Arsenal find their level
After five wins in a row that had built up confidence levels to a cautious sense of optimism around the Emirates, Wednesday night was something of a reality check for Arsenal. This was no surprise for Mikel Arteta though.
"No, there are better teams in the country because that's what the league table shows," said the Spaniard prophetically in his press conference before the game. "We haven't done anything. What we are doing is try to improve, understand better what we want, being much more consistent in performance and results, but nothing else as yet."
For 50 minutes or so his side held their own against Liverpool. In a tight arm wrestle of a game neither side gave an inch as they stretched every sinew to maintain the elite tactical level at which the match was being played. Eventually though, the Reds' might told.
READ MORE: Arsenal player ratings vs Liverpool as Gabriel Martinelli stars but Aaron Ramsdale makes error
Martin Odegaard was presented with an excellent opportunity to put Arsenal in front when Alexandre Lacazette seized on Thiago's misplaced backpass, but failed to convert in something of a sliding doors moment for the match. Diogo Jota's low effort caught out Aaron Ramsdale at his near post minutes later, before Roberto Firmino - who Jurgen Klopp had brought on immediately after the opener as a sign of the immense strength in depth at his disposal - flicked home a second after Andy Robertson had stolen the ball off Bukayo Saka. That was it. Two swift sucker punches and Liverpool had knocked the Gunners out of the contest.
There is no shame in this though. In fact when you compare this game to how Arsenal capitulated under similar circumstances in the reverse fixture at Anfield, it shows progress if anything. However, when it comes to these clashes against elite level opponents, the reality is that the Gunners remain a Goldilocks team. For them to win everything has to be just right. This is the same place Liverpool were in before they signed Alisson and Virgil Van Dijk, and the same place Manchester City were in before Pep Guardiola got the full backs he wanted.
Progress takes time, and the philosophical nature of Arteta's post-match press conference suggested that he feels his team are on the right track. "I think we have closed that gap a lot but it wasn’t enough because when we opened the door they went through it and scored two goals," the Spaniard said. "I’m not happy with the goals we conceded but it’s part of the game and when you have the chances against them you have to hurt them and get something out of that."
For some fans this may have been something of a comedown after getting high on their own supply of hype in recent months. For most inside the Emirates though, Wednesday night was a positive indicator of how far Arsenal have come, but also a sobering reminder of how far they still have to go.
Arsenal's only world class player reveals himself
The term world class is thrown around so much these days that the phrase has arguably lost its meaning. If you break it down its ultimate definition denotes a player at the peak of their powers capable of playing in any team throughout the globe and holding their own.
When you look at this Arsenal side their aren't many of those around. Ben White and Gabriel have been largely excellent this season, but you still get the feeling there is more to come. The same goes for the youngsters who adorn the Gunners frontline in Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe. The one player who looks like the finished article though is Thomas Partey.
Positioned in the midst of the hurricane that is the Liverpool Gegenpress, the unflappable Ghanaian swam serenely throughout the 90 minutes, seemingly playing in slow motion while others around him did everything in fast forward. After being named player of the month for February, he has backed it up with three complete midfield performances in March. Wednesday night saw him complete 83% of his passes, play five balls into the final third, win 80% of his defensive duels (6 of 8) and successfully complete 100% of his sliding tackles (as per Wyscout).
football.london revealed earlier this week the steps Partey has taken to acclimatise to the English game and how much becoming settled in his personal life has enhanced his professional one. You can see that with the supreme confidence he has every time he walks out on to the pitch. The Ghanaian is clearly enjoying his football.
When you look around 'number sixes' in the world right now it is difficult to think of one better. Fabinho offers the defensive might and physicality but is not as proficient in possession, while Rodri has the ball skills without the brutality often needed in the middle of the park. Partey has both.
In games against both Manchester City and Liverpool this year he has truly stood out among of sea of the greatest midfielders on the planet. Having proved himself against the two best teams in the world at the moment, he has shown that he Arsenal's only world class player.
Martinelli's masterclass
Gabriel Martinelli's love affair with Liverpool has always been a curious one. Dating all the way back to the ridiculous 5-5 draw at Anfield during Unai Emery 's tenure, the Brazilian has caught the eye of those who matter on Merseyside. "He’s a talent of the century," Jurgen Klopp said after that clash in 2019. "He’s an incredible striker."
Since then with excellent performance after excellent performance against the Reds, Martinelli has ensured the flame between the two has kept burning strongly. Klopp doubled down on his praise after the Carabao Cup semi final between the two sides in January. "We will talk about this player in the future," the German stated. "If he will be without major injuries he will have a proper career." This time round though, the reception was a little more frosty.
Liverpool's undoubted best playmaker is Trent Alexander-Arnold. In both the 4-0 win at Anfield this season, and the 2-0 Carabao Cup victory at the Emirates, the England international has registered remarkable assists to condemn Arsenal to defeat. This time round though, his influence was relatively limited. The reason for this was that he had his hands full with Martinelli.
