Liverpool vs. Arsenal: Lucas Leiva Was the Lonely Highlight in Midfield

There's been a lot of mixed reviews on Lucas Leiva's performance at the Emirates this past Saturday. Some say he was brilliant and others say he was far from it.

I for one thought he was magnificent, but after reading so many negative reviews on the Brazilian, I decided to watch the game again and decipher who really was the most influential in the center of the park.

Now, I'm not a professional football statistician, but I was meticulous with my approach and I think you'll find my readings to be unbiased and creditworthy.

I carefully examined all six starting midfielders' effectiveness throughout the match and broke down their performance into three main categories: passes completed, tackles/challenges won and how many times they lost possession.

So with that said, let's get down to business.

6. Aaron Ramsey

Mostly anonymous through the first half, Aaron Ramsey did not have his best game. Although he didn't lose possession at all in the first half, he didn't record a single tackle either.

He completed 10 passes, but none of them really posed any threat. However, in the second half he showed a bit more of a forward approach with his distribution and he managed to finally make his first tackle. Unfortunately, he also lost possession twice.

It was a very lackluster an uninspired performance from the young Welshman—one he'll want to soon forget.

5. Charlie Adam

The Scotsman was poor at the Emirates and numbers don't lie. From his spotty passing, to his lousy free kicks, to his over-ambitious shots on goal, Charlie Adam's performance is definitely something he'll wish he could do over again.

He managed only two tackles in the first half and failed on five others. Some people are likely to think: "That makes sense, he's not a DM."

Well, he's definitely not an attacking midfielder by the way he carelessly lost the ball eight times—five times in the first 18 minutes.

Although he managed to complete 18 passes in the first half, none of them were troubling to the Gunners defense.

The second half was a bit better from the former Blackpool player, but how could it not be? His first half was horrendous. He completed three out of four tackles in the second 45 and managed to deliver a decent through-ball to Andy Carroll and later on to Stewart Downing in the 74th minute.

His real bright spot was slide tackling the ball away from Nasri just outside the 18.

However, Mr. Adam still has a lot of improving to do.

4. Jordan Henderson

Despite the fact that he didn't have much of an impact in the game, it wasn't from a lack of effort. His "chicken with its head cut off" behavior did well to pressure some of the Gunners on the ball, but he failed to really force them into any mistakes.

He missed on three out of four challenges and lost possession three times. He did manage to complete 15 passes in the first half, but most of them were simple touches right back to a teammate.

Offensively, the one and only time he tried to take on a defender, he lost the ball right outside the 18.

Also, through spurts of the game he was caught out of position much too far up the pitch, leaving his fellow midfielders stranded. I'm not sure if Kenny was imploring a 1-1-4-4 formation, with Jordan in support of Andy Carroll. No matter the cause, the result was poor and he was ineffective.

The second half was more of the same. He failed on two of three tackles and lost the ball twice. He did complete a few more passes with 22, but none of them were of real danger for the Gunners.

A very vanilla outing from young Jordan Henderson.

3. Emmanuel Frimpong

The 19-year-old, Ghanaian-born footballer made his starting debut for Arsenal on Saturday. However, it definitely didn't start out as a fairytale for the young midfielder.

He had some over-aggressive tackles early on and received a yellow card for delaying a throw in.

While he was guilty of three first-half fouls and gave the ball away four times, Frimpong managed to successfully execute five out of seven tackles. He completed 15 passes in the first half and to his credit, most of them were up the pitch to teammates in space.

His real stand-out moment was his shot around 20 yards out that forced Pepe Reina into a diving save.

As we all know, his second half was cut short after a poor challenge on Lucas Leiva, but up to that point he made four tackles and completed 15 passes.

Not a stellar performance by Emmanuel, who lacked the composure, but it's definitely something to build on for the youngster.

2. Samir Nasri

Albeit not his natural position, Samir Nasri had some impressive moments in midfield. He had a wonderful box-to-box run, but failed to put the shot on target. Had it gone in, it would have been one of the top goals of the week, undoubtedly.

Like Aaron Ramsey, Nasri didn't record a single tackle in the first half. He completed 13 passes and lost possession twice.

The second half was more of the same from Nasri, but he looked to be forcing the issue on several occasions. He didn't make a single tackle and gave the ball away seven times. It looked to me like he was trying to overcompensate for the lack of talent the Gunners had on the pitch. Unfortunately for the fans, he didn't deliver.

Overall, a very quiet game from the Frenchman aside from that brilliant box-to-box run.

1. Lucas Leiva

The Brazilian was outstanding against Arsenal. Yes, we all know he's not the most decisive going forward, but that's not his role. Anything aside from tackling, tracking players and applying pressure is icing on the cake.

In the first half against Arsenal—wait, let me rephrase that—the first 11 minutes against Arsenal, Lucas was credited with seven successful tackles.

While he did miss three tackles sporadically in the game, his total after the final whistle was 22, ranging from the center line to the 18-yard box. This 24-year-old covers a lot of ground.

He may not have distributed as many passes as Adam did, but he didn't lose the ball like he did either. He completed 31 passes and only lost the ball three times.

Aside from a cheap yellow card he received in the 44th minute, Lucas had a very respectable performance and was the only dependable player in Liverpool's midfield.

For those of you still not convinced because he was caught "chasing" Arsenal players, I offer you this: Every time that was the case, it was an immediate result of a Liverpool player neglectfully losing the ball. Kuyt and Adam were guilty of thoughtlessly forfeiting possession twice.

To Sum It Up

Lucas Leiva was an absolute rock in midfield at the Emirates. His performance surpassed those of everyone who started in midfield.

Sure, he didn't have the flashy runs that Samir Nasri had, but that's not a part of Lucas' repertoire. He's the never-tiring workaholic that doesn't hesitate to tackle or shy away from contact. We got a good look at this via Frimpong's second yellow card.

All the people who fail to recognize Lucas' performance against Arsenal as nothing short of admirable should really think again. He had a sizable influence on the final result and that shouldn't be overlooked or understated.