LIVERPOOL'S DECLINE
Liverpool have found themselves in a very peculiar position this season. They won the Premier League last year, so headed into this season as Champions. They tied down two of their three contract rebels. They unleashed investment in the first team to the tune of over £400m, with many saying they had the best window, and yet somehow, it’s all gone to sh*t after a very good start.
I don’t want to gloss over the horrific death of Diogo Jota and his brother; I’ve repeated it plenty of times on here… grief doesn’t have a specific way of showing up in groups, but I would hazard a guess that it is more likely to make bad moments worse than impact on the good times. We simply can’t ignore that being a factor in all of this. One that floats as a tangible intangible, if you get me.
But… we can also look at the overall problems they’re having in season two of Slot and wonder what the hell has happened. I’ve written Liverpool off too early over the past 3 years, but my underlying thesis was:
Jurgen Klopp was a generational manager in his prime, and his energy and passion would be almost impossible to replace in this current market.
They had a tremendous run in the transfer market to give Klopp a squad that was just near perfection. World-class players in nearly every position, kids coming through at the right time, and players peaking for a tremendous 5-year run. It was going to be impossible to replace them, and I didn’t think an ownership group trying to sell the club would front the cash.
Well, I was wrong on timing and wrong on funding, but most of the basics of the thinking seem to have come to fruition just a season later with a Premier League in hand.
Oh, you think just mostly wrong? Fair. Very fair.
Slot’s Rough Dance With Normality
Arne Slot managed to win a Premier League in his first season, patching up a squad on its last legs and giving it more energy. This season, the luck has worn off, his ideas have had to settle, and now he’s having to defend himself against ‘boring football’ jabs.
“I find it really hard to hear, but it’s not that I completely disagree – I would use different words and I would take certain things into account.
“I want to win as many trophies as I can, but I think I am also known for the fact that my teams always try to play attacking football. I can only say that we are still trying to do so. We are struggling to create a lot of chances, but we are not the only team.”
Slot has gone from ‘chill guy’ to a bit of a whiner. He’s not happy with the squad, not happy with the young players, and not happy with life right now. I think there’s a chance that he lived off Klopp muscle memory last season, but now that those memories have faded, we’re left with his thinking, and those bulging biceps of last season have atrophied at an alarming rate.
On the player front, you just can’t underestimate how incredible Mo Salah was. The second biggest crime in football was seeing the Ballon d’Or go to Dembele, not the guy who carried Liverpool to a title win on his shoulders with 34 goals and 23 assists over 4500 minutes of football… at 32 years old. That was a disgusting season. Combine that with the luck, the reffing decisions, the kind fixture list, and the footballing gods leaning in to make everything ok… it was never in doubt.
Fast forward 9 months… they are getting actual injuries and realizing their squad isn’t that deep. Their superstar golden oldies have hit the limit; now they just look old and uninterested. The manager, a man of great social EQ, upset Salah to the point he flamed the whole club in a press scrum. The summer signings have been largely diabolical. The xG destroyers of last season have reverted back to delivering exactly what they’re expected to deliver… and it’s all just ok.
The Arteta Contrast
This is why the job Arteta is doing is so exceptional. The system, in my opinion, is still the king at Arsenal. I mean this in the kindest way… but we don’t have an attacker that can do Haaland or peak-Salah things. Instead, we have the most versatile setup in world football at the moment, and our real star is the defensive unit that we’ve created. We are outrageously stingy. I’m not sure where the numbers are right now, but for Arsenal to have conceded over HALF the big chances of City tells you all you need to know about how we’re trying to win titles.
Nothing speaks to the opulence Arsenal fans are living in right now more than the majority of terminally online fans writhing about in praise for a striker who can’t make space for himself, can’t score goals, and can’t create chances… if we were getting those performances last season, plodding along, there’d be pitchforks. But the system is so good, it can carry output passengers who just run hard.
The Matchup
The good news heading into this home game against Liverpool is it would appear that Liverpool have a striker shortage. The rumor has it that the FPL nerds track the physio at Liverpool, and he took Ekitike out of the team. So we’ll be up against Gakpo, who has been a bit of a problem for the Liverpool tacticos this season because his output creatively and in front of goal has not been up to standard. He’s done damage to Arsenal in the past, so I won’t be celebrating… but what I am happy about is not having to face up to Alex Isak (broken leg) or Ekitike (hammy).
I’m also quite looking forward to seeing what we have prepped for the Liverpool defense. Arsenal showed far too much deference to them at Anfield. But, as predicted at the start of the season, when things go south for Liverpool, so does VVD’s interest in the game. He has been all over the place this season and not helped by the hapless Konate.
Fullback posición is where they’ve had the biggest dip… Kerkez looks ridden with imposter syndrome and totally like a fish up a tree. He’s so bad, his teammates look like they hate playing with him. Frimpong came on and had a good cameo for Liverpool, but he looks like a child in the Premier League and he has been a big disappointment. Connor Bradley started last season well, but he’s faded, and doesn’t seem to have that next level.
The midfield of Mac Allister, Gravenberch, and Jones just doesn’t look as mean as it did last year. Liverpool aren’t as rock and roll as they were. You can slice through them. There’s no shine.
But… it’s still Liverpool. Arsenal have not been great against them. Big players show up in big games. So who knows what will happen. But you do get the feeling that if we put on a show, it’s going to be pretty hard to stop Arsenal. Arteta is a petty man; he will be thinking about that freekick, and how we showed too much deference to a team that was sinking. Arsenal need to make the evening painful for them. The team needs to avenge the win. We need to get our top 6 form back on track and pull away from City again.
Final point, we need inebriated fans in that building. It can’t be a tetchy game of gasps and groans. I need to see those weed vapes going before the game, and I want to hear that pints of Guiness and Asahi were pounded on the concourse before the game. The fans need to be loud. It needs to feel like a Champions League game. The 12th man needs to be LOUD to give the boys as much energy as possible. It sounds like the club are putting on a show pregame, so hopefully you all oblige and give it some so it feels spectacular.
Ok, that’s all I’ve got today. Recorded a little before the whistle PLUS another Dugout special with the excellent Jim Campbell from Football Ramble. x