The Brazilian has added new dimensions to his game that make him far more difficult to defend against. Whereas before his desperation to go to goal as quick as possible would lead him to invariably cut in on his right, the Brazilian is now capable of going to byline on his left. It is this unpredictability that makes Bukayo Saka such a threat on the right wing, and it seems Martinelli is intent on following in the footsteps of his fellow 20-year-old rather than copying the more choreographed mannerisms of Nicolas Pepe.
Poor Alexander-Arnold was run ragged on the night, and after the game Klopp felt the need to leap to the defence of his right back. "If you one of you thinks still that Trent cannot defend then, I’m sorry, you have no idea about football. Everybody who says that it’s just madness," the German said before going on to reference Martinelli again. Klopp was also unhappy with the physical attention the Brazilian was giving Alexander-Arnold and could be seen furiously waving his arms at referee Andre Mariner when the two collided in front of his technical area.
Martinelli should pay no mind to that though. Instead his focus now has to be on ironing out the kinks to his game so that he can truly fulfil his potential. Having beaten Alexander-Arnold to the byline, the 20-year-old cut the ball back blindly instead of picking out Alexandre Lacazette or Martin Odegaard. He might well point to poor movement from the pair in the middle as the reason for this but playing with his head down is a trait that blights Martinelli's game.
It is perhaps for this reason that Mikel Arteta passed up the opportunity to pour more praise on the Brazilian in his post match press conference. "I’m very pleased how the team has performed again and the courage and how far they’ve taken the game," the Spaniard said when asked specifically about Martinelli.
Really though is nit picking for a player who is still three months away from his 21st birthday. There was a moment late in the game where the Brazilian had an effort that was reminiscent of Thierry Henry strike with its low curling nature from the left edge of the box. Martinelli has the potential to reach that level and Arteta will be happy with how he's cooking on the left wing, but there is still a way to go before Arsenal can fully feast on what he has to offer.
Arteta bemoans the hurdles to Arsenal's attempts to bounce back
No one would realistically have been expecting Arsenal to win this game, but there is a fear now that the bad smell of defeat could linger into Saturday's lunch time kick off with Aston Villa. Although the Emirates was largely warm in its response to the team at half time, Mikel Artea admitted after the game that his side were hurting after flying so close to the sun.
"They were because they know how well they played," the Spaniard said when asked if his team were feeling down in the dressing room at full time. "Now we lost two games to [Manchester] City and Liverpool when you are there toe-to-toe and you deserve much more than we got from the results, but the reality is that we didn’t."
If there was one player that typified the sense of deflation it was Aaron Ramsdale. Both Arteta and Edu have admitted that part of the reason Arsenal controversially chose to sign the England keeper in the summer was how well he reacted in the face of adversity. This had been seen recently when he was captured almost immediately geeing up Gabriel following his error against Wolves. When the mistake was his own though Ramsdale was a little less bulletproof.
He should have saved Diogo Jota's low drive at his near post, and the fact that the Portugal international and Luis Diaz were subbed immediately after the goal, possibly gave him more time to ruminate on the error than if play had resumed immediately. He stood despondent for a good minute behind his own goal, grimacing at what he had just done as Arsenal waited to resume play. From that point on he did look shaken and was lucky not cause a second Liverpool goal when Roberto Firmino charged down an attempted clearance.
Ramsdale though is made of strong stuff and having been relegate twice already in his short Premier League career he'll know what is required to bounce back quickly. He may even be glad about the rapid turnaround in fixtures given that the Gunners now travel to Villa Park to play in the Saturday lunch time kick off despite being a bizarrely late 20:15 kick off on the Wednesday. This though would not be an opinion that his manager shares.
"Thank you so much to the Premier League to do that," the Spaniard said of his side's packed fixture list. "And they’ve done it again for when we have to play Chelsea and Manchester United. So if they want to give them any advantage I say today, thank you so much for doing that."
Arteta will receive little sympathy when it comes to a packed schedule, given that Arsenal aren't in Europe this season and exited the FA Cup at the Third Round stage. However, this was clearly something that he had been wanting to get off his chest for a while now, and the Spaniard was in no mood for excuses. "It’s always BT, it’s Sky, it’s this it’s that, but the one that is affected it’s Arsenal and the I only thing I care about and we care about is Arsenal and for Arsenal, it’s not fair," he said.
Perhaps what he could legitimately be concerned about is how the novelty of a quick turnaround of games will impact his squad. After a January window that rightly or wrongly saw Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Pablo Mari, Flo Balogun, Calum Chambers, Sead Kolasinac and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leave without anyone coming in to replace them, the Gunners have been gutted of their depth. Up until now that hasn't been a problem, but we'll have to see how they cope with what is essentially a preview of what they'll be in store for on a regular basis next season if they qualify for the Champions League.
The true significance of this defeat will only become apparent at around 14:30 on Saturday. If Arsenal struggle then we can be sure that Arteta will point to the tight turnaround as just cause. The Gunners have been good at bouncing back, but with the as of yet untested impact of a congested fixture list to contend with means that this trip to Villa Park - where Arteta has never won - provides a brand new test.
