The Arsenal v Liverpool, 8.15pm, Weds 16 March 2022

[Mac76]

so given its importance i thought this merited being started earlier than 10 minutes before the game ;)

perhaps foolishly, I'm optimistic we can really give them a game tonight.

still i hate to break with a tradition so... 0-3 Salah hatter :lol:

[Marc Overmars]

Would happily take a draw, which is what I think the outcome will be too.

1-1.

[Xhaka Can’t]

If the weather stays like this, I think it’ll be a goalless draw.

Might do a rain dance if the weather looks like improving.

[selassie]

Would happily take a draw, which is what I think the outcome will be too.

1-1.

I'd be happy with this outcome too assuming we play relatively well.

[Mac76]

If the weather stays like this, I think it’ll be a goalless draw.

Might do a rain dance if the weather looks like improving.

Xhaka on a rain-soaked pitch has "mis-timed two-footed red-card sliding tackle" written all over it...

[LDG]

Big match, deffo Xhaka red card territory

Expect a pel for Liverpool at some point

[I am invisible]

Do we stick or twist? I’m really tempted to go full galaxy-brain here and try Martinelli or Smith Rowe up top (with the other on the left) - give Lacazette a rest and go for max running, pressing and pace on the counter. I doubt we’re going to dominate possession or be able to play through them with quick, intricate passing, and if we’re ever going to try something like this then a game that we’re expected to lose anyway might be the ideal time…

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Merse is in the studio along with Carragher and Souness.

Merse just said it'd be a major melt-up if Citeh don't win the league. :haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Arsenal: Ramsdale, Cedric, White, Gabriel, Tierney, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Lacazette.
Subs: Leno, Smith Rowe, Holding, Pepe, Tavares, Sambi Lokonga, Elneny, Nketiah, Swanson.

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago, Jota, Mane, Diaz.
Subs: Kelleher, Konate, Keita, Firmino, Salah, Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Minamino.

----------

Salah on the bench. Which in theory would be good but Jota scores all the time against us.

[Marc Overmars]

Diaz against Cedric. :lol:

This doesn’t bode well.

[Master Splinter]

How long until the Mane elbow that goes unpunished? Four minutes?

Need OdeGOD to continue his brilliant form and Lacazette to maybe be clinical for once.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Ramsdale saves from Van Dijk.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Bit of a scuffer from Martinelli.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Martinelli. :bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Shocking dive from Mane.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Cedric shoots. :lol:

Didn't go well.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Did Xhaka's shot go for a throw-in? :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Brilliant from Martinelli.

Woeful from Xhaka.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Mane. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

0-0 HT.

Done alright. Not created that much but in the game.

Martinelli. :bow:

[LDG]

Just need a break. One of those that usually go for form teams.

Ref is onviously out to give us absolutely fuck all

[Letters]

Martinelli. :bow:

Correct.
He is outstanding.
Good performance all round so far

[Marc Overmars]

Knocking it about with confidence and defending well. Just need a bit of spark up front.

All set up for a Xhaka howler to break the deadlock.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Aw we're coming out to Razor Ramon's theme song.

Scott Hall. :(

:rose:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Disallowed goal for Mane.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Fuck me Martinelli.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

How did we not put it in?!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Saka shot saves by Alisson.

[Letters]

How did we not put it in?!

Good save but yeah, we should have done better

[McNamara That Ghost...]

0-1 Jota. Fuck sake.

[Marc Overmars]

Jota of course scores.

Not great from Ramsdale.

[Letters]

Piss.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

He was about to be subbed. FFS. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Jota off, Firmino on

Diaz off, Salah on.

[Letters]

Ramsdale should have saved that.
This is another one of those performances.
Where we basically play well but then lose.
And I know Liverpool are a level above us but still, we’ve done this so many times down the years

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Salah. :lol:

[Marc Overmars]

0-2

Game over.

Don’t know why we thought tonight would be any different.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

0-2 Firmino. Their intensity has gone up.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Yellow for Firmino.

[Letters]

0-2

Game over.

Don’t know why we thought tonight would be any different.

Because we’ve been on a good run and that obviously raises hope and expectations.
But we are not at Liverpool’s level, pretty much no one is.
Good first half performance from us but Liverpool have raised it and they’re just better than us.
The important thing is we have to react at the weekend and get a result then. Otherwise we’re just going to collapse again

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Odegaard off, Smith Rowe on.

[Marc Overmars]

Just nothing up front really to trouble teams like this.

Laca works hard but as a defender you’d take that all night long.

We need to go big on a striker this summer.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Saka off, Pepe on.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Lacazette off, Nketiah on.

[Marc Overmars]

We haven’t laid a glove on them. Again.

So frustrating.

[Marc Overmars]

Martinelli combs it just wide.

We had a shot. :bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Close from Martinelli.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Thiago off, Jones on.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

0-2 FT. Comfortable really in the second half once Ramsdale chucked it in.

[Marc Overmars]

Same old story.

Stayed in the game for a while only to see that work undone by a sloppy mistake. Wasn’t even close to being a contest after the first goal.

Disappointing. Need an immediate response at Villa.

[LDG]

Too slow to adapt to the change in tactics from Liverpool, and too slow in making the right change.

Lacca should always have been off first once the goal went in.

[selassie]

This played out how i expected it to. They are in a different league to us and are arguably title favourites, look who they brought off their bench. They have quality and depth in every single position.

We huffed and puffed but never really looked like getting anything out of the game.

We just need to make sure we go again on Saturday and get back to winning ways.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

We needed everyone to have an 8/10 or higher and we didn't.

Xhaka was...Xhaka.

Odegaard and Saka were really off it.

[Gooner23]

Not too disheartened, we more than matched them in the 1st half and punished by a couple of mistakes in the 2nd.

You can see clear progress which is the main thing, and everyone knows we need to upgrade on Laca and Xhaka. Games against the top sides highlight the lack of quality up top, replacing Laca with a goalscorer will be a game changer next season.

[LDG]

Agreed.

If anything, would have been nice to have had the rub for a change, but first half was very good. We just have to accept we’re still a few years away from that. Keep up the progress and we’ll get there.

Chips will be disappointed with the near post gift though.

[Marc Overmars]

Yeah the reality is that Liverpool are one of the best teams in Europe. Even playing in second gear they would have enough to beat most teams.

We’ve lost every game against the teams above us and United. Frustrating and it’s why I’ve not been too optimistic about finishing 4th given the fixtures remaining.

[Master Splinter]

We're not as good as Liverpool, especially in the forward positions. It's the one area Arteta hasn't been able to bring in the players he wants yet. Considering how well the team is developing and how most of Arteta's choices in players he wants have proven to be a success, there's a lot of reason to be optimistic.

The top two are two of the best three teams in the world. Chelsea are currently better than us, with a more mature team and manager.

As long as we beat the rest, which we have done mostly this season, then there's not much to worry about. This team has responded well to bad results and have showed no signs that they'll just collapse and feel sorry for themselves.