Arsenal Deliver Defensive Masterclass in Anfield Victory | Analysis

It’s a stat that reveals very little, in truth, but the numbers are eye catching.

Liverpool had 52 touches of the ball in Arsenal’s penalty area on Sunday, with the Gunners reciprocating with just 24 of their own.

And for another metric that says plenty about a game without really saying anything at all, Liverpool completed 252 passes in Arsenal’s half of the pitch; Mikel Arteta’s men, meanwhile, only produced 144 in the Reds’ half.

All of those numbers count for very little, as this is football – only the final scoreline has any true bearing on the league table. And, in that sense, Arsenal were the 1-0 victors courtesy of Kai Havertz’s first half goal.

The data does reveal that Liverpool enjoyed a considerable territorial advantage and cut through Arsenal’s midfield at will, while the number of touches they enjoyed in the opposition box is perhaps proof of one of two possibilities:

• Liverpool lack a creative cutting edge
• Arsenal are simply world class at defending their own area

Of course, both could be true simultaneously…

How to Defend Your Box

Arsenal, as is their trademark under Arteta, very rarely lost their defensive shape.

So while Liverpool were able to advance the ball, the Gunners were never really hurt by having to run back towards their own goal – all of the Reds’ passing and movement was happening in front of them.

Only twice did the Gunners look vulnerable, with two 0.18xG chances for Ronald Araujo and Florian Wirtz the best that the home side could muster.

On another day, things might have been different but for the bizarre officiating that saw the shirt pull on Alexander Isak go unpunished, while other referees might have taken a harsher view of Noni Madueke being the aggressor in a gentle butting of heads with Alexis Mac Allister.

But that is all ‘coulda, shoulda, woulda’ conjecture. The fundamentals were that Liverpool simply didn’t fashion enough chances to win this game of football.

Repelling the Danger

The Reds had 17 shots on goal, but none of them were on target. And the creation of just 1.05xG from more than 50 touches in Arsenal’s box is an indicator of just how well Gabriel and co repelled the hosts’ attacking efforts.

Liverpool set up in a notional 4-2-3-1 shape, but that quickly became a lopsided 3-2-4-1 as either full back, Milos Kerkez or Ronald Araujo, advanced when the ball was on their side of the field.

But the industriousness of Arsenal’s wide men, Madueke and Christos Tzolis, was such that it never really felt like Andoni Iraola’s side had created the overload they desired.

This was Iraola’s modus operandi in a nutshell: fast, furious verticality, with extreme double-width and a deep runner, so often Mac Allister, looking to crash the box and get on the end of things.

Arsenal have seen it all before, of course, and once again Arteta looked to be one step ahead of his rival in the opposite dugout.

Konsa the Man Mountain

In the end, Liverpool resorted to getting the ball wide and crossing it into the box, but all four of Arsenal’s defenders at Anfield are rock solid in the air – both Konsa and Timber made four headed clearances apiece, while the former Aston Villa man also delivered eight clearances in all, two blocks and five tackles in a colossal display.

The Gunners defended from the front, with Kai Havertz dropping into the line. Nobody had more touches of the ball or attempted more passes than Virgil van Dijk, which confirms that Arteta was content with Liverpool’s central defenders having lots of the ball – Arsenal retreated to defend the central third of the pitch in numbers instead.

It wasn’t perfect, and in truth Arsenal rode their luck from time to time: Timber’s tug on Isak’s shirt, Barcola hitting the crossbar, Mac Allister missing a great headed chance. But that’s the danger of setting up in their defence-minded fashion, and – as mentioned – none of Liverpool’s opportunities in front of goal could be described as high quality.

Iraola ended up making five substitutions, but none of them instigated change – this was a perfectly controlled Arsenal performance; a defensive masterclass on the road against a tough opponent.

This was the first time in 16 years that Liverpool failed to record a single shot on target at Anfield. It’s a talking point that speaks plenty of the contrasting fortunes of these two teams.

