Liverpool v Arsenal - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

Liverpool v Arsenal A Liverpool Perspective

That was a very good game of football, which has sadly been overshadowed. The game itself was high pace, high intensity and the two teams were clearly giving their all to get the result. Unfortunately, that has become a little irrelevant over the last few days as other things have become the main talking points. The obvious and most important one, in terms of the result on the day does also slightly relate to the other, and it is impossible to write a review of the game without touching on any of these things.

So firstly let's get the minor gripe out of the way - the official stats being total lies. I have rewatched the game multiple times now to be sure and I still do not understand how Opta can put out such bullshit. They claim that this game saw Liverpool have 0 (zero) shots on target and Raya made 0 (zero) saves. Neither of those are true. There were two saves, one from a header from van Dijk, which Raya diverted away. The other was a simple catch by Raya from a very speculative shot by Mac Allister. Neither were particularly special saves for a player of Raya's quality, especially the shot by Mac Allister, but if he is not in the goal, that goes in, so it is a save and on target. It is very disturbing that it is so clearly a fake stat being spread.

Then you have the big controversy, well not really a controversy as we all know it was a clear and obvious penalty for a shirt pull on Isak by Timber, which should also have meant Timber was red carded. It was so clear and obvious that, while it is understandable that a referee misses it in open play, it is impossible to see how VAR did not see it. There are only two conclusions to draw on this. One is that the officials are incredibly incompetent to the point of embarrassment. The other is that there is something more going on. That is where the controversy comes in as the Tompkins Times has been examining the stats around Liverpool's home matches and there is a huge anomaly there in terms of the number of fouls. As Liverpool tend to dominate the ball, you would expect the discrepancy to be in their favour in terms of numbers, but instead it is quite the opposite.

Though anyone who has spent any time watching the way Mo Salah was treated by officials knows that there was a very real problem with bias against him. Opponents could do pretty much anything to him, kick him, even put him in a headlock, but he was never getting a decision his way. However if he breathed near someone, that was a foul. That was not incompetence, that was bias on the part of the officials. A very deliberate bias. It is very possible that this is just a conscious or unconscious bias against Liverpool that led to this large discrepancy, especially as for a long period you had that piece of **** Coote as one of the Premier League officials making the decisions and he, as we all saw in his video, admitted to being anti-Liverpool. It also does not help when Madley is clearly seen at half-time laughing and joking in the tunnel with Gabriel and warning him about how many fouls he had made before the pair fist bump as they come onto the pitch.

But when you factor in the fact that Manchester City's main rivals for most of the period were Liverpool, and their owners were giving Premier League officials jollies and lots of money, it is hard to believe that it is not corruption. If it was incompetence, you have to question why those making the big errors because of their 'incompetence' were not relegated down to lower league football and replaced. PGMOL/Pro Ref train up referees all the time, surely they have to have replacements ready to bring in? What would they do in the case of long term injuries or illness? If you want to get the best, you do not just have a small group of unchanging officials whose time will only come to an end when they retire. It just leads to corruption when a small group has power, which is what is happening. With the billions involved in the game, it is hard to believe that the game is clean. It gets more difficult to believe that every day, especially now with VAR.

Even the way they changed from a photograph of the moment to a faked AI-generated picture that could have no relation to what happened for all any of us know. If you want honesty and integrity, you show people the original, not some mocked up fake picture. For me all of these things are ruining the game. I do not want to be writing about this stuff, which is why I very nearly did not do a review of this match. I want to be writing about how great Rice was, because he was excellent, how well Konsa and Gabriel defended, because they were also excellent, and what a find Nyoni looks to be. I want to talk about the sport, but unfortunately the Premier League is turning into the WWE, fake dives, fake officials, made up stats to stir up arguments. That to me is not entertaining, unless you have an IQ of less than triple figures anyway. It is a shame because it is ruining what is entertaining - the football.

I also would like to point out that none of this is on Arsenal nor Liverpool, they showed up and (okay there was a bit of playacting which is annoying and unnecessary) played a really good match. Arsenal did what champions do and found a way to win, while Liverpool showed that they are still growing as a team, but at least they now play with energy and determination. At least now it is a team worth getting behind and cheering, rather than that shambolic mess of last season.

Arsenal

It is difficult to talk about Arsenal because they were fantastic defensively, they conceded almost nothing in the way of clear cut chances, other than the Isak chance that they got away without the clear penalty and red card they should have had. So, on the one hand they were brilliant, so solid and well organised but there is always that feeling they could do so much more. Every time they did attack, they looked dangerous, but they were happy to just sit back and soak up pressure, rather than putting the game to bed. It worked this time, but there are times, such as the Champions League final last season, when Arteta's caution costs them. However, you have to applaud them for the quality of their defending, even if you just wish they would utilise their full potential a little more often and just be the team they could be. From a Liverpool perspective though, it was a good thing as they are a long way ahead at the moment and Liverpool's defence is still fragile.

