Author Archives: keenosafc

Match Report: Liverpool 5 – 5 Arsenal

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Liverpool (2) 5 Arsenal (3) 5
Arsenal lose the match 4-5 on penalties
Carabao Cup (EFL Cup), Fourth Round
Anfield Stadium, Anfield Rd, Liverpool L4 0TH
Wednesday, 30th October 2019. Kick-off time:7.30pm

(4-2-3-1) Emiliano Martínez; Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Rob Holding, Sead Kolašinac; Lucas Torreira, Joe Willock; Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Mesut Özil, Bukayo Saka; Gabriel Martinelli.
Substitutes: Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Kieran Tierney, Dani Ceballos, Alexandre Lacazette, Nicolas Pépé, Mattéo Guendouzi, Matt Macey
Scorers: Lucas Torreira (18 mins), Gabriel Martinelli (26 mins, 31 mins), Ainsley Maitland-Niles (53 mins), Joe Willock (70 mins)
Yellow Cards: Joe Willock, Sead Kolašinac, Bukayo Saka
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 34%
Referee: Andre Marriner
Attendance: 52,694

Back to Anfield, back to the scene of the crime of 24th August; only this time, we meet in the fourth round of the oft-forgotten Carabao Cup. Any silverware is good silverware you understand, and tonight we cannot afford to make any silly errors nor lapses of concentration. However, as early as the seventh minute, that is exactly what happened here in Liverpool L4. Neco Williams ran down the line, passed the ball quickly to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who crossed it into the Arsenal six-yard box. Shkodran Mustafi slid into the flight of the ball to intercept, only to turn it into his own net. A shocking start at the worst of places; however, this merely inspired us to take the game to the home side. We certainly showed no fear, and twelve minutes after the opening goal, we equalised with a super goal from our mighty midget Lucas Torreira. Our captain tonight, the enigmatic Mesut Özil, upon the occasion of his return, played a sublime ball to Bukayo Saka, who was in acres of space (or so it seemed). His shot was saved by Caoimhín Kelleher; he merely pushed it into the path of Lucas Torreira, who made no mistake in levelling up the scores. The pace quickened, and so did our desire to score more goals.

And so as form follows function, then just eight minutes later, Ainsley Maitland-Niles found himself in space, but more importantly saw others that equally looked dangerous in better positions; his cross was tipped away by the Liverpool goalkeeper, who only served to push the ball into the orbit of Gabriel Martinelli, who unceremoniously whacked it into the roof of the net to place us in the lead! At Anfield! All before the half hour mark as well! Our exuberance and determination paid off yet again, when, you guessed it, a Mesut Özil ball found Bukayo Saka, who played the ball square for Gabriel Martinelli to score his second (and our third) of the night. Four minutes from the break, an extremely weak tackle from Gabriel Martinelli on Harvey Elliott just inside our penalty area saw the home side being granted a penalty, which James Milner scored with no problem at all. And still we came forward, and on the stroke of half-time, Gabriel Martinelli was extremely unlucky not to score, when his header sailed over the bar.

In the early stages of the second half, both sides pressed well and had their chances to score. The pace, if anything was quicker in this half than it certainly had been at any time before; it was our extra quickness on the ball that led to our fourth goal in the fifty-third minute. A schoolboy error by James Milner in passing the ball back to Caoimhín Kelleher in their penalty area, only served for Ainsley Maitland-Niles to run onto it; he knocked it wide of the goalie and ran towards the ball in earnest. Mesut Özil saved it from going over the line, and he knocked it into the path of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who scored with the easiest of finishes. Unbelievably, just four minutes later, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain nipped in front of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and scored from 20 yards; then the unthinkable. Divock Origi caught Emiliano Martínez cold, and scored to make the scores four-all in the sixty-third minute.

Mattéo Guendouzi replaced Mesut Özil with twenty-five minutes left on the clock, and suddenly our fresh legs became the most important factor at this point in the game. And sure enough, five minutes later, young Joe Willock took the bull firmly by the horns, run at the Liverpool defence and blasted the ball into the top right hand corner of the net to return the lead to us! Lucas Torreira was substituted for Dani Ceballos, and so we carried on again. The home side increased the pressure, and somehow our defence stayed firm whilst under constant attack from the Liverpool forwards. Kieran Tierney replaced Sead Kolašinac with eight minutes remaining, and our shape returned and everyone stepped up a gear. Five minutes injury time? Really? In the third minute of injury time, Neco Williams crossed for Divock Origi to score the tenth goal of the evening. So close. Penalties it is.

At the Kop end of the ground, Hector Bellerin took the first one and scored, top left. James Milner made no mistake for the home crowd, and young Mattéo Guendouzi scored our second; it was a bit touch and go, but hey, they all count. Adam Lallana scored for Liverpool; Gabriel Martinelli returns the complement with a superb well-taken penalty. Rhian Brewster makes it three-all, and sadly Dani Ceballos’ penalty was saved by Caoimhín Kelleher. Divock Origi scored, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored to keep our hopes alive. Not for long; Curtis Jones scored and Liverpool unfortunately went through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup as winners of this match.

Overall, it was a great game for the neutrals, and a heart-stopping one for those of us who support one of these teams here at Anfield tonight. The tension in the air was unbearable at times, and the excitement was such that, as supporters, it became impossible to turn away from this match for even so much as a minute, in case a goal was missed. Unai Emery certainly rang the changes, personnel wise, and it was refreshing to see the return of Mesut Özil, who at times was absolutely stunning in his vision, his passing ability and the more than considerable part that he played in three of our goals. The downside of it all was that we were still unable to hold on to a lead, and with only 35 per cent possession on the night, a solid defence would have made a victory sweeter. But it was not to be, and we can go into Saturday’s match against Wolverhampton Wanderers with a bit more of a spring in our step, and a little more belief in ourselves. Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Wolverhampton Wanderers at The Emirates on Saturday, 2nd November at 3.00pm (Premier League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon.