No Imagination from Liverpool

There were plenty of occasions on which Liverpool found a way through, or around, the Arsenal midfield.

But that’s only one of the challenges of beating this Gunners side; you then have to find a way past their defence and their irrepressible goalkeeper, David Raya.

Liverpool were excellent in their 2-0 win over Brighton a few weeks ago, but that was a victory born out of tactical smarts as much as anything. The Seagulls press high and commit a number of bodies forward when attacking, which leaves them open to a counter raid – especially down the flanks.

And the Reds were able to take full advantage that day, with Bradley Barcola and Cody Gakpo exceptional in wide areas.

The challenge against Arsenal, as we had suggested in our pre-match analysis, was that they wouldn’t be afforded the luxury of time and space. Instead, Barcola and Gakpo were left to beat their markers, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori respectively, and while they had occasional joy in that regard, they simply weren’t able to get in behind with any great regularity.

But as the stats from the opening paragraphs confirm, Liverpool were able to advance the ball into Arsenal’s penalty area on a consistent basis. However, that was more from a slow build tempo, which afforded the Gunners time to reassemble behind the ball and defend their box – as we’ve discovered, they did so brilliantly.

Liverpool’s Lack of Bite

It was a pattern of play that left Anfield befuddled. How could Liverpool enjoy so much possession in the final third but have so little to show for it?

Arsenal’s defending takes the A+ grade, but Liverpool’s lack of creativity and inventiveness in the final third – when faced with the Gunners’ low block – means that their attacking play can only be awarded a C- at best.

Van Dijk was booked after the game for a show of dissent to referee Andy Madley. Frustration, no doubt, at the lack of ingenuity his attacking teammates had shown against an uber resilient defensive unit.

All Hail King Mikel

Often, the greatest praise in football is reserved for teams that deploy a swashbuckling, ultra-attacking style of play.

But for the tactical purists, there is something quite stunning in the way that Arteta is able to nullify whatever threats are posed by the opposition.

Since the Spaniard took charge of the Gunners in 2019, they have won 81% of the games in which they have scored first. And Arsenal have now racked up 33 victories by a scoreline of 1-0 on Arteta’s watch… no other Premier League team can match that record in the same timeframe.

Arsenal are the equivalent of the elite boxer who jabs away, racks up points on the judges’ card and then stops his opponent late on. There’s little flair and often a lack of knockout power in attack, but when defending this well the Gunners barely take a punch.

Their rankings in the EPL this term speak volumes:

• Goals scored – 5th
• xG created – 4th
• Shots on target – 10th
• Big chances – 10th
• Goals conceded – 1st
• Clean sheets – 1st
• xG yielded – 1st

Arsenal’s attacking output is good, not great. But their defensive work is the best in the land… perhaps on the planet, actually.

Arteta as the undisputed heavyweight champion of football management? Maybe that’s pushing it, but with Pep gone he’s undoubtedly the best tactician that the Premier League has to offer.

The Intangibles

We look to the stats to help build a picture of how a team plays and how a game has panned out. But there’s plenty that the numbers can’t tell us – heart, determination, pride, bravery… these cannot be quantified.

But it’s evident in the numbers – the blocks, the clearances, the fouls drawn – that these Arsenal players are only too willing to put their bodies on their line for the cause; a mindset that owes much to Arteta and the sort of players he has brought together at the Emirates Stadium.

After the Liverpool game he referenced his players’ character, as much as their technical ability, when analysing how they got the win. “The spirit that we showed, the way we carried this shirt, this badge. It's a commitment of every single player in every action to deliver,” Arteta said.

And his squad is fully on board. The way that Arsenal play does not lend itself to 6-0 thrashings of inferior opponents, but it does make it extraordinarily difficult for even the highest quality opposition to break them down – be it tactically or psychologically.

“In the end, that defensive line, the way we stick together, that togetherness we have, is undefeated,” so said Declan Rice at Anfield. “It's nothing I've ever seen before.”

Is it any wonder what Arsenal have achieved with that champion spirit in the dressing room?