I waited until this morning to write this post because I was just too upset yesterday to be objective in any way yesterday. Even after a good night’s sleep and some time to reflect, I’m still trying to decide how I should feel about Saturday’s smackdown at Liverpool. It’s a tough pill to wallow.
I guess I was too optimistic to expect a draw at Anfield, however, with the Gunners recent form I thought the lads could go to Liverpool and compete, and even come home with a point. Obviously, I waste optimistic.
Except for the goal scored on a set piece, Arsenal’s defense played pretty good in the first half, however, the second half was a totally different story once the Reds found their offensive mojo.
At the other end of the pitch, the Arsenal offense really had nothing to contribute, other than 3 shots on target, 1 corner kick and a whopping 8 offsides. There was very little creativity, but there were a lot of errant passes ending up at the feet of Liverpool players.
However, the scoreline could have been even worse if not for some remarkable goalkeeping by Aaron Ramsdale. The Arsenal goalkeeper made 5 impressive saves.
So, even with all of this disappointment we need to keep things in some perspective. First of all, Liverpool is currently one of the world’s top 10 football clubs. Secondly, Arsenal is the youngest team in the Premier League and will need to endure matches like this to gain more experience.
Yes, there is a large gap between Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool and the rest of the league. Arsenal still has a long way to go to compete with the top three, however, the Gunners can compete with the the rest of the league. Even so, as the season moves on Arsenal needs to mature and learn how to compete against the league’s elite. Don’t forget, the Gunners will once again face Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool before the seasons ends.
At the end of the day Arsenal remains in 5th place in the Premier League and host 20th place Newcastle United next Saturday.
Keep your heads up Gooners!
Gunner1953
The first fourty minutes were good. Could have been a bit more pressing. Then the blunders started to appear.
Wipe off the dust, I think Arteta was planning for the Newcastle match anyway.
What showed up was our stars were not bright enough. Once again we have to fix a negative goal difference.
But we are the
Arsenal so we will.
Pere…love your optimism!
Peter…love your optimism!
The large gap also extends to the coaching staff and the coach specifically. I don’t think we shall ever close that gap if we don’t get an experienced and exciting coach, not a novice with his naïve tactics and poor man management.