“Attack wins you games, defense wins you titles,” said the Old Trafford legend, and his words have been repeated on a countless number of occasions over the years. It is an interesting quote, especially once applied to the current landscape in the Premier League with Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal in contention at the top.
On Tuesday night, the Gunners traveled to Luton Town and picked up a dramatic win with a late goal scored by Declan Rice. It was a huge moment for Mikel Arteta as he attempts to secure his first Premier League crown, but the Spaniard will be concerned by his team conceding three times during the bout. Similar applies to Pep Guardiola in Manchester. Over the weekend, the champions hosted Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium and after 90 minutes of competition, the game ended 3-3. It was a real thriller between two attacking sides, but City doesn’t tend to concede so many goals.
Guardiola’s outfit drew 4-4 against Chelsea just a few weeks ago. Both Arsenal and City look likely to concede goals right now, but there is a specific reason as to why. Simply put, the goalkeepers representing both sides have been largely to blame of late, with David Raya and Ederson appearing shaky.
Against Luton Town, Arsenal allowed the Hatters to accumulate just six shots, with those efforts worth just 0.6 expected goals, yet the Gunners conceded three times. Raya looked vulnerable and weak, especially when required to step up and take control from defensive set-piece situations. Rice essentially scored the winner with the last kick of the game. If he hadn’t, Arteta’s side would have dropped two points solely because of its goalkeeper.
City established a similar degree of dominance over Spurs on Sunday afternoon. Ange Postecoglou’s outfit was brave going forward, but still only managed to create eight shots, with those efforts worth around 0.5 expected goals. Like Raya, though, Ederson conceded three times.
Guardiola’s side has won the title with the Brazilian as their number one before, but the two sides seem to possess the same weakness, and one that doesn’t apply to Liverpool. Alisson Becker is the first-choice option for the Reds, and he’s widely regarded as the best in the world in his position. The South American is an expert at stopping shots. In fact, since he moved to England in 2018, he’s faced a total of 589 shots on target worth roughly 170.7 expected goals, but he’s conceded just 150 times, excluding own goals. He has effectively been 20 goals better than the average goalkeeper.
For perspective, Raya has conceded 213 goals from 211.4 expected goals over the same period, and Ederson has conceded 172 times from 168.8 expected goals since his own move to England from Portugal in 2017. The two players are currently underperforming against the average with their shot-stopping over the past five or six years.
Alisson is on a different level, which is why Liverpool will be hoping his current injury doesn’t keep him out for too long. With the margins often proving to be so fine at the business end of the table, he could end up being the difference for Liverpool as Klopp aims to restore his Premier League crown.
As much as Liverpool supporters would never like to admit it, nobody has won the Premier League more times than Alex Ferguson, who delivered the trophy for Manchester United on 13 occasions. The Scot knew a thing or two about finishing at the summit, as he was once famed for a specific quote on how to achieve greatness.
