Arsenal and Liverpool played out one of the most entertaining 0-0 draws in recent memory at the Emirates Stadium on Monday night. Here are five things we learned, as Arsenal’s wait for their first home victory of the season goes on!
1. Cech- Much Petr!
Petr Cech endured a nightmare Emirates debut against West Ham as the Gunners slumped to a 2-0 loss on the opening day. Nevertheless, Arsène Wenger was indebted to the 33-year-old, as he produced a string of tremendous saves in the first-half, as Liverpool capitalised on the absence of Arsenal’s first-choice centre backs Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, who were missing through illness and a back problem respectively.
Cech produced a stunning close-range save to thwart Christian Benteke in the latter stages of the first-half, before tipping Phillippe Coutinho’s curling effort on to the post moments later. Whilst Arsenal’s unfamiliar back-four appeared error-strewn and panicked, the Czech keeper was a calming and commanding presence in what was a chaotic first-half from Arsenal’s perspective.
John Terry said prior to the season’s opener, that Cech could save Arsenal up to 12-15 points. Well, he certainly saved points last night, and that is exactly why Wenger invested £10m in a 33-year-old 'keeper. Big players and leaders produce when your team needs you to do so; fortunately for the Gunners, Cech delivered.
2. Calum Chambers isn’t first-team material- yet!
Calum Chambers endured a torrid first 45 minutes against Brendan Rodgers’ side. Chambers enjoyed a regular first-team stint at centre-back in the early stages of last season and he looked a terrific prospect. However, he was then switched to RB, where he featured regularly for Southampton, but struggled to adapt to the different demands of the role. He was completely outclassed by Jefferson Montero at Swansea last term and since then, his first-team involvement has been minimal.
However, with the absence of Koscielny and Mertesacker, he was handed a start in a hugely important game. He looked all-at-sea from the outset. His defensive distribution was poor, his positional sense was completely lacking, whilst he was completely dominated by Benteke.
There was a real sense of surprise that he wasn’t taken off by Wenger at half-time, given his performance. He lacked any authoritative presence and was spared further criticism thanks to profligate finishing from the visitors.
However, in Chambers’ defence, he was a lot more assured in the second-half, but this was largely down to Arsenal’s domination and Liverpool’s more measured approach. Many managers would have replaced him at half-time, and who knows how this could have affected his development. However, Wenger retained his faith in the former Southampton youngster and he managed to get through it unscathed. It was a tough baptism of fire, but a valuable experience that he will gain from in the future.
It must also be noted that he was playing alongside a very talented, albeit inexperienced Hector Bellerin and Gabriel, who despite playing particularly well, does not speak English. So in terms of communication and leadership, it was an extremely difficult challenge; particularly when you’ve had a lack of first-team football recently.
At just 20 years old, Chambers has a very bright future ahead of him, nevertheless last night’s performance indicated that he isn’t ready to perform at the highest level if called upon. As fourth-choice centre-back, his first-team involvement may be minimal, and you must wonder if Wenger will be tempted to loan out Chambers to provide him with some valuable Premier League experience.
3. Arsenal need to utilise their width
Arsenal arguably have the most exciting attacking midfield in the Premier League. The likes of Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey are all tremendous creative forces, and Wenger’s admiration for Ramsey and Cazorla in particular is evident.
Nevertheless, sometimes the best individual players don’t contribute to the most balanced side. Ramsey was deployed out wide in the first-half, before Wenger decided to make a tactical switch and move Ramsey into the central midfield area, putting Cazorla on the flanks instead.
However, Ozil, Cazorla and Ramsey are all essentially central midfielders. They are not naturally wide-players. Even Alexis Sanchez, who is often deployed out wide, has the tendency to cut inside and operate in central areas. That means Arsenal’s midfield is typically congested and there is a distinct lack of natural width.
Joe Gomez was at left-back for Liverpool yesterday. Gomez joined from Charlton this summer and at the age of 18, whilst displaying raw talent, he lacks top-level experience. Alex-Oxlade-Chamberlain would arguably have provided a much sterner examination of Gomez, as his electric pace would have stretched the game and limited Gomez’s attacking potential.
