Emery diamond a gift for Liverpool
UNAI EMERY will have to take responsibility for the comprehensive way Arsenal were beaten at Anfield, choosing to play with a midfield diamond that didn’t seem to be practised enough.
A diamond only works when you can count on good possession. Maybe he thought Dani Ceballos was so good last week he deserved to play behind the front two again.
But Burnley at the Emirates isn’t like facing Liverpool at Anfield. I am all for trying different things but it didn’t look as if Arsenal’s players had worked on a system that, I know from experience, requires good understanding between team-mates and an awareness of the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses.
One of Liverpool’s main strengths is their full-backs, Trent AlexanderArnold and Andy Robertson, who are arguably the best partnership in Europe. Yet by lining up so narrow because of the diamond, Arsenal played into their hands, allowing them to bomb up the pitch at will and rain in free crosses.
By bringing Granit Xhaka back to be the base of the diamond and asking Joe Willock and Matteo Guendouzi to play either side, the two young lads were getting out too late to stop Alexander-Arnold and Robertson. It was cross after cross, setting the tone for a 3-1 win which, in all honesty, was more comfortable than that.
Why would you devise a way of playing Liverpool that helps their key
players? If you are relying on Nacho Monreal to go out and meet Alexander-Arnold, Willock needs to be alert to stop Mo Salah. The diamond works when you have the ball, not when you want to stop Liverpool.
Liverpool’s energy and pressing were brilliant. Bobby Firmino was class and I’d like to see Virgil van Dijk crowned world player of the year this week. While I think there is still a Big Six, Arsenal are a million miles away from Liverpool within it.
I think Arsenal’s idea was to rely on the pace of Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up front. When they couldn’t take the one chance that fell to them, Arsenal were doomed. They couldn’t cope with Liverpool’s intensity and playing narrow played right into Jurgen Klopp’s hands.
I’ve got to mention David Luiz as well, haven’t I. He gave away a penalty for a lazy pullback on Salah, and then let him go for the third goal.
It’s now over to Manchester City at Bournemouth today. They won’t be pressure d by Liverpool winning again, they coped all of last season. But nine points out of nine is a great start for Klopp — though he had some help from the Arsenal manager yesterday.