A double by Diogo Jota helped Liverpool to an ultimately comfortable victory in the Carabao Cup semi-final. Our disappointment was compounded by a sending-off for Thomas Partey who managed no more than fifteen minutes on the pitch after returning from Africa. There was a noticeable difference in class between the sides especially as the game wore on and Arsenal struggled to wrest any control away from Liverpool hampered clearly by the lack of match fitness of several players.
After feverish speculation about our team selection, Arteta must have been pleased he could put out a strong looking starting XI. Most of our casualties returned and Partey was able to take his place on the bench after beginning the day in Africa! He really needn’t have bothered! Liverpool were able to field a strong team although they had key absentees away in AFCON.
The early atmosphere was crackling like a good semi-final should be with Ødegaard playing deeper and centrally and taking the eye with intelligent prompting. Arsenal began the better with Martinelli causing regular problems for TAA on Liverpool’s right and after nine minutes Lacazette curled a subtle free kick from the edge of the box against the bar with the help of a slight but important touch from Kellegher in the Liverpool goal.
Liverpool had been quite subdued but forced the ball home through Matip after a far post corner was headed on but the Liverpool centre back was clearly offside. It was a temporary reprieve as in their first attack of any real note Jota stepped inside a tentative Tomayisu and scuffed a shot past a couple of Arsenal defenders. It was enough to wrongfoot Ramsdale and it dribbled into the centre of the goal. It did not reflect particularly well on our keeper.
Arsenal 0 Liverpool 1 – Jota (19 mins)
Goals change the rhythm of most games and whereas Arsenal had looked the more lively side, the goal gave Liverpool assurance and confidence and they assumed control of the game without creating much of note. Suddenly, the fragility and inexperience of our central midfield became increasingly obvious, Saka found it hard to get into the match in any meaningful way and Lacazette became increasingly marooned upfront. Lokonga almost lost the ball on the edge of the area. Martinelli worked incredibly hard and almost got past VVD and Fabinho but the Brazilian stuck out a toe to push the ball away. We weren’t coherent in our attacking play in the last fifteen minutes of the half. The crowd became subdued and Liverpool eased their way to half-time. Atkinson, traditionally no friend of Arsenal, booked Lacazette for a fairly innocuous challenge. We were not made aware of unusual betting activity just before the interval! Arsenal badly missed the sort of midfield drive that Partey supplied against Manchester City. How long would Arteta wait to use him?
Half-time: Arsenal 0 Liverpool 1
Arsenal needed to show personality and commitment and an early ball over the top from Lokonga to Lacazette deserved a better finish than Lacazette supplied as he blazed over. Jota then skinned White very easily and set up Gordon for an easy chance which the youngster snatched at and also blazed over. Liverpool were now in a comfortable rhythm and Arsenal needed to find more dynamism and physical impact. They looked disappointingly lightweight and one or two of the team, notably Tomiyasu looked well short of match fitness.
Konate hit the post with a header from a corner and Ramsdale’s fine block from the rebound was unnecessary as Henderson was offside. We then just survived a great run and cross from TAA. It was hard to see what options Arsenal had to alter the flow of the game.
A fine run from Martinelli saw Kelleher touch over his cross shot and this prompted Arteta to take off ESR for Partey and swap Nketiah for Lacazette. Our need for a more incisive leader of the attack was very clear tonight. Could Eddie continue his fine scoring run in the Carabao Cup?
Liverpool continued to pour forward and Robertson just turned the ball wide before Jota notched a second after it was initially disallowed for offside. Ramsdale again could not impose himself but he was badly exposed by the through ball and Jota, who caused huge problems for our central defenders, latched onto the long ball from TAA to all but confirm Liverpool’s place at Wembley.
Arsenal 0 Liverpool 2 – Jota (77)
The admirable Martinelli went close immediately afterwards but this Arsenal team was undercooked with several players looking short of full fitness and they lacked the drive and power needed to trouble Liverpool. Had we had to play the NLD with the resources we had last week it was unlikely to have ended well. Atkinson continued to give very petty yellow cards out and decided an innocuous trip by Partey merited a card. It proved very significant a few minutes later when a poorly timed challenge saw him receive a second yellow and negate the impact of his return from Cameroon. Our red card agony continues although the jobsworth Atkinson really didn’t need to give the first yellow.
Liverpool closed the game out with very few problems and move on to Wembley. What they might have achieved with Mane and Salah on the pitch doesn’t bear thinking about.
