MATCH REPORT: Arsenal 3 – 1 Liverpool

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Arsenal (1) 3 Liverpool (1) 1
Premier League
Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU
Sunday, 4th February 2024. Kick-off time: 4.30pm

(4-3-3) David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Martin Ødegaard (c), (Jorge Luiz Frello Filho) Jorginho, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli.
Substitutes: Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Jakob Kiwior, Cédric Soares, Leandro Trossard, Reiss Nelson, Mohamed Elneny, Reuell Walters

Scorers: Bukayo Saka (14 mins), Gabriel Marinelli (66 mins), Leandro Trossard (90+2 mins)
Yellow Cards: Ben White, Gabriel, William Saliba, Jakob Kiwior, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz

Arsenal Possession Percentage: 43%
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistant Referees: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn
Fourth Official: Craig Pawson
VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR David Coote; AVAR Tim Wood

Attendance: 60,374

Unfortunately, Thomas Partey has suffered a setback in his bid to return from a thigh injury, and Takehiro Tomiyasu remains on international duty with Japan, but although Gabriel Jesus appears to be fit after a minor knee issue, he does not feature in today’s line-up. However, this afternoon’s match against our old rivals Liverpool, like so many others recently, is a “must win” situation, difficult as it will be.

The Premiership leaders will not come to North London to make up the numbers, they are coming here to win, aggressively and decisively if need be; it is up to our boys to stem the tide of their advance and gain a distinct advantage here today, to send our intentions to the rest of the Premiership that we are not merely contenders, but worthy winners of this illustrious trophy in May.

A very speedy start to the match, as expected, and within a minute Diego Jota chanced a run on our goal, but thankfully, David Raya was on hand to collect the ball fairly easily. Bukayo Saka cut in from the right, and as he bore down on the Liverpool goal, Joe Gomez robbed him of the opportunity to open the scoring.

The atmosphere here was absolutely electric today, and both sets of players were feeding off the excitement of the supporters. The first ten minutes of the game was played in the visitors’ half, and after a Liverpool attack, quick thinking by David Raya saw him throw the ball out to Gabriel Martinelli, who ran the whole length of the Emirates pitch, and although he was being furiously chased by Cody Gakpo, he crossed the ball for Bukayo Saka, who headed wide of the goal from close range.

A couple of minutes later, we opened the scoring when Kai Havertz ran through the Liverpool defence and found himself on a one-to-one with Alisson, with whom he shot straight at him; the rebound landed to Bukayo Saka, who easily scored from about ten yards from the goal. The goal certainly changed the overall dynamic of the match, with more determination from our boys and Liverpool trying to figure out a way to stop us from scoring even more goals.

Martin Ødegaard had a shot blocked from close range as we hunted actively for a second goal, and as our players were causing endless problems for the Liverpool defenders, their frustration was there for everyone to see. Joe Gomez earned himself the first yellow card of the day when he pulled back Kai Havertz as he ran through the middle of the pitch, and although the resulting free kick went nowhere, the confidence in our players was impressive, to say the least.

Gabriel managed to fend off Cody Gakpo, whose weak shot went into the welcome arms of David Raya, and although the visitors had a corner awarded to them shortly afterwards, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner kick was easily neutralised by Gabriel, who was playing excellently this afternoon.

Ben White was shown a yellow card for taking too long over a free-kick; let us hope that he does not get a second one awarded to him in this game, otherwise we could be in trouble at the back. After a short break in play whilst referee Anthony Taylor had his smart watch fixed, and shortly afterwards, Gabriel whacked the ball downfield to Gabriel Martinelli, who quickly passed to Kai Havertz but sadly no Arsenal striker was anywhere near the six-yard box when he crossed the ball. With seven minutes of the first half remaining, Gabriel Martinelli sped by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cody Gakpo too easily, so Ibrahima Konaté cynically brought him down.

The resulting free-kick saw a great attempt by Gabriel to score, but Alisson managed to save it somehow. After yet more pressure on the Liverpool goal, Declan Rice had a shot blocked, the ball looped into the air and Kai Havertz (who knew he was offside) had a weak shot saved by Alisson before the linesman’s flag was raised. William Saliba did well in clearing the ball from a Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross, and during the injury time period, the visitors unjustly scored the equaliser when after a complete mess up, the ball got bounced around like a pinball and accidentally came off Gabriel’s feet for the Liverpool goal. Such a shame, as went into the break with a draw on the scoreboard when by rights, we should have been in the lead. Such is life.

