in England and Europe for\ncouple of seasons now. The visitors were also chasing a record point tally in\nPremier League and at least the much coveted 100-points mark. The claim of their\ninvincibility had of course earlier been proven to be unfounded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The starting line-up included some fresh legs and (hopefully) fresh minds. The increasingly impressive Martinez in goal who one imagines, after the calamitous defending of the last weekend, was hoping to be better protected by a back three of Tierney, Luiz and Rob Holding who replaced Kolasinac. Soares came in for Bellerin in the right wingback role. Saka similarly supporting Tierney on the left side. In the center of the midfield it was great to see the always efficient Lucas Torreira starting his first game after his injury, partnering Xhaka. Ceballos was on the bench. Up front the collective of Pepe, Lacazette and Reiss Nelson making its first starting appearance together, with Pepe atypically on the left side and Reiss on the right. Our captain and the most reliable goalscorer was being given a break. He has been playing non-stop since the restart and there is a cup semifinal in the weekend. His good friend and strike partner Lacazette wore the captain\u2019s armband. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The match started exactly as Arsenal supporters must have had\nfeared. Liverpool pressing high, playing quick interchanges around the box,\nmoving ball swiftly from one side to another while we were having genuine\ntrouble to put two passes together or get out of our own half. When we did send\nthe ball long to the left Saka-Laca combination earned us a corner around 4th<\/sup>\nminute that didn\u2019t result to much. Torreira was busy as ever, covering a lot of\nspace and trying to recycle after winning possessions but none of the front\nthree were strong or calm enough to retain possession and drive forward.\nLiverpool had their first corner around 9th<\/sup> minute which was well\ndefended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Around 11th<\/sup> minute we almost gifted a goal when\nMartinez \u2013 who has been confident, crisp and accurate in his passing in all the\nmatches in the recent past \u2013 waited just a second longer to release as Firmino\npressed him and his clearance hit the Brazillian and then ricocheted off the\npost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lacazette by now was dropping so deep he was playing more as\na central midfielder. There were a few times he did hold up the ball well\nenough but our midfield had neither the nous nor the well-drilled collective\nunderstanding demonstrated by our opposition to benefit from Laca\u2019s hold-up\nplay and spring an attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our shape had shifted to 5-3-2 now with Pepe and Reiss the\nmost advanced, waiting hopefully for some release ball to come to them. When\nSoares tried to win the ball high up on the pitch with most likely such an\nattacking intent in mind Firmino won possession and before anyone in a\nred-and-white shirt could cover for the stranded Soares on the right Robertson\nraced through and placed a ball perfectly on the path of Mane who was too sharp\nfor any of our defenders to stop him from scoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arsenal 0 \u2013 Liverpool 1 (Mane 20\u2019) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At this stage a demoralizing rout seemed to be very much of\na possibility. However, it was apparent that if there was a chance to return\nthe pressing favor to the Liverpool defense we are willing to take it. Our\nattacking avenue, probably more by resignation than plan, seemed to be to\nbypass the midfield and send long diagonals towards our front three and when\nLiverpool defenders regain possession to press them in pack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It paid off. And surprisingly by a forced mistake from\nLiverpool\u2019s talismanic captain who has been mostly flawless this season.\nPressed by Reiss, Van Dijk mistimed his backpass for Lacazette to gleefully\naccept the gift, round their keeper and slot home for the equalizer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Arsenal 1 (Lacazette 32\u2019) \u2013 Liverpool 1 (Mane 20\u2019) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal seemed to have generated a greater intent to move\ninto their half as Soares served a cross that found no one. Then Saka drove\nthrough the midfield but was crowded out. On the other end the ex-Arsenal man\nOxlade-Chamberlain saw his attempt at goal blocked by Cedric. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our willingness to press Liverpool defense paid off, again.\nAround 44th<\/sup> minute Alisson, receiving a throw-in from Robertson and\nbeing closed down rapidly by Nelson, tried to pass the ball back to Robertson,\nLacazette read and intercepted the pass cleverly, ran forward and set up Nelson\nwho kept his cool while surrounded by two defenders and scored his first ever\nPremier League goal with a composed finish. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arsenal 2 (Lacazette 32\u2019, Nelson 44\u2019) \u2013 Liverpool 1 (Mane\n20\u2019) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n With that Nelson became our fifth player under the age of 20\nto score Premier League goals this season, after Martinelli, Saka, Willock and\nNketiah. