by aCe' » Sun Aug 14, 2016 10:07 pm
Awesome win.
The scorelines obviously papers over the cracks for both sides. We weren't solid and Arsenal looked like a side missing key players.
Positives:
- Mane looks like he could be a danger man for us. I like him out wide on the right. With Coutinho down the other flank, We'll give sides plenty of trouble when either picks up the ball higher up the pitch and looks to create or go direct.
- Klavan's pace was a concern before the game for me. I thought he did well to deal with the pace the likes of Sanchez and Walcott provided.
- Henderson ran and ran. He was up against it the first half and did reasonably well with Arsenal having the majority of possession and Lallana/Wijnaldum getting caught out of position often. With him, Can, and Stewart seemingly capable of covering that DM position, we can afford to lose Lucas and replace him with CM passer who can add a bit to the side.
- Goals. We have now scored 4 against Barcelona and Arsenal. In Mane, Coutinho, Lallana, Firmino, and even Wijnaldum, we have midfielders who are all capable of scoring 10+ goals a season.
Negatives:
- Moreno
- Defending down the flanks. Mane & Coutinho will need to track their men a bit better when defending. Both were guilty of leaving the fullbacks exposed time and again even with us up against an Arsenal side on the attack. Pressing and hen having the concentration and commitment to track back is no easy task. It is one of the reasons I thought Lallana did well last season. Always appreciated his defensive duties.
- Wijnaldum. I thought he was completely out of pace the first half. Second half he played a bit deeper and got on the ball a bit more but still not good enough from him imo. Another one who needs to improve his positional play or he he'll have to settle for a place on the bench when Milner is back.
Undecided on:
- Firmino. We scored 4, and he wasn't terrible. That said, he was up against a poor CB pairing and failed to make a real impact. He draws defenders playing the position he does and links up play well on occasion (still frustratingly loses the ball often) but against many other sides when games are tight, we'll need a forward who can cause defenders a few more problems.
- Mignolet. Excellent penalty save and impressed me in a couple of occasions coming out to punch crosses away from danger. Still seems to lack that confidence needed to organize a backline and boss the box with the ball in the air though.
- Lallana. Another one who did well overall on the day.Took his goal well and his movement and link up play higher up the pitch caused Arsenal some problems. In terms of defensive positioning and dropping to receive the ball (given the position he was playing) he struggled a bit. I can see the sense in him playing the position against smaller sides at home but against some of the strongest sides -or a better Arsenal outfit- having him play the position alongside Wijnaldum is a big risk.