Liverpool

Alisson - made one bad error which led to the goal, with a slack pass. He also made a save that kept the game close and showed he can kick accurately with a lovely pass out to Gakpo on the wing. He has not looked right for a while, without Tafferel coaching him in fact, as it seems like his form dipped after his fellow Brazilian returned to a role with their national side.

Araujo - another good game from the loanee. If only some more of his teammates had his fire, Liverpool would be a much better team.

Jacquet - his attempt to deal with the slack pass from Alisson was probably as bad as the pass itself, giving it away needlessly trying to be clever. This has been a common theme from him, being a bit slack on the ball and getting caught on it, but the first time it has cost a goal. It is a shame as overall he played well.

van Dijk - I never worry about van Dijk in big games like this as he is up for them. It is the 'smaller' games that he becomes a worry, with his tendency to be lax. He was very much up for this and spent large portions of the game following Odegaard around the pitch, even deep into the Arsenal half, pretty much shutting his contribution down. That played a large part in Liverpool's ability to dominate the ball.

Kerkez - had a good game, Arsenal created little to nothing down his flank and he got forward well, putting in the excellent cross that Mac Allister should have buried. He also could have scored after an excellent run of his own, but his finish was that of a defender.

Nyoni - good game, positioned himself well and most of his passing was very good.

Wirtz - he worked extremely hard, but it is the usual story of getting on the ball, having little in the way of movement to pick out and he is not Maradona so can not do it all on his own.

Mac Allister - he was very good, possibly the best in red on the pitch, but he ruined it with his pathetic play-acting. Yes, Madueke did put his head in there, but there was nowhere near enough contact to produce that reaction, it was just cheating trying to get a player sent off. I know other players do it too, Gabriel and Havertz were prominent in that regards in this game, but that does not make it right. He needs to cut that out of his game, it is embarrassing. He is not even getting the decisions, so surely he must realise it is not working anyway?

Gakpo - needs to do more. He was the best of the front three but that was a low bar to beat!

Isak - I am glad, personally, that he did not react to the shirt pull, there should have been no need to go down as it was so bloody clear and obvious. However, the rest of his game was weak. He looks off the pace, he rarely makes runs, he gets bullied by the defenders and offers almost nothing when he is not scoring. The fact that his passing was so poor is worrying too, he was always exceptional at getting on the ball and playing in others, but now he can barely pass five yards.

Barcola - have Liverpool been sold a pup? I am really beginning to fear the worst, though he is such a likeable lad he is just not performing on the pitch and his striking technique on the ball is abysmal. For the enormous fee paid, he should be a much better player than he is or at least has been so far. At least he is trying, he is working hard, so hopefully he will improve, but so far he has just ousted a far better left winger, who is having to play out of position to allow him to play. His pace is blistering, but he barely makes runs with it. He has skill but mostly uses it at the wrong times and often in the wrong places too. He has a lot to prove.

Szoboszlai - came on in the 58th minute in the place of Nyoni. He is fast becoming a problem, rather than a solution. His arrival saw Liverpool's performance drop off, as he is unwilling to go in where it hurts and has not the positional discipline in midfield that Nyoni possesses. Shifting him to right-back to try and get some extra attacking prowess from that side did not yield much either, as he did not deliver. I am not sure what the answer is with him, as he does not seem to have a position any more in the team where he strengthens it.

Ngumoha - brought on for Gakpo in the 67th minute. Speaking of players who are becoming problems, one flash of inspiration so far this season has been what he should be looking to produce, since then he has returned to trying to beat every player each time he gets the ball and failing to release it. His movement is abysmal as well, he just drops off into space every single time to stand still and wait to receive the ball. I do not understand it, why does he not want to get the ball while already running, making it harder for defenders to deal with him and increase his chances of either getting through or being fouled. Instead he wants to fanny about, waving his leg over the ball and achieving the sum total of nothing.

Koumas - took the place of Wirtz in the 81st minute. He is the only other player, alongside Araujo, in the squad to have that drive and desire needed. It is a shame that he is not ready yet, because he is a proper trier too. He just needs more time to develop, to see if he can reach the level necessary in the long term.

Munoz - subbed on for Araujo in the 81st minute. Works hard, but he is not top class. He would have been better to start and tire out the defenders, rather than coming on late on.

Tsimikas - replaced Kerkez in the 81st minute. Normally his delivery is very good but he was not able to deliver anything worthwhile.

Written by Tris Burke November 05 2026 20:47:20