What an odd game that was yesterday.

After a bright opening 30 minutes, Arnie Slott changed his tactics and basically bought everyone behind the ball, moving to a 5-5 formation.

This allowed Liverpool to double up on our wingers whilst not sacrificing defensive solidity behind them, and also crowd out the midfield, leaving us with no space to play and nullifying our press. These tactics were also detrimental to Liverpool as, playing without a striker, they failed to muster a shot on target all game.

In the second half, Liverpool basically passed the ball for passing sake. Hey had no intention of moving the ball up the pitch towards our goal, and where more than play in safe passes in heir own half to kill time.

The only time they looked a threat was whe a chance to break appeared, with their right back being their most attacking forward. Their only chance came from our mistake.

Slott’s aim was very much not to lose the game. An odd stance considering a win would have kept them on our coat tails (just) in the title race. Had they been braver, they could have finished the day 11 points behind. Instead they are still 14 behind and now almost certainly out of this title race.

Mikel Arteta is spot on with his assessment. We created opportunities but could not get that final pass, whilst Liverpool created nothing.

This game was almost a mirror of the match in Anfield, with the only difference being no moment of magic.

As for the two lots of shenanigans during g the game, players only really have themselves to blame.

Players go down too easily, crying injury in the attempt to get the game stopped. Instead of Virgil van Dijk whinging that we did not put the ball out when Frimpong went down, he should she be screaming at his right back to get up and get back. There was clearly nothing wrong with him as he ran off the pitch.

And at the end, I am not sure how Liverpool can complain when the bin dipper rolled back on the pitch in the attempt to waste time. Gabriel Martinelli was correct in trying to push Bradley back off, and I would expect Liverpool players to do that to ours if we did the same.

Before the Christmas break we were 4 points clear. Going intl the 3rd round FA Cup weekend we are now 6.

I would rest key players (Rice, Saka, Saliba, Odegaard, Zubimendi) for bother the FA Cup and League Cup. That would give them 10-days without a game before the match against Man U.

6 points clear. Stick with the team.

Keenos

Eberechi Eze not playing in the last 4 games is not the big issue that it is being made out to be. It is simply the consequence of playing at a big club.

In the last 4 Premier League games, Eze has failed to play a single minute. But this is not due to any big conspiracy such as Mikel Arteta being unhappy with his defensive work rate, form or managing his workload. It is purely because other players are in better form.

In those 4 games which Eze has not played, Arsenal have a 100% record. 12 points from 12. We are currently on a 5 game winning run in the league and top, so I am not sure why Eze not playing has become a negative story.

It is also a myth that Eze has not played much this season. He has actually played the 3rd most Premier League minutes of all of our attacking midfield options:

Saka – 1348 minutes

Trossard – 1073

Eze – 917

Odegaard – 798

Madueke – 499

Martinelli – 480

Eze has played just 65 minutes less than Jeremy Doku, and more minutes than Rayan Cherki, Savinho, Oscar Bobb and Omar Marmoush. Top clubs rotate their forwards. It is not a new story.

Fellow new boys Hincape, Mosquera and Norgaard have also played less minutes than Eze this season. Like Eze, they all would have known that they were going to become squad players when leaving the sides they played week in week out for to join The Arsenal.

Eze, Hincape and Mosquera have all already played huge parts in our rise to the top this season, coming in for Arteta’s starters.

Like Ben White, Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri and Gabriel Jesus, the all need to continue working hard in training and be ready when called upon. Eze’s time will come again this season.

If anyone who is not playing regularly decides to throw a strop and down tools, it will just show that they are not the right mentality to play at a top club.

Arteta’s job is to ensure all players are mentality motivated and feel part of the success even if they are not playing. And so far there are no cracks in his squad.

The lack of minutes in the last 4 games for Eze should not be seen as a negative story, but actually testament to the squad depth at Arsenal.

Eze was the King of Palace. Arsenal has Gods.

Keenos

With players coming back from injury, Ethan Nwaneri was not even on the Arsenal bench last night.

Some will use Nwaneri’s lack of minutes this season as a way to bash Mikel Arteta, but what it shows is the strength in depth of our squad right now.

Yesterday was the first game of the season when Arteta had every one of this attacking options available.

Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyokeres, Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard started. Gabriel Jesus and Noni Madueke came off the bench with Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Eberechi Eze not seeing any game time.

That is 9 players ahead of Nwaneri in the pecking order, and no one with a brain could make a case for him getting int the squad ahead of any of them.

The question is what do we do with Nwaneri in the second half of the season? Do we keep him around “just in case”, or is it now time for him to go out on loan?

Nwaneri turns 19 in March. He has shown he is Preier League ready. A lot of mid-lower PL sides would go for him, and he would start for them. Rumours right now are that Bournemouth are leading the way as they look for a quick replacement for Antoine Semenyo.

The only issue I see is what happens in 6 months? Those same 9 names wil still be ahead of him, and I can only really see Gabriel Jesus leaving us in the summer, which doesn’t really open a spot for Nwaneri. Every player has his price…

In the first half yesterday, the ball was in play for just 24 minutes.

Aston Villa spent more than 17 minutes taking goal kicks, free kicks, throw ins, etc.

This is the way Unai Emery teams play, and why he suits smaller clubs such as Aston Villa. Looking to take time out of the game at every opportunity is not something you can get away with at a top club.

As for Emi Martinez, he is simply a cry baby. Wastes tom at every opportunity, then berates ball boys when they don’t get him the ball back quick enough. An average goal keeper who has lived off a couple of exceptional moments. Yesterday’s headless at the final whistle shows that whilst he enjoys giving it, he can not take it.

Keenos