Losing any semi-final is disappointing but this competition is not our priority and of more concern is the effect of cumulative injuries on our rhythm and drive. If Arteta didn’t realise that we need midfield and attacking reinforcements before (and he clearly does) this game would have underlined the need to bolster the squad. Only Martinelli made much impact. He ran his heart out but we were very much second-best tonight after a very encouraging start to the game. We have a seventeen day gap after the Burnley match and we must hope we can gather our resources to get past Burnley on Sunday. Let us hope this does not dampen the enthusiasm of our fans who showed great support but were understandably discouraged by tonight’s events.
Would things have been any different if we had played on the original date? It’s difficult to know but the suspicion that chicanery took place to alter the date is hard to avoid. But I very much doubt that we could have prevailed even if that original game had been played. Liverpool are currently a much better team.
Patience is very necessary for our fans. Fourth place is the very clear target for us this season. Let us hope we can marshal and improve our resources to give it a real go – and stop the haemorrhage of resources from needless red cards.
Final score Arsenal 0 Liverpool 2
Thanks TTG, very quick report and a fair reflection of a disappointing night.
We just couldn’t overcome the many hurdles scruz mentioned in his preview though we put in the effort. Any win will do against Burnley, and then use the break to hopefully get a new recruit or two bedded in and the existing squad fully fit.
What OM said @1.
TTG. That is a superlative report. I agree with your assessment of the players, the ref, the match, and the difference between the two teams. And you wrote it so well… many thanks.
I want to give a huge shout out to Thomas Partey. Make no mistake, if he had said to the Arsenal staff that he wasn’t up for this one, after his AFCON experience, then he would not have been on the bench.
He wanted to get back on the horse, to be involved. I have never heard of a player arriving from a 12 hour flight on the back of an international tournament and playing for a club side.
He hasn’t set the world on fire like he might have in his time with us so far, but I am massively in his camp. He showed a huge commitment to the club today, and just because he got a red card that will keep him out of a game we never expected him to play in anyway, I think we should be proud to have someone so willing to show up for the club. And we should give him the opportunity to let his performances show he is absolutely the player we thought we had bought.
(But please, get him a decent partner in CM!)
MaTt bloOdy turnerR, eh?
can”t wait
Excellent review TTG, as always!
Loved the attitude of all the players. And as GSD mentioned, Partey’s willingness to be involved after a long flight following an international match just a couple of days ago spoke volume about his character.
Tomi (who would have probably given more time to recover if Chambers was available), Saka, Laca, Emile all looked tired and/or recovering. Ødegaard and Martinelli played well, the latter especially putting in a tireless effort to match with the skill. Maybe would have scored a goal on another day from one of his attempts. Sambi played well in patches even though a few times overrun by their press. His wonderful lofted pass to Laca deserved a better finish.
As Mikel alluded to in his post-match interview, the gap between the starters and the bench need to be addressed for us to make significant progress forward. Let us hope we can keep the top 14-15 (today’s starting eleven, plus Tavares, Partey players of the squad fit and firing until the end of the season to put a strong run in the league. Maybe a surprising new signing or two to join in that effort as well…
Many thanks for turning round your excellent report quite so quickly, TTG. There seems to be a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth out in the Goonersphere but I can’t get too wound up, personally. Losing 2-0 to one of the best teams in the country, possibly in Europe, over two legs, when we are years behind Liverpool in terms of “the project” is not the apocalypse some of the more unnerved commentators, not especially in this bar I’m glad to say, are portraying. Granted, the performance last night was, shall we say, enervated but perhaps this is reflective of the fact that we are in the early stages of moving into 2 steps forward- one step back territory in terms of our development. I think the upcoming break comes at a good time for us from a playing perspective. From a personal perspective, I haven’t been so upbeat about the club for years. Viva la revolucion! Viva Arteta!
A report with the pace, focus and flair to which the team aspires. Sadly this match found our squad overstretched and too many players subpar on the night whether a result of Covid, not training or carrying injuries. Thomas’ second yellow was SO Arsenal. We were second best on the night but we are definitely on the way back.
Believe.
Cheers TTG. Kudos for providing such a good report so early after the match. I couldn’t be bothered looking at any reports last night.
I echo most of the sentiments expressed above, and totally with Dr F and CER. I actually don’t feel downhearted by that defeat. Many players short of fitness, but they all gave 100% effort.
Didn’t find much wrong with Atkinson for once, except the first yellow to Partey, but then the second could have been a straight red.
Surely a player of his experience should have refrained from that challenge (just imagine the reaction if Xhaka had done the same…).
However I will give him more leeway because of history; undoubtedly the commitment to playing so shortly after being back is a positive thing. Fatigue makes one do silly things(we’ve all been there), so I’m not going to throw him the first stone.
I’m waking up again to the idea that top 6 is a more realistic aim than top 4, but I will still not lose hope of said top 4. However, it is clear we need reinforcements.