For the second half, Jakub Kiwior replaced Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back, and straight from the restart, Luis Diaz had a shot blocked before Alexis Mac Allister fired wide of our goal from thirty yards, and then after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross was headed away, Gabriel Martinelli tried to launch a counter-attack but Ibrahima Konaté beat him to the ball, sadly. Our captain had a superb shot on goal which was deflected by Ibrahima Konate for a corner, which was cleared by the Liverpool defence.

The visitors were playing with more confidence this half after their messy equaliser at the end of the first, and after Ibrahima Konaté was rightly booked for a foul on Kai Havertz, the resulting free-kick found the head of Gabriel, who headed it narrowly wide of Alisson’s goal. Gabriel received a booking for a silly infringement on Cody Gakpo, and a few minutes later, after Declan Rice ran through the middle of the field, he slotted the ball to Bukayo Saka, whose left-footed shot bounced off a defender for a corner, which was contained by the visitors.

After a long-range shot by Luis Diaz was saved by David Raya, we came forward and then a penalty claim by us when Kai Havertz clashed with Alexis Mac Allister was denied by the match officials with twenty-five minutes of the game remaining. We scored our second goal of the afternoon when we played a long ball down the pitch; Virgil van Dijk left it to bounce but Alisson did not quite get there. Alisson completely missed the ball and Gabriel Martinelli simply rolled it into an empty net from about fifteen yards.

Jakob Kiwior received a yellow card for a silly tackle on Diego Jota and with nineteen minutes of the game remaining, there was still all to play for, despite us being in the driving seat.

With fifteen minutes of the match remaining, Gabriel Martinelli was replaced by Leandro Trossard, by which followed a period of Liverpool putting us under pressure, but we held firm. After receiving treatment for an injury, Bukayo Saka was replaced by Reiss Nelson and with our fresh legs on the pitch now, the visitors were starting to fade and flag a bit to what they were ten minutes previously.

With six minutes left on the clock, Martin Ødegaard clipped a ball into the penalty area and although Jakob Kiwior was unmarked, near the penalty spot, his header went straight into the arms of Alisson.

A real turning point came when Ibrahima Konaté cynically shoved Kai Havertz as he tried to go past him. Of course, he collected his second yellow card of the game and he was sent off for his trouble. Liverpool looked like they lost their heads when, on the ninetieth minute, Darwin Nunez was booked for dissent after being fouled by Gabriel.

During the seven minutes injury time, the visitors were all over the shop, and with just minutes left of the match, Leandro Trossard’s shot from a tight angle somehow went straight through Alisson’s legs to finish the match in our favour.

This victory today puts us in second place, just two points behind Liverpool, which is fantastic. A well-deserved victory, special mention must surely go to the exciting Gabriel Martinelli, a constant threat to Liverpool (as well as a goalscorer), whilst the incredible Declan Rice was absolutely imperious in midfield. We controlled the first forty-five minutes, and although the first period of the second half belonged to the visitors, we stood firm and showed great character to get back into the match, and take the game to Liverpool. The belief was there, the courage to take the game by the scruff of the neck and grab three points was just both breathtaking and superb to see. Looking good. Well done chaps!

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: West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday, 11th February at 2.00pm (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

Most important game in the title race (so far)

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It goes without saying that today’s game against Liverpool is huge, arguably the biggest game of the season.

Win and we are well and truly in this title race. Lose and that is probably it for this season.

Our performances (and results) against Liverpool have highlighted the improvement we have made under Mikel Arteta.

I used to dread the games against the Scousers. We had won just once in 19 games across all competitions before we beat them 3-2 last season. Then we had that performance against Anfield where, had we held out for the win, I think we would have won the title.

It was an unusual feeling to be walking out of Anfield disappointed with a draw, but that showed how high Arteta had risen the bar of expectation.

This season our performance at Anfield showed that last season was not a fluke, that we were title challengers once more and the improvement Arsenal had shown in 2022/23 had remained.

