ARE Liverpool having a stumble?
That sound you hear is Reds fans scoffing at such a suggestion and certainly there are any number of positive spins that can be put on the past few weeks.
They have picked up 10 points from 12 in December, a haul that has kept them on Arsenal’s shoulder and pulled them four points clear of Manchester City. They haven’t conceded from open play for 280 minutes.
Against Fulham and Crystal Palace they turned around a deficit, both times late on, and that shows character and resilience. Against Manchester United last Sunday they failed to score for the first time in 35 games but it wasn’t for the lack of trying, peppering their opponent’s goal with 34 shots.
Is this is a stumble there are plenty of others in the top-flight who would do well to start tripping themselves up.
Yet, as with most slants on how things are, these supposed pluses can be tilted 180 degrees and viewed very differently.
In four of their last seven league outings Liverpool have been behind in the final phases, and even though they equalized or fired dramatic two-goal salvos on each occasion it is hardly a template for long-term success.
As for those 34 shots, a Premier League record for the Reds without scoring, it would be another story altogether if Andre Onana pulled off a goalkeeping masterclass. Instead he merely had to stand still and allow tepid efforts to find him. In build-up, Jurgen Klopp’s men were scruffy and toiled throughout. With the goal in their sights they wholly lacked a cutting edge.
This was not a one-off either, with defenders and midfielders stepping up of late to compensate for wastefulness up front. Darwin Nunez hasn’t scored in seven, despite accruing an xG of 3.91. Luis Diaz has converted just once from his last 14 hours of league football. Diogo Jota isn’t expected to return until Boxing Day.
A Jurgen Klopp team is at its formidable best when his front three are fit and firing. And currently – Mo Salah aside – they’re not.
Even so, when putting all of this in context it’s fair to say that Liverpool are stuttering right now, but also that’s it no big shakes, it being a temporary dip that they’re winning through.
Where they do have a problem is that this weekend, not in the best of form, they take on Arsenal, in a clash that will determine who is top of the table at Christmas. And Manchester City aside, there is no team better at identifying flaws and capitalizing on them.
That’s what the Gunners did to Brighton at the Emirates on Sunday, probing and prodding via clever, quick passes and if this impressed what really stood out was how careful they were in possession, aware of how dangerous the Seagulls are on the break.
At the end of a largely one-sided affair, the hosts had restricted De Zerbi’s men to just one shot on target, taking on nine themselves and doing so in a methodical manner that they’re not usually associated with, quite the reverse.
Against some stiff competition, it was one of the finest performances of their season.
Moreover, it was a fluid, confident display that consigned to the past their recent loss at Villa Park, though they were pretty decent there too, it must be said. Moreover, it means the league leaders head up the M1, to a ground that used to trouble them greatly, in good shape and in high spirits.
It is a confidence founded on having their attacking roster all peaking ahead of a busy festive period. Gabriel Jesus has three goal involvements in three. Kai Havertz has scored three in five, two of which have been slotted away late in contests. Arsenal have reached double figures now for goals converted beyond the 85th minute. Bukayo Saka has scored or assisted every 116 minutes in 2023/24 and you’d back him to come out on top in his duel with Kostas Tsimikas on Saturday.
Perhaps most pleasing of all for Mikel Arteta, there is the not-so-small matter of Martin Odegaard rediscovering his mojo. The Norwegian midfielder was superb vs Brighton and if he is afforded time and space at Anfield then Arsenal have every chance of winning their first league game there for 11 years.
Yet for all that the past few weeks strongly hint that the visitors should be fancied here, the fixture’s heritage nags away, prompting doubts.
Remember last time out, when Arsenal raced into a two-goal lead and appeared to be in cruise control? As soon as Mo Salah pulled one back you just knew the Gunners would lose their shape and discipline. You just knew the crowd and high-tempo of Liverpool’s foraging would get to them.
Anfield has unraveled many a team down the years, making even control-freaks such as Manchester City and Barcelona turn ragged and unsure. For Arsenal this has happened once too often to not at least suspect it can happen again.
This appears to be a more measured and mature Arsenal presently, helped considerably by Declan Rice being measured and mature in the middle of the park. This though will be their biggest test by far as to how much substance there is to that assumption.
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