up Sunday, we put up a strong performance at home against the league leaders, overcoming a first-half setback to triumph 3-1 against Liverpool.
To find out the keys to our success, Adrian Clarke has delved into the tactical and statistical side of the game to find the subtle reasons why we were able to deliver such an excellent performance.
An incredible work ethic
The foundation of this outstanding team performance was a desire to outwork and outmuscle Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
Our pressing from the front, triggered by Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli (backed up by everybody else) was at it’s hostile best. Given precious little time to settle on the ball, Liverpool’s defensive players were consistently pressurised, especially during a tumultuous first period.
Mikel Arteta’s men regained possession inside the final third on eight occasions compared to the visitors’ one; and this is a stat that indicates how aggressive we were in our off the ball work.
We won 52.3% of duels and made 21 tackles to Liverpool’s 11.
As a team we also ran 116.8km, which was an astonishing 6.1km further than Jurgen Klopp’s table toppers, with skipper Odegaard leading by example.
Covering 12.75km himself, the Norwegian put in a monumental shift that was his personal best of the campaign, and the second highest individual figure overall.
Highest distances ran – 2023/24
| Opponent | Player | Distance |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | Leandro Trossard | 12.94 |
| Liverpool | Martin Odegaard | 12.75 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Martin Odegaard | 12.37 |
| Liverpool | Martin Odegaard | 12.31 |
| Chelsea | Declan Rice | 12.29 |
A Jorginho masterclass
The manager made a key tactical change by adding Jorginho to the starting XI and it was a move which paid off handsomely.
Alongside the brilliant Declan Rice in a double pivot, the Italian was top class in and out of possession.
Bringing an air of calm serenity to the engine room, the 32-year-old made a string of incisive forward passes that led to quality chances.
Below are four examples of how he pierced Liverpool’s rearguard with a crisp forward pass.
No Arsenal player made more passes overall, or inside the opposition half and final third than Jorginho.
He also played his part defensively too, making a team-high four interceptions.
Arteta’s decision to start Jorginho in a bid to offer more control and experience was a great call.
A dominant box of four
During a largely superb first half performance the shape of the side was more akin to a 4-4-2, with Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard performing as a pair of ‘false strikers.’
Whenever we pressed high they would occupy a central defender each, and behind them Rice and Jorginho also pushed on man-to-man with the first line of Liverpool’s central midfielders.
As shown in the example below, this tactic made it incredibly hard for our opponents to play through the spine of the pitch.
And when we needed to sit back behind the ball and maintain a strong shape, this box of four players (below) would withdraw to guarantee Arsenal had the numerical advantage in that area of the game.
This quartet worked well together and ran the furthest on the day.
Kai Havertz’s great technique and commitment earned him a pair of yellow cards, which resulted in Ibrahima Konate being sent off.
Havertz’s placement to the left of center, and Odegaard’s mirroring on the right, constantly posed positional difficulties to Liverpool’s centre backs, and they never seemed comfortable dealing with them.
Liverpool struggled to deal with the strategy of adopting twin fake nines.
Odegaard – right false nine
Our fantastic first goal underscored the challenges they faced.
Havertz dipped deep to create a move past Liverpool’s press, bouncing a Jorginho pass back to Gabriel.
Havertz then extended his run from deep as the game progressed, arcing a dash inside Konate, who was preoccupied by Martinelli out wide.
Odegaard’s through ball, which drew Van Dijk out of place, put Havertz clear.
The German may have been stopped in the one-on-one, but Saka was on hand to score a vital first goal.
I love it down the left.
We were simply electrifying on the left side.
In each half, left backs Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior provided solid support, and goal scorers Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard made significant contributions.
The Brazilian, who made a game-high 26 sprints, may have benefited from Virgil van Dijk and Alisson’s errors for his goal, but he earned it by closing down both players.
Martinelli was a threat throughout and was unlucky not to receive an assist when a beautiful move from within his own half and precise cross were not finished by Saka early on.
Trossard’s injury-time goal was a stunning solo performance, deceiving Harvey Elliott on the touchline and rushing through to score from a tight angle.
A convincing display
Arteta’s players, like ours when we beat Manchester City at home, limited Liverpool to few clear-cut chances.
The Gunners were deserving victors, striking the proper mix between front-footed assault and defensive solidity, while Klopp’s side managed only one attempt on target.
The match statistics accurately reflect our domination.
| 2023/24 | Arsenal v Liverpool |
| Score | 3-1 |
| xG | 3.5 – 0.37 |
| Shots on target | 7-1 |
| Big chances | 6-0 |
It was difficult to recover from the devastating loss of conceding an equalizer to Liverpool shortly before halftime, but each player shown incredible courage and character to help the team win.
We witnessed passion, dedication, and seriousness from everyone engaged. This was an excellent tactical performance.
Declan Rice praised Mikel Arteta’s performance on the touchline in our 3-1 victory over Liverpool at Emirates Stadium.
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Leandro Trossard scored to propel Arsenal to second place in the Premier League.
Rice played the entire 90 minutes, and the midfielder said that Arteta’s zeal helped us cross the finish line in a high-energy game.
“He’s our manager, and he lives on the pitch with us,” Rice remarked after the game. “He lives every ball with us, and seeing what he sends from the sidelines to the pitch boosts your confidence as a player.
“We’re really grateful we have him as our manager.”
After a strong first half in which Saka scored after 14 minutes, we went into the interval equal after a Gabriel own goal.
Rice praised the character within the dressing room at the interval, allowing us to push on in the second half.
“We’ve got some great characters in the team who were pushing on, driving on at half time that it wasn’t a moment to let our heads drop.
“We couldn’t let one moment of a lack in concentration affect what we’d done for that 45.
“We knew in the second half it was going to be a tough game but, in the end, we gave it everything and we got the three points which was massive for us.
“These are the moments we live for in football and I’m just so happy we could win the match, it was massive from start to the end and to get three points, with that energy from the crowd, was just unbelievable.”
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