"In response, Slot played Florian Wirtz and Dom Szoboszlai furthest forward with Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch anchoring the space behind them. Gakpo and Jeremie Frimpong were tasked with getting up and down the wings, defending deep when needed while also providing an outlet. It didn't work for the majority of the opening 45 minutes. The Reds defended well-ish and, with the exception of Conor Bradley and Milos Kerkez gifting the hosts a couple of dangerous set pieces, avoided silly mistakes."
"The main problem was the lack of an attacking focal point when we won the ball back. Long balls into the path of the diminutive Frimpong or Wirtz were never going to work. There were a few neat passages of play, including the one that led to Bradley's desperately unlucky chip off the crossbar -eerily similar to Harry Wilson's effort from the Fulham game. But mostly we sat in,"
Arsenal had an opportunity to extend a lead and seek revenge but could not convert domination into goals during the first 45 minutes. Liverpool were without Hugo Ekitike, so Arne Slot deployed Cody Gakpo as the lone regular forward while Wirtz and Szoboszlai pushed higher and Mac Allister with Gravenberch shielded midfield. Gakpo struggled to hold the ball and long passes to the wings rarely worked. Conor Bradley and Milos Kerkez conceded dangerous set-piece situations, yet Liverpool defended relatively cleanly and mostly sat deep to frustrate the hosts.
Read at Rush The Kop
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