Having suffered a bitter defeat against Liverpool right at the Emirates sanctuary 1 month ago, Arsenal had sweet reve𝚗ge with an explosive 90 minutes last night.
Arsenal has not won against Liverpool in the last 3 confrontations in all competitions, the Gunners even let the Red Brigade surpass them in the Emirates home match in the FA Cup third round last month, but this painful scenario has did not repeat in the match of round 23 of the Premier League last night.
Angel wings Martinelli-Saka
A short break in Dubai after a series of disappointing matches during Christmas and New Year helped Arsenal’s 2001 wing striker duo wake up, especially Martinelli.
With his goal against Liverpool in the 67th minute in last night’s match, the Brazilian star had 3 goals in the last 3 matches in the Premier League. In 78 minutes on the field, the 22-year-old player gave Kop vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold nightmares. The English star was then replaced by coach Jurgen Klopp after more than 55 minutes of almost hopeless play. Martinelli’s speed and skillful technique.
Not only did Martinelli stir up a stir on the left wing, he also showed a close connection with his teammate on the other side, Bukayo Saka. It was Martinelli who made the shot that prevented Alisson from catching the ball, thereby helping Saka score the opening goal for the Gunners.
Clearly, fans of the north London club hope these two young stars continue to maintain their chemistry in the near future to help Arsenal fly high.
“Disаster” Alisson
Before Martinelli conceded the second goal in the 67th minute, Liverpool actually had a not-so-bad match, Klopp’s team even launched many dangerous shots towards David Raya’s goal.
But all the efforts of Liverpool players went down the drain after a blameworthy mistake from goalkeeper Alisson. From a non-threatening long ball situation by midfielder Gabriel Magalhaes, the Brazilian goalkeeper rushed out and missed the ball, creating an opportunity for his Brazilian junior, Martinelli, to put the ball into the empty net.
Alisson’s disastrоus day ended when the 31-year-old player was “pierced in the groin” by striker Leandro Trossard in the final minutes of the match, thereby having to go into the net to pick up the ball for the third time. Alisson was scored 6.2 points by Sofascore, the second worst in the Liverpool squad, only behind defender Joe Gomez.
Bаttle of mistakes
Before Alisson “harmed” Liverpool, his colleague on the other side of the line, Raya, also made Arsenal “distorted”. The situation occurred in the ιnjury time of the first half, originating from an аttаck that seemed to have been neutralized by Liverpool, but Raya and midfielder William Saliba did not coordinate well, helping striker Luis Diaz equalize. The Kop.
Luckily for Raya, the Spanish star’s teammates showed their bravery at the right time to help Arsenal win the final.
Jorginho – Arteta’s smart innovation
The re-ιnjury of midfielder Thomas Partey forced Arteta to make the risky decision to let Jorginho start from the start, pairing with Declan Rice in the middle of the field instead of continuing to trust Emile Smith Rowe, who had Excellent performance against Nottingham Forest midweek.
It seemed that the Italian star would have difficulty facing Liverpool’s youthful and energetic midfield, but even after the match, the former Chelsea star was also honored by Sky Sports as “Best Player of the Match”.
After 90 minutes of play, Jorginho had 70 touches of the ball, successfully completed 45/52 passes (85% accuracy rate), in addition, the 31-year-old midfielder also won 7 duels and 4 hits. blocked the same 2 successful ball recovery situations. Paired with Rice and Jorginho, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones or Ryan Gravenberch on the away team did not have much space to circulate the ball.
Thiago’s return
Despite losing to Arsenal, Liverpool fans were somewhat comforted when midfielder Thiago Alcantara officially returned to the field after more than 8 months of absence due to ιnjury.
In the context that Liverpool’s midfield has not shown good chemistry recently, the return of the Spanish star is like a rookie, giving Klopp more options to rotate in the near future.
In matches where Liverpool need to find goals, Thiago’s bright passes can be the key to opening the difference for the Red Brigade.
The fisherman benefited from Man City
The victory over Liverpool helped Arsenal shorten the gap at the top of the table to 2 points, but at the same time, the Gunners indirectly created an opportunity for Manchester City to take the leading position.
The Citizens currently have 46 points, ranked 3rd, 5 points behind Liverpool, but the Etihad Stadium team still has 2 matches left, so if Pep Guardiola’s army completes its mission well in the above 2 matches, the defending champion will officially returned to number 1 in the UK.