(and also bath I’m seeing now, seems we’re all on the same train :-))
As ever this bar is an oasis of common sense.
I couldn’t agree more on the top 6 and top 4 targets, Ollie. We are a work in progress, definitely moving in the right direction but missing a couple of key components. We need to beat Burnley by hook or by crook, secure our targets (or at least strengthen our midfield options) and spend the window healing our wounded.
We don’t have a striker, we don’t have a central midfield and we’re far too predictable down the flanks. I like both Martinelli and Saka but with one it’s almost a heads down charge with no end product and the other always cuts inside as he doesn’t have a right foot worthy of the name. Observations really not scathing critiques.
Fix those issues and we’ll make progress. For all the whingeing I did about pressing too high in the first leg, I do miss Tierney’s overlapping. We got far more out of that than Martinelli’s charges up the flank.
I think we’re destined to fight for fifth or sixth for the next few seasons, with the odd flirtation with fourth. A bit like Liverpool used to be.
Eighteen league games to go, including against all likely rivals for fourth to sixth, so many ‘six pointers’ left. All still to play for.
Cynic touches on a good point. Opposing teams have worked out how to blunt Saka and Martinelli/Tierney). That has dulled our attacking threat. Should Martinelli play down the middle, with a winger who likes to come inside on the left so Tierney can overlap? Also, Saka seems to have stopped switching wings as he did earlier in the season, which at least mixes things up a little.
Thank you to commenters for your kind remarks .
One of Dave Faber’s many admirable qualities was his ability to produce very speedy and balanced reports which provided a sensible and rational analysis at a time when a defeat rankled the most . It is very hard to do but the general reaction to last night from what is a very mature bar is heartening and shows more of a focus on where we are going than where we are at present .
Arteta’s presser worried me because he intimated that we had several players carrying injuries . Yesterday’s game clearly illustrated that was true . Tomayisu , ESR and Saka were not fully fit and I sense Tierney is having to play within himself . I also worry that Ramsdale is losing a bit of form . The first goal yesterday despite the orgasmic praise from Jamie Redknapp was as soft as it is hard to imagine. Ramsdale should have done a lot better.
I also agree with GSD about Partey. I consider myself an experienced traveller and someone who woke up in Cameroon in the morning can’t have been ready to play on a cold January London evening. His immediate and heartfelt apology contrasts with the silence we heard from Xhaka . I will give Partey a free pass on that red last night
Cheers TTG!
What Esso said, if not as eloquently.
Many thanks TTG for an excellent review that you managed to put out so soon after the final whistle. It was very measured but also with an overview of where we are at present.
It’s always highly disappointing to go out of a cup competition at the semi final stage (a rare occurrence for us) but at the current stage of the project, along with players absent or returning when not fully fit following injury and illness, it wasn’t totally unexpected.
These past few matches have massively highlighted the areas where the team is understaffed ( midfield and striker ) and it appears the management are endeavouring to rectify this. The club has offloaded quite a few of the “not required” squad members already which has freed up cash for some incomings. Unfortunately it’s never easy to find upgrades in the winter transfer market as selling clubs don’t want to disrupt their own squad logistics. We also can offer no European football this season and there is no guarantee we will make top 6 let alone top 4 come May. Of course we still have opportunity to reach these objectives- the current squad has a lot of quality in it. There is nothing else to distract us from this task!
Anyone who made Felix Dennis their Fantasy Captain because he was playing in two games ( like me) has really come a cropper tonight!
Suppose we could use a mellow midfielder if he doesn’t pick up red cards left and right, and keeps the ball moving with minimal fuss. But we really need a midfielder who’s going to cause opposing teams havoc in the center of the park, so mellow really doesn’t tick all the boxes, does it? Maybe Bruno Guimaraes is our man.
Bt8
We sure do and BG fits the bill. But we also need a top striker . If we don’t sign one we will really struggle to make top 4 and top 6 won’t be easy
Accepts the thunderous upfield ball and smashes it into the top corner finishing a 20 goal campaign. More than Auba could do the last couple of years.
At least our manager is more handsome than Steven Gerrard at Villa.
Based on his attire it looks like KT3 thinks the are already in Dubai. 🙂
I hope the break and the sun are exactly the refresher we need to recharge our batteries.
That picture of Tierney wasn’t taken today, He and Tavares missed training as did Tomi. We might be short at full-back tomorrow.
We seem to have dropped from fourth to seventh without kicking a ball. Three points off Dycho’s psychos are now absolutely essential.
It was hard to work out what was our best outcome at Old Trafford . Probably a draw but West Ham are sliding again .
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