Arsenal’s defensive power and Liverpool’s last 45 minutes

The injury problem is a bigger factor for Arsenal than Liverpool.

Although the visitors were without Alisson Becker and a few other players, it was not as much as the Gunners. Plus, they lost a key player during the game, Gabriel Maganyes, early in the second half. Adding to the injury to the defender, Arsenal had almost no choice but to use Jakub Kiwior as the only option. They had to use the Polish defender as a substitute.

Maganyes’ importance, apart from set play, is in the matter of setting the ball from the back line, which he is the main player to start the game for the team. Kiwior cannot replace this part.

Arsenal’s back four today should be the first game that these four have played together. Although they almost managed to resist, their attacking game was not able to help much in creating a counter-attack. In addition, Liverpool put more pressure on them in the second half, pressing high from the top of the field. That made Arsenal face even more difficulties.

In the second half, Liverpool were able to control the momentum of the game.

They had more possession and controlled the tempo of the game much better because most of the “second balls” were theirs. And every time Arsenal got the ball to counter-attack, they were stuck and could not counter-attack every time.

Losing Urien Timber, either due to fitness or injury, made their job harder. Finally, a small mistake when the team counterattacked and couldn’t finish ufabet https://ufabet999.app with a “dead ball” turned into a counterattack and Miles Lewis-Skelly ran down to mark Mo Salah too late. Similarly, Kiwior chose to leave Darwin Nunez to help chase Salah, but he couldn’t clear this moment in time. The ball came to Nunez before he passed it back to the middle for Salah to score the equalizer in this game. It was a mistake by two reserve defenders and the excellence of “less is more” for Liverpool’s attackers who tore apart the Gunners’ defense in this moment.