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was pleasing to see that our willingness to press high even when we were on the back foot was rewarded so handsomely. Since the restart we have earned a few goals through our collective pressing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Liverpool was shocked. Camera focused on Klopp\u2019s face on the\nsideline. He had the look of a man who has lost not only all hopes for\nhumanity, but also the love of his dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just a minute or so before this second goal Mane, who is\nused to bullying defenders, met his match in Rob Holding. They came together\nfor a collision, Rob stood his ground to send Mane falling backwards on the\nground. Mane kicked out at Rob, as clear a red card infraction as there could\nbe. There was of course, no card. And no minute video analysis from every angle\nto finalize the decision. Eddie Nketiah, watching the match from his home, can\nbe forgiven for finding it all a bit unfair. He would have one more opportunity\nto ponder about the asymmetry of referring caprices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Second half started with Torreira receiving a yellow card\nfor a tackle. A couple of minutes later Trent Alexander-Arnold assaulted Saka\nwith a high boot to his thighs. A challenge that looked decidedly less\ninnocuous than the one that had earned Eddie a three match ban. In this case a\nmere yellow seemed to suffice. To his great credit, Saka didn\u2019t try to make too\nmuch of the situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Liverpool was dominating possession, pinning us back in our\nhalf. However the defenders stayed organized and disciplined, tracking runs,\ndoubling up on players, cutting off passing lanes, clearing headers. Despite\ntheir dominance and fast passing and movement around the penalty area there\nwere no clear-cut chances for them. When Salah made such a chance for himself\nMartinez expertly tipped his close range shot over the bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Arteta chose to make his substitutes little early, around 56th<\/sup> minute. Ceballos replaced Torreira, who once again did his job exactly as it was required of him. Willock replaced Lacazette who had a goal and an assist to his name. Following this up from a couple of very well taken goals recently, this return to form was most welcome. Aubameyang replaced Nelson. Interestingly Auba didn\u2019t move to Laca\u2019s #9 role, but played on the wings whereas Willock took on more of a \u201cfalse 9\u201d position which was mostly false and rarely nine as we continued to put as many defenders as possible behind the ball. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Auba started on the right, leaving Pepe on the left side\nbefore switching sides after a while. Pepe was having an entirely forgettable\nmatch. But once he moved to the right he had a bit more involvement in the game\nand a few moments where more physical resilience may have seen him able to keep\nthe ball and drive forward and not lose possession immediately after the first\nfew dribbles. To do justice to his considerable talents in the full throttle\nworld of premier league football he needs to learn to improve this area of his\ngame significantly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Soares was replaced by Ainsley Maintland-Niles around 75th<\/sup>\nminute to help out the right side of the defense as Mane continued to be the\nprominent threat down that side. AMN stuck to Mane, and around 85th<\/sup>\nminute when Mane ran through to the goal he put enough pressure on him to force\na miss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We hung on to our lead tenaciously, the defenders starting\nto believe in their collective ability to see off all attacks, especially with\nMartinez offering a safe pair of hands whenever called for. This was not\naesthetically pleasing for any Arsenal supporter, and the realization of the\ngap in the respective qualities of these two teams was equally unpleasant to\nus, but it was definitely heartening to notice the application and discipline,\nthe willingness to fight for every ball and every inch of space, and a quiet\noptimism that this can be done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A tiring Saka was replaced by Kolasinac around 85th<\/sup>\nminute to help see the match out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As often happens in these types of situations, we got a\ngolden chance to increase the lead from a counter-attack when Auba expertly\ncontrolled the ball on the left wing and put in an inviting cross in the\npenalty box. Willock attacked the penalty box arriving late, but his volley\nflew wide. A little more composure and we would have been 3-1 up. Nevertheless,\nit was nice to see an Arsenal midfielder actually making those runs in the\nopposition box. Yes, it has been that poor a season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There were five extra minutes of added time. It seemed a\nlittle generous towards the visitors. And there was a moment of scare when\nAlexander-Arnold\u2019s shot after a deflection headed towards our goal, only to be\nexpertly saved by Martinez\u2019s fingertips. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As the game ended with our first PL win against Liverpool since April 2015, against a team that most definitely was just that tiny little bit less focused than they have otherwise been this campaign, the realization of the obvious gulf in quality was partially offset by the promise that has just started to show in these very early days of Mikel\u2019s leadership. We were free-falling, shapeless and rudderless in matches, unwatchable. He has arrested that slide, has created at least a semblance of a discipline and organization, helped instill a work-ethic and has started to demonstrate the ability to be able to set up his team tactically against different types of opposition. His communications to the press and fans have been transparent, precise, and unafraid of recognizing the challenges ahead and yet confident about surmounting those challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He knows what needs to be done, and he seems to be more than\ncapable of doing so if ably supported. It seems most fans realize that too, as\ndoes most players who are happy to be part of his journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a moment of opportunity for the club\u2019s owners and\nexecutive board. Let us hope they realize that too. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I, and I believe so do many others in the world of global Arsenal fanbase who had started following and supporting the team from different corners of the earth in the early days of Ars\u00e8ne\u2019s singular regime, think back about why specifically we fell in love with this great football club, a gritted teeth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1089"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1089"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1091,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1089\/revisions\/1091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}