Arsenal's Makeshift Defence Must Combat the Liverpool Press in Season Opener
The fixture computer has thrown Premier League fans a fat, juicy bone to chew on over the course of the opening weekend. In addition to the customary excitement caused by the return of competitive play, Arsenal host Liverpool on Sunday in the first titanic battle of the campaign.
Both teams have added at least one significant new signing to their squads over the summer, while both have also endured disruptions too. Be it Mamadou Sakho who missed flights and was sent home from tour or Arsenal who endured their annual injury crisis all in one position, neither side’s pre-season has been quiet.
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Often, summer tournaments create a delayed effect in preparations, and therefore the Premier League’s biggest teams can take a little while to get going. Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were synonymous with this. But this clash at the Emirates Stadium provides an early litmus test and also presents the opportunity for both sides to throw down an early marker.
Arsenal
The concerns for Arsenal are plentiful heading into this game: Defensively they’re lacking numbers and quality, the attack is hindered by the same concerns as last season and there’s a midfield quandary for Arsene Wenger to deal with.
Due to Euro 2016-enforced breaks and cruel injury luck, the Gunners could potentially be without Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista for the opener. The Mirror’s Adrian Kajumba reported that Koscielny could be rushed back as he has resumed training, while Nacho Monreal has experience filling in too.
Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil have also been granted an extended break, so questions abound up top. Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez have both played in pre-season as the centre-forward, and with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alex Iwobi impressing from the flanks, it wouldn’t surprise if the Chilean led the line temporarily.
Aaron Ramsey is primed to play as the No. 10, while Mohamed Elneny’s good pre-season showings might nail down the slot alongside big-money acquisition Granit Xhaka.
Liverpool
Liverpool signed Loris Karius from Mainz this summer with a view to making him their No. 1, but a broken hand will delay his debut at least a month. The familiar face of Simon Mignolet will therefore resume goalkeeping duties, while fellow social media pariah Alberto Moreno has managed to hang onto his job at left-back too.
Interestingly, the Reds have played almost the entire pre-season in a 4-3-3 shape despite finding their groove in a 4-4-1-1 last season.
That’s seen Roberto Firmino—described by Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool’s standout summer performer, per Richard Morgan of Sky Sports—assume the No. 9 role and new signings Georginio Wijnaldum and Sadio Mane slot into central midfield and on the right flank, respectively. Adam Lallana, meanwhile, has impressed as a No. 8 and could pip Jordan Henderson to the spot alongside Wijnaldum and just ahead of Emre Can.
Sakho’s mini-exile has opened up the central defence, and based purely on pre-season form, Ragnar Klavan and Dejan Lovren might just get the nod. That leaves new signing Joel Matip with a spot on the bench for the time being.
Pressure point 1: Press your way to success
As a unit, Liverpool have learnt to press more effectively and viciously over the last 10 months under Klopp’s tutelage. A change in formation has altered some of the schematics, but more than ever, Firmino leads a charge that seems almost destined to rob you of possession in dangerous areas.
Firmino averaged 2.2 tackles per game last season, per WhoScored.com. To put that in perspective, it’s more than Eric Dier, Alexander Tettey and Joel Ward (all 2.1). It stands to reason that he’ll achieve an even higher number this year after inheriting the “trigger press” crown from Lallana.
Liverpool pick their moments carefully and then dart forward at speed. Firmino makes the decision, alternating between sitting off and snapping forward, and when he makes a move, the midfield push up in a line to support him. Take this example against Barcelona, for instance:
Firmino steps out and pressures the centre-back, and his movement is the trigger for the midfield line to step forward and go man-to-man against their designated opponents (otherwise, the midfield line of four/five sits off and closes space). Wijnaldum’s pressure on the holding midfielder forces a poor pass into the centre-back, and Coutinho is able to nip in, steal possession and fashion a chance.
Firmino, full of energy, will press so high at times he’s engaging the goalkeeper with the ball at his feet. This happens more often when the ball is on the Reds’ right, with Mane joining the press high up and trying to corner a centre-back or full-back on the ball.
Given Arsenal’s onus on building from the back, it seems likely whoever plays LCB and LB for the Gunners will have to deal with constant pressure when playing forward.
Pressure point 2: The Moreno Zone
Due to the failed pursuits of, well, every potential left-back target of Liverpool this summer—including Jonas Hector of FC Cologne and Ben Chilwell of Leicester City—Moreno is still the current incumbent on that flank. It makes that side an obvious target for any team playing against the Reds, as the Spaniard is defensively suspect and often leaves gaping holes for teams to exploit.
The Anfield crowd’s patience with Moreno ran dry in the Europa League last season. In the semi-final, the full-back was drawn to the ball on a counter-attack while Denis Suarez attacked the space he’d left and set up a goal. In the final itself, his horrendous attempted clearance and poor attempted tackle paved the way for Mariano to assist Kevin Gameiro's equaliser.
This weak point in Liverpool’s setup is particularly relevant at this time of the year. In all likelihood, he’ll come up against Oxlade-Chamberlain—a man enjoying his customary world-class August. He’s been one of the best pre-season performers across all teams in the division, scoring some nice goals and flashing incredibly sharp, precise movements.
If Arsenal are forced to play quicker, more direct football out of the back due to Liverpool’s aggressive pressing, the target should be Oxlade-Chamberlain. Space will open up for him in front of or behind Moreno, and if the Gunners use him as an out-ball, it will spark an eye-catching one-on-one battle between the two speedsters.
