Arsenal succumb to Anfield atmosphere
Mikel Arteta knows all too well how perilous the Anfield atmosphere can be. The Spaniard admitted that the one time he felt overawed in his playing career was away at Liverpool, while his pre-match press conference was spent almost entirely discussing his touchline spat with Jurgen Klopp there last season.
The all-encompassing nature of the atmosphere in this stadium means that once Pandora's box is open it's nye on impossible to close it. For the first 35 minutes of the game Arsenal did a decent job fastening it shut.
The classic tactic of flooding the central areas with Alex Zinchenko and Ben White worked a treat. Liverpool's midfield simply could not compete. The biggest compliment you could give the Gunners was that this looked like first place vs eighth. Gabriel Martinelli's early goal was in keeping with the sublime start, and as Gabriel Jesus headed home the second it appeared inevitable that Arsenal would cruise to a statement victory.
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But at this famous old ground you can never truly have it all your own way. Eventually, the tide began to turn.
People have categorised the shift in tone as a flick of the switch ignited by Granit Xhaka's tussle with Trent Alexander-Arnold. The reality is though that Liverpool's awakening was a gradual one that began to simmer at Arsenal's time-wasting tactics. Arteta could see it coming and was furious at his team's inability to hold possession, with Ben White, in particular, prompting fury after giving the ball away to allow Andy Robertson a shot. Not long after the bubbling raged into a full boil when Mohamed Salah reacted quickest to prod home Jordan Henderson's wayward shot on the stroke of half time.
From then on, it was impossible for Arsenal to hold their own. Having floated nicely through the opening stages they were now drowning in the red sea. Mo Salah's missed penalty could have been a lifeboat, but instead served to only submerge them further under as the home side's resolve strengthened.
It was via some superb goalkeeping from Aaron Ramsdale and some excellent defensive work led by Gabriel in particular that the Gunners were able to hold on for as long as they did. But having strained every sinew the weight of Liverpool pressure eventually told and Roberto Firmino was able to head home.
It was the kind of game where you needed an ice bath after just watching it. A "super intense match," was how Arteta described it in his post-match press conference. Not half!
Resplendent Ramsdale
It could of course have been even more devastating if were not for the heroics of Aaron Ramsdale. The England keeper's sublime stoppage-time saves were so good that deciding which is better is like picking your favourite child.
If Arsenal go on to win the league then the first will feature in almost every inevitable tear-jerking social media edit for its quality. Even Roy Keane had to give him credit for that one! The second however, for the drama and the reflexes will have to make the cut too. Just as Denis Bergkamp one bronze, silver and gold in the August 1997 goal of the month competition, Ramsdale surely has only himself to beat for the save of the April gong now.
Away from this month though, ask yourself the sincere question - has there been a better goalkeeper in the Premier League this season? Ramsdale's England teammate Nick Pope might have something to say in the debate, but it's hard to remember the Arsenal man smothering the ball miles out from his penalty area at any point. Alisson and Ederson meanwhile surely can't hold a candle to what Ramsdale has been doing.
It's quite the journey for the man who most had written off before he even arrived at the Emirates. £30million for what many viewed as a back up to Bernd Leno seemed steep at the time. Now it is a bargain, especially when you consider he is still only 24 years of age.
Praise needs to go to Arteta for showing faith in him all that time ago. The Spaniard seems to know how to get the best from him and it was interesting to note the way he chose to handle the opportunity to praise Ramsdale.
"You need your goalkeeper if you want to win and be in a title race," he told football.london when asked about the England international. "Look at how many times Alisson has done for Liverpool what he has to do. Those magic moments from the keeper, we had some exceptional moments from our front players as well, and to win in grounds like that you need that."
Internally Arteta would surely be more effusive in his praise of Ramsdale, but he needs him to stay this sharp. The man who many expected to never be more than a member of the supporting cast at the Emirates could be one of the main characters between now and the end of the season.
Advantage City?
A key reason for that is that it does now seem as though Arsenal have surrendered any margin for error. Yes, the title race is still technically in their hands, but after Sunday it is now in City's too.
If you look at the run-ins of the two sides then it does look increasingly ominous for Arsenal. They will have to go to the Etihad and St. James Park before the season is up. Aside from hosting the Gunners' City' toughest fixture meanwhile appears to be a trip to Brighton that is yet to be rescheduled. Logic tells you that they won't win every game between now and the end of the season, but if there's one side that could it's probably Pep Guardiola's men.
Arteta was rueful after the match that his side were unable to take the three points that would have kept things firmly in their control. "We started very well, dominated, took it where we wanted," the Spaniard said. "Scored the first and took the game where we wanted and scored the second and that was the moment to kill the game. Just before half time we gave them hope. We conceded a goal and they generated belief in this special atmosphere and stadium.
"The second half was a very different story. Not the way we started because I think we started well first few minutes. But then we didn’t continue to play. We gave every ball away, especially in dangerous areas and allowed dangerous results and big transition moments against the best team in the world in doing that. When that happens it's chaos, it’s a lot of balls in your box, it’s difficult to get out of those situations and then you have to suffer. We relied on big defensive moments where Aaron took a big part of it and they missed the penalty.
"Then we could have nicked the game, because we had three huge chances on the counter where they are overloaded or they are two against two but we missed that ruthlessness to take the game."
Only time will tell if Roberto Firmino's late goal was the first nail in the coffin of Arsenal's title challenge. The team have defied the odds all season though, and will be confident they can do so again.
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