Goals: Liverpool: Firmino (17), Mane (40), Salah (57), Sturridge (78)
Man of the Match/Goat of the Game: An awful match by everyone. Perhaps Coquelin off the bench was the best player. Cech made an incredible save in the first half and played well for the most part. The worst player? Too many candidates.
Referee Rating: Craig Pawson 6. He was a little harsh on the yellow card to Welbeck and the crew awarded Liverpool a corner for a phantom touch, but otherwise they were alright.
Manager Rating: Wenger 1. Halftime changes made a little difference, but the third goal killed any chance of a comeback. Should Lacazette have started? What about Rob Holding? What to do about Ozil and Xhaka?
Arsenal performance: A weak and unmotivated performance. It might have been different had Welbeck converted early on, but after the first goal the floodgates opened. A brief flurry in the first ten minutes of the second half was snuffed out by the third goal.
Conclusion: Perhaps it’s time to blow up this team and make major changes. Alexis and the Ox (and perhaps Ozil) might have played their last matches, none of them able to make a difference. Our midfield is dysfunctional … Granit Xhaka is too error prone right now. The defence needs some pace, the team needs a leader on the field. The problems are many.
Right now Wenger has 13 files on his desk of those who might leave: Sanchez, Ozil, the Ox, Wilshere, Gibbs, Mustafi, Perez, Debuchy, Reine Adelaide, Akpom, Campbell, Nwakali, Bielik. Campbell and Bielik are injured, but the rest of these constitute a lot of work for the last four days. I cannot see the board being happy to let £150 million of players stay on the squad and then walk out at the end of the season. Whether it’s possible to find time to bring in two or three players is another matter, but we need some new faces. Lemar, Asensio, Draxler, Seri, van Dijk, Carvalho (I don’t know why we haven’t brought him in), Goretzka … all should be considered. There’s a lot of work to be done and I’m not sure they can do it all. If there is anything positive to come from this match it is that it might serve as a wakeup call.
Player Ratings:
Cech 7: He made an incredible save off Salah early on, but was largely let down by his teammates, who gave the ball away repeatedly.
Holding 4: Some dodgy passes made for a tough day at the office. He should’ve got tighter to Mane on the second goal.
Koscielny 5: Was probably the best defender, but on the opening goal Firmino gave him the slip.
Monreal 5: A rough day trying to deal with Salah. He never looked comfortable. His attempt to dribble round Salah backfired and almost cost us a goal.
Ramsey 5: Watching Wijnaldum dribble rings around him as he went to ground three times trying to tackle was symbolic of the whole day. Left injured at halftime with a kick to the calf.
Xhaka 4: Not able to stamp himself on the game and once again he made some poor passes that caused problems. Was slow getting back to pick up Henderson who followed up a Salah breakaway with a shot.
Bellerin 4: He had trouble combining with Alexis, but managed to get into the box a couple of times. His defensive error that led to the Salah breakaway was really poor.
Oxlade-Chamberlain 5: Only once did he get loose in the box, but the move came to nothing. For the most part it was a forgettable performance from a player who might have played his last match. Liverpool will not have been impressed.
Ozil 5: He too had his pocket picked … by Henderson, I believe. He was involved in a couple of moves around the box that really came to nothing. It was a poor match and maybe he played his last game for the Gunners.
Sanchez 6: There were brief moments when he showed some great skill and when he got in the box, but there was no end product. He also tried to force things and gave the ball away. Was that his last game?
Welbeck 5: That early chance was typically missed by a player not in scoring form. He showed a couple of other touches, but was largely ineffective.
Substitutes:
Giroud 5: Missed a header, but not much else.
Coquelin 7: Added some spark at the start of the second half, as well as some energy to the midfield.
Lacazette 5: A few good touches, but when he got a chance to shoot he fluffed it wide.