Liverpool v Arsenal match review

It’s amazing the effect that football has on people like me. I could have been sacked on Friday, been fined on the train after forgetting to pick up my ticket than morning, arrive home to find that my house burnt down around lunch time, poaching my pet gold fish in process and then Saturday step in dog shit on my way to nearest council run housing estate. But I still think I’d feel this level of contentedness after winning on Sunday.

It wasn’t just the fact that we won at Anfield; it was the manner of the win that impressed me. From front to back we looked a class above the opposition, whether it was communication across the back four, movement in midfield or the efforts of Podolski and Oxlaide to work back and defend, we set a fine example of how to play the 4-3-3 formation.

In terms of team performance it was the best I've seen for some time, and we certainly looked like a mature and experienced squad of players. Straight through the middle of the pitch we had a core of established internationals that knit the team together and helped players like Oxlaide, Gibbs and Jenkinson to add a frill of youth to the fabric of the squad. We held a decent line at the back, catching them offside and rarely yielding any opportunities for Liverpool to create one on one chances with Mannone. The true level of Steve Bould’s influence is hard to tell at this stage and will only be measurable once the season is over, but on the face of it things look like a whole new level of organised. Jenkinson is naturally defensive minded, barely getting to their by-line (if ever) and ensuring that he is in place to help quash the fast break threats that the opponents may generate. Gibbs is very offensive, yet the last few games have found him restricting himself in the opposition half, again leaving us with a reinforced back line. Being that we are a team that tends to have the tiger’s share of possession, opposition attacks manifest themselves in fast breaks for the most part, but when we have our two full backs set and in formation with both our centre backs, we have a cover which is very difficult to breaks down; with our four defenders in play, we generally outnumber, or at least match, the opposition’s breaking players. It’s been well documented that we don't have an out and out defensive midfielder, so if we do get caught out in the middle we have the players already in place to cover Arteta or Diaby, who may have been left in their half.

One area I would like to see us improve on is the way we worked off of Giroud. We did play the long ball on a few occasions and as far as I'm concerned, if your big man up top gets any touch on the ball (whether head, shoulder, knee or bollocks) we have to be pouncing on the second ball. Towards the end of the game he looked really fed up of hassling for position only for our players to not bother working off of him. I can always squeeze a negative from somewhere.

Individually the boys put in a great shift and really fought for the shirt, and the twelfth man in the stands really helped to turn the game in our favour.

Mannone: He coped well with the few efforts that came his way and was definitely fouled a couple of times when coming to claim the ball, even though they weren’t given. One strong punch late in the second half proved his confidence, and hopefully this run in the side will see him grow from strength to strength. 7/10.

Jenkinson: He made a couple of poor passes in the first half that could have led to trouble, but fortunately they didn’t. Once he got his head in the game he didn’t do much wrong with the ball, and I thought he coped very well in the tackle. He no Sagna, but he’s coming along just fine as far as I'm concerned (and is getting me plenty of cheap fantasy league points). 7/10.

Mertesacker: They employed a high press early in the first half and he made a few missed passes early on, but his composure soon settled in and his distribution was good. Defensively he was outstanding, making tackles and keeping Suarez in his pocket. His long limbed leggedness came in handy in the first half; anyone under the height of 7foot 5 would have given away a stone wall penalty. 8/10.

Vermaelen: He gave a captain’s performance in every sense of the word, dominating from the back and barking out orders to all. It’s not normally the captains the job to do the cleaning but he mopped up everything that came his way, giving Suarez very little time to score. 8/10.

Gibbs: He remained disciplined for the full 90 minutes and has really made the left back slot his own this year. His pace is a tremendous asset for the team, and he carried the ball from box to box on one occasion out pacing everyone in Roberto Carlos fashion. 7/10.

Arteta: For me he is the footballing Federer, undeniably brilliant at everything he does and oozing class from every pore. He retained the ball in every situation, tackled hard and proving Wenger right when he says that we have the players to cope for Song’s departure. 7/10.

Diaby: If yesterday’s Diaby is the Diaby that we’ll see all season then we have our very own Yaya Toure. It’s fortunate for Arsenal Football Club that Wenger doesn’t listen to the people who reside in twitter or various forum/comment pages, because we have sold him long ago. Parallels with Vieira are banded about quite rightly, and if he plays anything like that for us over the next few years we’ll be in good shape in the middle. Who would Wilshere replace out of the current 3? 9/10.

Cazorla: I don't think I've ever seen a player look so at home so quickly when coming from another league. He looks like he’s been playing for us for ages and is the key we need to unlock we drilled defences like Liverpool’s. While you could put his goal down to bad keeping from Reina, his interplay for 90 minutes and his assist for the goal was world class, there's no other name for it. 8/10.

Podolski: It was great to see the German get on the score sheet today. He deserved a goal and took it brilliantly. We saw it in preseason and we saw it again today; he has the vision, ability and desire to pick the ball up in our half, lay it off to a team mate, bust his gut to get into their box and then finish off the move. The left attacking midfield position is his to lose as far as I'm concerned. 

Giroud: People lambast him for not scoring in three games but it doesn’t worry me in the slightest. I would be worried if he wasn’t getting into any scoring positions, or if he wasn’t winning any aerial battles, or if he wasn’t bothering to press the defenders and force turnovers through rushed clearances. He does all those things and goals will come for him, I have no doubt. Leave the slating of our players to opposition fans, they enjoy it and do it well enough without our help. 7/10.

Ramsey: He came on and did well, retaining possession and looking good on the ball. The little back heels here and there speak of his confidence, and he’s a great option off the bench for tired legs. 7/10.

Santos: There aren’t many better players to bring on and play keep ball. 7/10.

 Koscielny: Wasn’t on long enough to grade.

So it’s 3 points on the board, new players scoring and old injuries being left behind (hopefully).

S’all good baby.

@halls_dja