“Well, football is magical, because four days ago we lost against Fleetwood and that was so painful. And then you feel, “Wow, what do we have to do to win at Anfield?” But we started two days ago talking about those 14 years without winning, and the things that we had to tweak, first of all mentally, to understand the game that we had to play, the moments that we had to go through actually to earn the right to win the game and the team was unbelievable.”
That is what Mikel Arteta said to Jan Aage Fjørtoft moments after Arsenal won 1-0 at Anfield to go top of the Premier League table.
And he’s right. Football, as it turns out, is played on a pitch and not on paper. The assumptions we make very regularly make asses of us. Because when you let things play out with actual human beings and the intangibles they and the world around them can bring, expectations may fly out the window.
But football is an emotional game. Even in the good times, our feelings can oscillate wildly between extremes. In a split second, we can go from being soaked in jubilation to being plunged deep into the cold, dark depths of despair.
Given this volatility in our sentiments, it’s easy to forget what the overarching truth of a team is. Some data points sting harder than others and distract from greater picture. One such data point was the Carabao Cup loss at Fleetwood Town.
I feel that in the wake of that embarrassing upset in an otherwise unimportant competition, many Arsenal supporters succumbed to that emotional takeover of their critical thinking. I saw plenty of fans advocating for Viktor Gyökeres or even Mikel Merino to start over Kai Havertz at Liverpool on Sunday because the German missed several chances in midweek. A few weeks of subpar form from Arsenal’s best center forward culminated with a tidal wave of backlash that deemed Havertz not good enough for a side that wanted to challenge for major honors.
Others employed the transitive property on a grander scale. Like Arteta mentioned in his post-match interview, how could Arsenal expect to win at Anfield — a ground where they hadn’t been successful for 14 years, when the Gunners’ manager was a player in the squad — when they couldn’t win at a League Two side? How could they triumph over the likes of Alisson and Virgil van Dijk when players who might not be playing professional football next season got the better of them?
The answer is, these things aren’t linear. “If this, then that” does not apply as reliably in football. Imagine players like Havertz and Martin Ødegaard, their ears burning with humiliation from Tuesday’s defeat, in training and meetings and tactics sessions as they were reminded again and again that Arsenal had failed to take all three points from the red half of Merseyside for almost a decade and a half. Imagine the determination of the Premier League champions to set the record straight and silence all of the critics who had pounced on an opportunity to highlight the Gunners’ issues. If anything, Arsenal could go to Anfield on the back of their league cup exit and win because they had lost to Fleetwood Town, because they then were left with such a fiery desire for redemption.
Liverpool fans who surely were enjoying a laugh at the champions’ expense on Tuesday are now flooding timelines with complaints about the pragmatism that enabled Arsenal to see out the win at one of the Premier League’s most intimidating grounds. Ironically, that is the magic of football. Anything can happen. The champions of the most competitive football league in Europe can lose to a side in the fourth division of England and then secure a victory at a ground that has denied them for 14 consecutive years, holding Liverpool to no shots on target at home for the first time in Premier League history.
Therein lies the only transitive logic I am willing to apply to this Arsenal side: if they can have a week like the one they have just experienced, then they are capable of anything. That includes far more than the disappointment so many are still so disappointingly ready to project.
Ballers
Kai Havertz
I have a theory about Havertz. This is a player who came up as a teenager seemingly destined for Ballon d’Or consideration, who scored the winning goal in one Champions League final and came to close to doing it again in May, who scored the goal that ultimately secured a Premier League title. He lives for big moments. So when he plays in games like a Carabao Cup trip to Fleetwood Town, I feel that the lack of gravity in those matches results in a Havertz who isn’t as focused. He is less likely to get his final action right, to make the difference we expect him to make.
But conversely, the German is a big game player. The more titanic the occasion, the more he locks in. In moments I mentioned above and others, Havertz steps up and makes himself counted. On Sunday, when Arsenal most needed him to, he produced.
In the 16th minute of the match, the Gunners seized on some loose passing out from the back by Liverpool. As soon as Ødegaard got on the ball in the hosts’ third, Havertz quietly drifted toward the blind side of the opposing defense as the ball made its way to the opposite flank. Declan Rice summarily delivered an excellent pass across the face of the Reds’ goal, making it a simple matter for the German to ghost in and smack home a goal that proved to be the winner.
While I think it’s perfectly fair to criticize his performance at Fleetwood and question his long-term future at Arsenal, I didn’t like some of the vindictiveness I saw toward Havertz in the last few days. So it was great to see him make an impact in this match. Hopefully, this can spark a return to form.
Declan Rice
Havertz may have scored the winner, but it was Rice who put in the most impressive shift on the day. The Englishman, as he so often is on big occasions, was everywhere. He contributed mightily to the stifling of Liverpool’s attack — featuring three different players who cost the Reds more than £100 million each — with crucial tackles and interventions to help shield the Gunners’ defense. Rice made three tackles, two clearances, one interception, and three recoveries. More than any other Arsenal player, it was he who demanded more from his teammates after shaky moments.