When Chamberlain replaced Francis Coquelin in the closing stages, he gave the Gunners a different dimension, although it was admittedly a brief cameo. He delivered an excellent cross that Theo Walcott was poised to convert, until Martin Skrtel made a crucial last-ditch interception.
Arsenal have failed to score in five of their last six home games, which is an alarming statistic given their free-scoring potential. However, this is not purely coincidental. It’s not always possible to score the ‘perfect goal’ with intricate passing sequences. For example, all Leicester’s 7 goals this season have been created from wide areas. With Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott at his disposal, Wenger has tough decisions to make. Rather than attempting to accommodate all his central midfields in one system, he must find the correct balance; that means using the width.
4. Gabriel impresses in chaotic circumstances
Whilst Calum Chambers failed to rise to the occasion against the Merseysiders, Gabriel Paulista was extremely impressive in very tough circumstances. In 9 competitive appearances last term, Gabriel didn’t taste defeat in an Arsenal shirt, and he preserved that unbeaten record last night.
Gabriel and Chambers had only played together on the solitary occasion before; the Emirates Cup against Wolfsburg. To be thrown together against a team with top four aspirations such as Liverpool and to keep a clean-sheet was an encouraging sign. Gabriel’s most impressive attributes are his tackling and tenacity. He made a couple of vital tackles in the first-half after the Gunners surrendered possession in extremely dangerous areas.
There have been suggestions that Wenger was concerned about Gabriel’s lack of English and this must have stifled his communication with Chambers. However, his pace and tenacity would complement both Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny and the feeling from many is that Gabriel will displace Mertesacker in the starting line-up by the end of the season. The Brazilian was thrown in to the deep end, but he didn’t sink. With question marks over Mertesacker and Koscielny’s fitness, this could be Gabriel’s opportunity to cement a first-team place. He will grasp that chance!
5. Arsenal must buy a top-class centre-forward
This criticism has been levelled at Arsène Wenger for the last few years, but Arsenal’s need for a top-class centre-forward has never been so poignant. Olivier Giroud is an excellent player and he has developed immeasurably during his time in North London, but is Giroud alone sufficient for Arsenal to win the Premier League title?
Giroud’s form from November last year until February was absolutely tremendous. He scored at a ratio of almost 1 goal per game, but the main problem with the Frenchman is that he’s unable to replicate this consistently over an entire season. Giroud is the focal point of Arsenal’s attack; he’s a real asset from set-pieces, his one-touch play for a man of his stature is impressive and he can score fantastic goals; exemplified by his acrobatic effort against Crystal Palace last week.
Despite this, he is not ‘a killer’, a term used by Wenger to describe the likes of Diego Costa, Sergio Aguero and the array of South American forwards in world football at present. In games where you create limited chances, you want a clinical goalscorer, who senses opportunities and can convert in the big games.
As previously stated, Arsenal have failed to score in five of their last six home games, whilst Giroud has scored just once in his last 10 Premier League matches. This is a worryingly mediocre record for a player who receives service from the likes of Ozil, Cazorla, Sanchez, Ramsey, Wilshere et al.
People often rather unfairly berate Mesut Ozil at times, for struggling to produce the form he showed at Real Madrid, but he had the likes of Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo making runs in behind opposition defences. Giroud simply does not have the capacity to make these runs in behind and if opposition defences suffocate the Frenchman, Arsenal’s lack of width is exposed even further and there is no space to work in.
Even if Wenger was to bring in a marquee centre-forward, Giroud still has a huge role to play at the Emirates. He is a very good player and he is a far better centre forward option than Theo Walcott in Arsenal’s current formation. However, if they harbour any aspirations of winning the title, they desperately need more versatility and depth in terms of their striking options. Benzema? Cavani? Lewandowski? Whatever transpires, this could be a defining eight days in Arsenal’s season.