Then we had the defeat a month ago in the FA Cup. The 2-0 loss certainly was not reflective of the game, one which we should have won by 3 or 4.

So I go in to today confident. This is not the Liverpool side the swatted us away year after year for nearly a decade. We have closed that gap. We now need to back up that good performance in the FA Cup with the 3 points.

My only concern about today is the officiating and VAR. The conspiracy theorist in me is saying that the Premier League will give favourable decisions to Liverpool to try ensure that there is a Jurgen Klopp story at the end of the season. We saw how they can manipulate results in through their decision making in the Chelsea game.

I think both teams are quite well matched, with the only place where Liverpool outshine us is in their forward line options.

The difference in striking power between the two clubs is simply down to investment. Liverpools forward options has cost them £225million over the last 7-years. Our 6 forward options cost just £71m – less than a single Darwin Nunez

It highlights the importance in Champions League football. That extra finance has allowed Liverpool to have lots of strength in depth upfront, whilst our lack of Champions League football over the last 7-years means we are a bit paper thin up top.

Of course, everything will change if we keep in the Champions League.

This year we can expect our revenue to increase by around £100m. If we make top 4 again, next year will be the same. That increase in revenue will allow us to continue investing in the squad, continue making improvements.

4:30pm Sunday is not the best kick off time. In fact it is probably my second least favourite (after Monday night games). But I will be down the pub early, and ready to back the lads come the start.

Sing loud. Sing proud. Up The Arsenal.

Keenos

The Arsenal and Me – Jan-Henrik’s Story

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Now when Arsenal were going to Finland (in 2013) to play a game for the first time in history, it bought up memories of 17-year-old boys visit to London 1970.

The young boy in question was quite a talented midfield player, being part of the Finnish Youth team that took part in the UEFA  championships 1969 in Scotland. Then he was given the opportunity to train with Arsenal in December  1970 – which was unbelievable at that time. He was probably the first and to date the only Finnish player  to train with Arsenal at Highbury.  

So, he arrived at Highbury and Mr. Bertie Mee took him to train at the indoor pitch with the reserves  including a certain Charlie George. He still clearly remembers how he played at the same side as Charlie –  even scoring some goals.

Unfortunately the happy training ended as he broke his leg when running down to help the defence, breaking his leg in two different places and ended up in hospital for 1 month. 

He was very well taken care of by the nice nurses in the hospital and was also visited by many Arsenal first  team players:

With Jon Sammels, captain Frank McLintock, the boy and the late George Armstrong.

The boy was able to  fly home to Finland at the end of January 1971, to start his rehabilitation. He was encouraged by both Mr.  Bertie Mee, Mr. Steve Burtenshaw and was even given encouragement by the whole team. 

Back home he followed the Arsenal team’s progress, which of course was superb. In a letter 31st March,  1971 Steve wrote “how exited everyone is playing Stoke in a replay after drawing 2-2 in last Saturdays semi-final”. The team was magnificent beating Spurs at the lane and then fighting back in the cupfinal to  beat Liverpool with that exquisite strike by Charlie. Yeaah – Arsenal won the double!  

The boy was able to continue playing in the Finnish league during the 70’s but due to more bad luck with  injuries – breaking the other leg in 1972 and again 1978 – and could not break into any national team  anymore. He did his A-badges and coached in the Finnish first division and third division before ending the  active football life concentration on family and work. He had two more surgeries later on which left him  with 5 screws in his left leg, which is no problem – he can walk and talk….  

Now, the ‘boy’ is 60 (at the time of writing) and he has been an Arsenal supporter for 42 years and will remain so until the end! 

When living in Australia, on the way back home, he made a stopover in London 1990, threw the bags into the Paddington hotel and to took his son with him and went straight on to Highbury. Now there were 2 Arsenal supporters in the same family. When working around Africa, during 20 years, he has taken the  Gunners with him to 15 different countries – supporting and arguing with other team’s supporters  wherever he goes.  

I wish we can win something again – and I’m sure we will when having our magnificent legacy and the  wisdom of our management especially Mr. Wenger. My other wish is to meet our Captain Frank McLintock  and hopefully even Mr. Wenger someday. If not – then no worries – I will be there on the terrace in  Helsinki 10th August!  

Jan-Henrik Janér – the boy.