On the ball, Rice took a lot of responsibility during a match in which the visitors were allowed limited possession. He accumulated 63 touches, completed 38 of 44 passes, made three passes into the final third, and ten line-breaking passes. The midfielder created two chances, including one big chance.
That big chance ended up becoming the match-winning assist he played to Havertz. After Arsenal won possession in Liverpool’s third, Noni Madueke received the ball near the right flank. Rice made a third-man run, as he has done regularly this season, which Madueke spotted. The winger slid Rice into Liverpool’s penalty area, and the Gunners’ record signing played a perfectly-weighted ball across the face of the hosts’ goal.
Rice now is not only Arsenal’s leader in goal contributions, but his five assists is currently the most in the Premier League. I think it’s time to say it with our chests out: he and Erling Haaland are the two best players in the English top flight, and he is certainly its best midfielder by a country mile. This is a world class footballer, and anyone who doesn’t think so simply doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
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Ezri Konsa
Konsa had some difficulty to start the match — Liverpool’s aggressive press seemed to unsettle him somewhat. But he grew into the game and finished as the winners’ best defender on the day. Particularly in the second half, he upped his game a level to help his side get the ball over the line.
Konsa finished with 15 defensive contributions, which was the most in the game. That was comprised of five tackles, two blocks (including a crucial one that prevented Florian Wirtz from scoring), and eight clearances. The Englishman also made five recoveries and won all seven of his ground duels.
I can’t say it enough — the way the former Aston Villa man has slotted in next to Gabriel (who was also terrific on Sunday) and prevented any drop in level during William Saliba’s absence is nothing short of remarkable. Especially when you consider that nine games into the league season Arsenal have visited Villa Park, the Stadium of Light, the City Ground, and Anfield — four away trips that saw the champions drop points last season — and won all of those games. He has been a phenomenal signing.
Noni Madueke (in the second half)
In the first period of the game, I was a little annoyed with Madueke. I didn’t think he was taking up the best positions in defense and he failed to track back to help Jurriën Timber deal with the left side of Liverpool’s attack. Which is perhaps where the dropoff is biggest from Bukayo Saka to him; while Saka has historically been reliable off the ball, that is something Madueke has clearly needed to improve in.
However, the winger looked much, much better after the break. Madueke looked much more prepared to engage physically off the ball and attempt to win the ball back. He finished with a tackle, two clearances, and five ball recoveries. The Englishman ended the match having run 11.5 kilometers, the joint-second among Arsenal players.
Going forward, I really was impressed by Madueke. Conscious of Liverpool’s threat on the counter, the winger provided an outlet on the break while also offering ball security and solid decision-making in the final third. He drove at Milos Kerkez, got into some dangerous positions, and created four chances (most of the match), but didn’t do anything rash in possession. It’s a tough balance to strike, and ultimately he earned his pre-assist for the winner. Madueke really is developing into a quality player.
Christos Tzolis
Tzolis was a surprise start, going straight back into the lineup in his first match back from injury. I didn’t love his matchup against Ronald Araújo, but an apparent lack of fitness for Eberechi Eze probably meant he had to play. However, despite the circumstances, the Greek was impressive at Anfield.
In particular, Tzolis created several dangerous moments. In the first half, he clipped a ball back across Liverpool’s goal that Madueke attempted to hit back the other way. If not for Timber being an obstacle to the pass, Havertz likely would have converted his second goal of the game.
Tzolis also played another dangerous ball from the flank into the six-yard box that required a last-ditch tackle from Virgil van Dijk to prevent another tap-in for Havertz. The Greek was also denied a dagger goal late on in the match. In the 73rd minute, he ran onto a pass across Liverpool’s box by Madueke and his first-time ever forced a tremendous save from Alisson. Ultimately, Tzolis was unlucky to leave Anfield without a goal contribution but with the injuries mounting his return is immensely welcome.
Fallers
Bruno Guimarães
It certainly wasn’t a terrible game from the Brazilian, but it was another match in which one of Guimarães or Myles Lewis-Skelly started and the other might have been wrongly left on the bench. The summer signing made a critical challenge to prevent Bradley Barcola from troubling Arsenal’s goal (before roaring at the home crowd) and was involved in the buildup to Havertz’s goal. He certainly was up for the occasion and didn’t shy away from the Anfield atmosphere.
However, he struggled with the pace of the game once Liverpool got a foothold in it. Normally a player who tries to be involved in all phases, Guimarães only managed 30 touches of the ball, 15 passes completed from 18 attempted, four line-breaking passes, and no passes into the final third. Additionally, Liverpool bypassed him fairly easily on the counter. As a result, the hosts dominated possession for much of the match and had Arsenal penned in their own third for quite some time.
Just after the hour mark Guimarães was replaced by Lewis-Skelly, and the Englishman helped give Arsenal far more control in the match. Lewis-Skelly certainly didn’t have a great game, but he was able to get on the ball more, dribble out of pressure, and win a foul to slow things down. It was just a reminder that while he is a player whose ability takes the Gunners’ midfield up a level, he hasn’t quite settled into the team as seamlessly as originally hoped.
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