It's the beginning of a new week again for everyone today as we finally saw our first match action at Anfield yesterday. The Arsenal Press have posted the post-match review of the Liverpool-Arsenal game right after the match and today, we'll have some final thoughts that probably would give some food for thought for our readers and visitors out there.
"The Final Thoughts" section will be featured a day after an official Premier League match is played. The purpose for this is to focus on some of the major talking points of the game from the Arsenal's perspective, whether they are good, bad or average. Hence, these talking points will be classified into three obvious categories with their respective literal meaning.
The Positives
1. Nasri
With the absence of the Arsenal captain Fabregas, Nasri was understandably penned in to play the role of the team's main playmaker at Anfield, and boy did he do well in that position. He was everywhere in the final third, collecting the ball, twisting and turning and managed to keep good possession for the team. His forward and side-ward passes were crucial as the Arsenal kept a high percentage of possession in the game. In a nutshell, Nasri was easily the man of the match for the Arsenal.
2.Koscielny
The new signing has performed very well in his debut match. He has managed to utilise his strength to the maximum, such as his reading of the game, his defending ability in the air and on the ground. When Torres was on, he managed to challenge him and snatch the ball away from Torres, showing signs of the central defender that Wenger likes to employ in his tactics already. However, a harsh second yellowcard took some gloss off his good performance. Certainly a great player to look forward to in the future.
3. Almunia
For a goalkeeper who has to endure intense speculation about his future replacement, Almunia has shown Wenger why he is still Arsenal's number one at the moment. He's obviously the best keeper among the four whom Wenger has. On a number of ocassions, he has performed his usual good shot stopping and reflexes to keep Liverpool at bay.
4. Change in formation late on
It was notable that when van Persie came on for Diaby, Wenger switched his formation from the starting 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2 system, with Rosicky and Nasri in the middle complementing each other while van Persie and Chamakh playing alongside each other. This switch had provided the team with more width and more options without exposing the defence too much. Nasri and Rosicky were capable of holding the ball and making good turns while van Persie managed to involve Chamakh more in the game.
The Poor Ones
1. The overall performance
The entire Arsenal line-up have had a poor performance overall. Although the team had most of the possession, they could not break Liverpool down due to the narrow set-up.
2. Arshavin
Arshavin was non-existent in the match as he was an easy prey for the Liverpool defenders, snatching the ball off him most of the time. Enough said.
3. Wilshere
He was still playing well in the first half, but a major error from him has nearly costed the team a point. Defensively, Wilshere isn't really ready as he often lacked the sharpness and quick decision making skills to play at this level yet. Don't get me wrong, Wilshere is a really talented lad but probably wouldn't have been chosen for such a big game.
The Average fellas
1. Chamakh
Chamakh had an average debut in the Barclays Premier League for Arsenal. It was understandable as he was forced to play the lone striker role in such a huge match for both sides. Before van Persie came on, he was notably isolated as Liverpool packed their central area well, forcing Chamakh to go into wide positions on a number of occasions. Nevertheless, let's judge Chamakh in the next game. He will come good for sure.
2. Arsene Wenger
There wasn't much that Wenger could do than to put out this team. However, the general feeling could be that Rosicky should have started ahead of Wilshere in such a big match. Playing a 4-5-1 system with Chamakh alone was not acceptable, but it was understandable as van Persie was not really match fit. Still, the Arsenal fans would expect a much better showing from the team in the next game.
In The End
For the Arsenal, it has been a point gained with so many players injured. The sending off of Koscielny might also force Wenger's hands to sign another centreback as soon as possible. On Liverpool's point of view, it could be two points dropped with the spirit and passion that they have displayed in the match.
There you go. 1 game down, 37 more to go in the Barclays Premier League. Till the next time, it's goodbye from me for now.
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