Arsenal vs. Liverpool: Tactical Breakdown of the 2-2 Draw at the Emirates

Arsenal and Liverpool battled to a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium. Bukayo Saka opened the scoring for Arsenal with a solo effort, launched in behind the back line by Ben White. He penetrated into the box, beating Andrew Robertson in a one-on-one duel to put it into the net.

Virgil van Dijk responded for Liverpool with a header from a well-rehearsed near-post corner, giving Arsenal a taste of their own medicine. Arsenal regained the lead before halftime as Mikel Merino powered a header into the Liverpool goal, marking his first Arsenal goal. Liverpool found an equalizer in the 81st minute through Mohamed Salah after Darwin Núñez set him up with a composed assist.

Arsenal vs. Liverpool Stats and Match Report

You can find below the match summary, alongside statistics, lineups and main events!

Arsenal Gains Control in the First Half

During the first half, Arsenal tried to control the game. Unusual, but Arsenal got a 52% share of the possession, more than their average of 48,7% while Liverpool, who is used to control and dictate the tempo, had 48%. Far below their 57,6% averaged in their first 9 games. So how did Arsenal gain control in midfield?

The answer lies in Liverpool’s shape without the ball. Arne Slot set up his team in a 4-2-4 shape, with Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister as the two pivots between the lines. Ben White’s pass to Bukayo Saka for the opening goal highlights this shape perfectly.

Both Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz dropped to midfield during the first half, creating a numerical advantage in midfield which left Gravenberch and Mac Allister unable to cover that much ground. During the first half, we saw the same game plan from Mikel Arteta. Play the ball through the middle in midfield, and then try to isolate Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the wings against their respective fullbacks.

And they did that with excellent results, as Bukayo Saka scored by taking on Andrew Robertson, and got 2 successful dribbles out of 3 attempts and Gabriel Martinelli on the left wing succeeded both dribble attempts.

Curtis Jones Drops Deeper, Szoboszlai Brings the Balance

Arne Slot made some tweaks at half time to gain back control in midfield and disallow Arsenal to get their numerical advantage. He did that with two key changes. First, Curtis Jones drops deeper, in line almost with Gravenberch and Mac Allister, so now, Liverpool has a midfield trio. This makes it difficult for Arsenal to gain the advantage, as they now have to drop both Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz. Doing that leaves the Gunners with no primary central outlet.

We can see this change if we look at Curtis Jones’ heatmap in the first half and compare it to that of the second half. We see that Jones’ focus in the first half was near the midfield line, more advance, with two big clusters of action on the left side. In the second half, his focus switches to a deeper position, on the right side of the pitch.

Then, at the 63rd minute mark, Arne Slot sends in Dominik Szoboszlai, who brought in more pressing energy and more solidity in midfield. This aggression shut down Arsenal’s build-up and put Liverpool on the offensive. Like Curtis Jones, Szoboszlai drops deep, and this helped Liverpool get their second equalizer.

Trent Alexander-Arnold gets back the ball at the edge of Liverpool’s penalty area. Szoboszlai, by dropping deep, can be a passing outlet for Alexander-Arnold to combine with and get out of Arsenal’s pressing. Alexander-Arnold finds Darwin Nunez in behind, as Salah makes his underlapping run to attack the box. Nunez, extremely calm and composed, finds Salah with a low cross to put it into the net.

Liverpool Targeting Injury Weak Spot

Things are not looking good for Arsenal. Odegaard and Calafiori missed this game, then Gabriel Magalhaes left the pitch in the 53rd minute because of injury and by the end of the game, Arteta introduced Myles Lewis-Skelly as Jurrien Timber could not continue the game. This created a huge weakness in Arsenal’s back line. On Liverpool’s right wing, we have Mohamed Salah, one of the best and most experienced Premier League players. Against Lewis-Skelly, Arsenal’s 18-year-old academy player. It does not take much to realise that this would be tough for the hosts.

And Liverpool was not merciful. They constantly focused their attack on the right wing, trying to target the inexperienced left-back. It worked wonders. Liverpool’s second goal came from exploiting this weakness. As Mohamed Salah made his underlapping run, completely bypassing Lewis-Skelly, Darwin Nunez picked up on the left wing, dazzling Arsenal’s defenders. It was too much for the freshly graduated defender, but can you really expect an inexperienced 18-year-old to take on two of the best attackers in the league?

Arsenal Tries to Park the Bus

During the last 30 minutes of the game, Arsenal tried to park the bus similar to their game against Manchester City. They adopted a compact low block, trying to preserve their one goal lead. Two key differences. First, Arsenal did not get a red card in this game, so they could keep the numerical balance. Second, Liverpool’s goal came much earlier, and they were also struggling to break the low block. Liverpool’s goal came in transition and not by positionally attacking the low block.

Manchester City relied on the long shot to score. They bombarded David Raya’s goal for the entire second half and failed. Liverpool had much trouble in finding that through ball, or that perfect cross. Statistics show that. The number of shots and crosses from Liverpool decreased after the 70th minute, when Arteta adopted a defensive-focused approach. Liverpool did not take many chances in attempting dangerous attacks, because, contrasting to the match against Manchester City, this time Arteta had counter-attacking options.

Conclusions

Arne Slot has lost only once so far in the Premier League, in an unfortunate game against Nottingham Forest. He showed he can go toe to toe with other Premier League Top 5 teams. He rebalanced the midfield line and corrected the mistakes made in the first half. Mikel Arteta should be happy with the result, as he played without three important pieces and had to make unfortunate changes because of injuries. His team executed another masterful set piece which brought them the second goal, but Liverpool trailed little as they exploited weaknesses left by the personnel change.

It wasn’t the headline game of this Premier League round for no reason. Yet, the team that is most satisfied with the outcome is Manchester City. They are now the leaders in the Premier League, as both title contenders dropped two important points. But the season is still long and both Liverpool and Arsenal put on a show worthy of some of the world’s best teams.