Liverpool faced off against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium earlier this evening hoping to pick up maximum points on the road. The Reds made a dominant start to the game and took the lead in the 20th minute courtesy of Sadio Mane’s goal. However, Virgil Van Dijk made a poor mistake at the back which let Alexandre Lacazette in with a sight at goal. The Frenchman made no mistake from close range to level the scoreline on the night. Alisson Becker made a similar mistake just before half-time that led to Reiss Nelson scoring from close range.
The Merseyside giants dominated the game for major periods of the second half but couldn’t find the equaliser as the contest finished 2-1 in favour of the Gunners.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player fared during the match versus the Gunners.
GK: Alisson Becker – 4/10
The Brazilian goalkeeper made a huge error which gave Arsenal the lead just before half-time. He was otherwise quite neat with his ball-distribution and was largely untroubled at the back.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 5/10
The English full-back was defensively solid, but his final delivery lacked quality which was quite uncharacteristic of him.
CB: Joe Gomez – 7/10
The Liverpool centre-half dealt with the danger whenever he was called into action and kept the ball moving in midfield. Gomez was unfortunate to end up conceding two goals today.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 3/10
The Dutch centre-back committed a catastrophic mistake as he gave away the ball inside his own penalty area which led to Lacazette scoring from close range. He looked nervy when in possession of the ball and was far from a dominant presence inside his own half.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 8/10
The Scottish full-back was responsible for setting up Mane’s goal in the first half. He was excellent throughout the game and managed to create a few promising chances in the final third.
CM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 4.5/10
The ex-Arsenal talent worked hard but looked lost at times in midfield. He hardly created any meaningful chances going forward in what was another uneventful performance from him.
CM: Fabinho – 8/10
The Brazilian produced another excellent display at the heart of Jurgen Klopp’s midfield. He made some vital interceptions at the centre of the park and orchestrated some inviting goal-scoring opportunities in the opposition half.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 6/10
The Dutch midfield ace worked his socks off but ended the match with nothing to show for his efforts.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 5/10
The Egyptian speedster struggled to get involved in the game and lacked the cutting edge in and around the Gunners penalty area.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 6/10
The Brazilian forward showed a few glimpses of his brilliance, but his impact on the game faded as the match went on in the second half. He ran out of gas after the hour mark, which explains why Klopp decided to replace him.
LW: Sadio Mane – 7.5/10
The Senegalese wide player was a constant menace for the Arsenal defenders. He scored one but should have scored a few more based on the number of chances he got during the game. His link-up play with Robertson was a joy to watch down the left flank, but it was not enough to get anything from this clash.
Substitutes:
ST: Takumi Minamino – 6/10
The Japanese international won a few freekicks but never looked like he had a goal in him.
CM: Naby Keita – 6.5/10
The Guinean playmaker brought some urgency to Liverpool’s play but failed to make the decisive breakthrough in the final third.
ST: Divock Origi – N/A
The Belgian hardly had any time to make an impact.
RW: Xherdan Shaqiri – N/A
The Swiss winger was the last throw of the dice from Klopp.
