Liverpool beat one of their main rivals Arsenal 2-0 in the FA Cup third round at the Emirates Stadium thanks to an own goal and a late goal from Luis Diaz.
Liverpool punished Arsenal’s poor finishing with a 2-0 win at the Emirates in the fourth round of the FA Cup.Mikel Arteta’s men managed to seal the scoring in the first half, and so did the chances created.
Reiss Nelson beat Alisson Becker but couldn’t get over the ball and Martin Odegaard hit the crossbar. Kai Havertz also fouled out with a poor finish and Bukayo Saka lacked technique, hitting two shots in the second half.
Jurgen Klopp’s side had Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota hit the crossbar, but the Arsenal man found the net when Jakub Kivjjor headed Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick past Luis Diaz’s lead. . The second in a recent exchange.
After sending the Gunners packing, 90minSport takes a look at what Mikel Arteta thinks is wrong. Havertz as False Nine Havertz remains an enigma that troubles Arteta.
Although the German has found the back of the net in recent weeks, he is still not entirely comfortable with Arteta’s system. He was used as a false nine against the Merseysiders.
The German has always managed to get on well with his teammates, but still lacks confidence in goals. He had two unnecessary touches in the first half, both of which were easily blocked.
They paid the price up front for their lack of dominance as Liverpool managed to find the back of the net.
Loss of control in half guard
What do you think Mikel Arteta does right and wrong?
Against Fulham, Arteta deployed a midfield trio of Declan Rice, Odegaard and Havertz. For Marco Silva’s side, he was an easy-to-play attacking midfielder.
Jorginho has been selected to play against the Premier League leaders alongside Rice in a bid to keep their defenders comfortable. As well as providing additional defensive spine cover, the former Chelsea midfielder was always open to passes, which proved invaluable against Klopp’s Gergenpress Merseyside.
Unfortunately all control was lost in the second half as Liverpool came in with intensity and purpose. Playing with the Gunners, he was a threat at the back with pop pass after pass from the top of the North London back line.
Arteta seemed to be running out of ideas to deal with Liverpool’s attack. Arteta told his team to fight fire with fire and their bravery was rewarded with a goal. Liverpool are rarely under pressure or overwhelmed, but the Gunners did both, especially in the first half.
Saka, Nelson and Odegaard were the core of the Red line. The Gunners had three chances in the first half as Arsenal won the ball high up the pitch.
Either through fatigue or a lack of communication, Arsenal seemed to lose steam in the second half.
Martinelli brought fresh feet and bite up front, but their work off the ball seemed to lack coordination. Arteta’s side came close to a perfect FA Cup result. They played like a team that wanted to wrap up the win quickly.
Sometimes it seemed like they were just like that. The only thing missing from the entire match was clinical finishing. Havertz, Saka, Nelson and Odegaard tried to break the deadlock but were unable to beat Alisson.
Arteta was an absolute fox in Eddie Nketiah’s penalty area but ignored the England international and brought on Martinelli instead.