F*** Off Mourinho

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I do not get it, I really don’t.

People on Twitter saying they would like to see Jose Mourinho as Arsenal manager. They are idiots. Every single one of them.

There are many reasons why Arsenal should not touch Mourinho with a barge poll.

No longer a winner

Mourinho was untouchable when it came to success in the 00s.

From his remarkable Champions League win with Porto, back to back titles with Chelsea before repeating the feat with Inter Milan, but since overseeing the treble with Inter Milan in 2010, his crown has certainly slipped.

Since 2010, he has overseen just 2 league titles in 9 seasons, managing Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United.

Gone are the days when bringing in Mourinho almost guaranteed you the title.

Only do it with money

At Chelsea, he managed a team that spent money like no other in the history of the game. Inter Milan was a similar situation as he took over the Italian club in the wake of the 2006 Calciopoli scandal that saw the likes of Juventus and AC Milan take a while to recover from.

Real Madrid are the biggest club in world football and not too far behind them are Manchester United.

At Porto an argument will be made that he proved he could do it with no money, yet this success was 15-years ago and Porto were still the richest side in Portugal.

Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United – the most powerful sides in their league at the time.

Has he ever won the league title when his side have not had the most money to spend? Has he every joined a side struggling and turned them into league champions? The answer to both is no.

Toxicity

Arsenal is a fairly toxic place at the moment.

Fans are abusing players, arguing with each other, unhappy with the manager and angry at the running of the club. A positive atmosphere does not surround the club.

Bringing in Mourinho will be adding fuel to the fire.

Many fans would take an instant dislike to him; remembering his comments about Arsene Wenger, the Ashley Cole scandal and the way he has insulted the club previous.

He is a manager who constantly calls out opposing managers, criticises his own players publicly and digs out the fans.

You only have to look at Manchester United under him. Speak to their fans. They were not happy with the way he behaved, acted and carried himself. They turned quickly.

The man lacks class. He does not carry himself well at all. A narcissistic character, he believes himself to be bigger, more important than the club he is working for. He will drag that clubs good name through the mad to get success; success which is clearly drying up.

He plays a negative brand of football, setting his teams up to firstly not lose before they try and win.

Do we really want to add his character to the boiling pot of toxicity that is Arsenal at the moment?

 

The guy has no class whatsoever. If you are calling for him to become Arsenal manager, you are forgetting what Rocky Rocastle said.

Remember who you are, what you are and who you represent.

Keenos

Inconsistency Arsenal’s Enemy

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Unai Emery

Unai Emery looks like a man lost at the moment.

He is clearly overthinking things. Over complicating things. Constantly chopping and changing what he is trying to do. Players like confused. Unsure what to do.

This season he has failed to put out a consistent starting XI, in a consistent formation.

Against Crystal Palace he went 442. This continues his trend of chopping and changing the formation.

From 3 at the back to 4231 and 433; the continual changing of tactics and formation is a big reason why we are struggling.

The best teams in the world have a consistent way of playing in a consistent formation.

Arsenal’s invincibles lined up 442. You could name the best XI. Liverpool currently top the league, unbeaten, just 2 points dropped. They play 433 and Jurgen Klopp nearly always puts out the same starting XI (injury permitting).

It is the same with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea sides of the 00s, of Alex Ferguson’s Man U sides in the 90s. A consistent formation and a consistent way of playing.

Emery is inconsistent in formation, tactics and personnel.

Taking into account Arsenal played on Thursday, how many training sessions would the team have done in 442? Maybe just 1?

Now talented footballers should be able to slide into different formations. But at the highest level you still need that consistency of tactics and selection. Players need to be almost telepathic, knowing where a team mate will be without having to look. That only comes with the consistency.

England beat New Zealand at the weekend. They did it through working hard on the train ground. Developing the tactics to win and sticking with them. Every English player knew his job, knew where his team mate would be.

Unai Emery’s downfall will be that he chops and changes too much. He is not giving our talented squad the time to settle, play together in the same formation week after week.

VAR

“Clear and obvious mistake”.

That was the statement that was released by the FA with regards how VAR would be used to overturn the decision of the on-field referee.

Up until this weekend, VAR had backed the on-field referee’s decision on almost every occasional – even when there was a clear an obvious error.

Last Monday Sokratis had his shirt pulled whilst in the air at a corner. VAR decided that failing to award a penalty was not a clear and obvious mistake; even though it was a clear and obvious penalty.

That decision had been consistent with how they had been using VAR. Numerous blatant penalties – such as the one Wolves should have got against Tottenham – had been failed to be given. That all changed this weekend.

VAR decided that Calum Chambers had fouled someone in the build up to Sokratis 2nd goal. It was a mystifying decision and was by no-means a clear and obvious error by Martin Atkinson. In fact it was not an error at all.

What the replay actually showed was Chambers being fouled by a Crystal Palace player, who shoved the Arsenal man two handed in the chest.

VAR was supposed to be used to clear up controversy. But the officials are using it in an inconsistent manner. Some teams are benefiting, others are losing out.

In the last 2 games Arsenal have been denied a blatant penalty (at 0-0) and had a goal disallowed (at 2-2). That is 5 points robbed off of us by the inconsistent using of VAR.

5 points makes a big difference. That would rocket Arsenal up from 5th to 3rd; and would go a long way to calming down the Islington faithful.

VAR can be a good thing; but it needs to be used consistently by the officials. At the moment it is not creating a fair playing field.

Keenos