11 months ago
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Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
With a draw to Arsenal in the books, we take a closer look at what it all means for the Reds.
Liverpool sort of did the thing. They kept Arsenal from running riot over them after the Gunners’ very quick start, but were unable to find the back of the net after Mohamed Salah’s first half equalizer. Trent Alexander-Arnold hitting the crossbar in the second half is going to be one of those moments that we may look back on at the end of the season as being a deciding moment for where we end up. Two points dropped against the league leaders, but a well balanced and exciting game unlike last weekend.
Talking Tactics
The biggest change to the game was Kostas Tsimikas coming off injured in the first half after a tackle leading to a collision with Jurgen Klopp on the touchline. Tsimikas went down hard in the turf and likely concrete part of the pitch, and went almost immediately down the tunnel with what looked like a collarbone or shoulder injury. Joe Gomez came on and after a period of settling, took over the position well enough to take a shot from space that unfortunately went wide.
Bukayo Saka initially looked like he was going to cause problems for the young Gomez but that ended up not being the case, thankfully, as he may even be needed in that position going forward depending on the severity of Tsimikas’ injury.
Trent Alexander-Arnold also continued his hybrid role of moving into the midfield and that kind of positioning set him up for the gorgeous assist to Mohamed Salah that would end in the equalizer. It was the most comfortable and effective Trent has looked in the position (at least to this writer) and it really paid off in that moment.
Giving Credit to the Opponent
Arsenal have been very good. It remains to be seen if they can sustain this level of play considering they looked gassed coming into the second half, but they started incredibly strong and took the Reds by surprise by scoring within the first five minutes of the match.
It’s nice to have another team fighting Manchester City in their manufactured dominance, it’s the type of thing that makes the whole league better, but selfishly - we are a Liverpool site after all - the Reds need to win against them and hopes are that the two points left on the pitch today do not come back to bite us in the butt.
What Happens Next
We are almost halfway through the season, and with the way the table looks, Arsenal is the team that we need to take points off of and hope that they continue to drop points. The missed chances today will hurt, but we are still in the middle of the busiest month so all eyes turn towards Tuesday’s Boxing Day match against Burnley at Turf Moor. As of today’s result, Liverpool sit second on the table with one point separating us from Arsenal.
