Sport
Are things only going to get worse for Liverpool?
Arsenal vs Liverpool has not been a particularly enjoyable fixture for Gunners fans in recent years. Between the start of the 2015/16 campaign and the end of last season, Arsenal won just one of 19 meetings between the two clubs in all competitions. Even that solitary success came with an asterisk: Liverpool had already been crowned Premier League champions when they lost at the Emirates Stadium in 2020, and had visibly taken their foot off the gas.
Nothing can be taken away from their victory on Sunday, though. A 3-2 scoreline suggests a close match which could have gone either way, but Arsenal were undoubtedly the better team and fully deserved to triumph. Liverpool were understandably unhappy with the soft match-winning penalty that their opponents were awarded, but no one could argue that the Reds were not second best over the course of the 90 minutes at the Emirates Stadium.
This was the type of performance and result that will give Arsenal belief that they can achieve something special this season. For Liverpool, it was more worrying than the final scoreline might suggest.
The Reds fell behind in the first minute, as Gabriel Martinelli gave Arsenal the dream start. Liverpool slowly played their way back into the game and notched a deserved equaliser through the lively Darwin Nunez, but a poor piece of defending – both collectively and individually – allowed Arsenal to retake the lead on the counter-attack just before half-time.
The next goal was scored by Liverpool, but Roberto Firmino’s tidy finish was virtually their only meaningful attack of the second half. Arsenal were far superior after the break and scored the decisive fifth goal in the 76th minute, Saka making no mistake from the penalty spot after that contentious foul on Gabriel Jesus.
Liverpool had a few bright moments, particularly in the first half, but there was not much flow to their play. Most concerning of all was how leggy they looked. A team that has prided itself on its intensity and energy throughout the Klopp era was run off the park by a younger, more dynamic Arsenal.
Liverpool’s starting XIs this season have had an average age of 27 years and 342 days, the 18th-highest in the Premier League. Back in 2017/18, when Klopp’s side finished fourth but reached the Champions League final, they were the youngest team in the division.
Several individuals are playing below their usual level: Mohamed Salah was quiet again on Sunday, Virgil van Dijk has not looked as imperious as usual, and doubts persist over Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defensive capabilities. But the bigger issue for Liverpool is the lethargy that has characterised their displays in the big games this term. Against Manchester United, Napoli and Arsenal, Liverpool have looked one-paced and pedestrian.
“We are not in the [title] race,” Klopp admitted after the game. “Imagine I would sit here and think: ‘We are nearly there, wait.’
“We have problems at the moment but we caused the team in form, the leader of the table, massive problems today. We have to continue.
“Of course in a situation like ours, we play Rangers and then Man City [in the next few days]. Is that the perfect opponent for finding confidence? Probably not but we will go out there and fight. That is what we have to do and what we will do.”
The title might be out of reach already, but there is still time for Liverpool to turn this negative situation around. A few more bad results, however, and the questions about whether this side has reached the end of the road will only grow louder.
