Topic: Premier League Fixtures 2nd - 4th March

[Wabaloolah]

They’ve built confidence by having an easy run against the leagues dross, and beating us when we stunk the place out. Made all the more easy by having a light fixture list and a fully fit starting 11. I fully expect them to revert to type.

yep and we pretty much gifted them the win by an uncharacteristic cock up by Virgil and Ali

[killer-heels]

yep and we pretty much gifted them the win by an uncharacteristic cock up by Virgil and Ali

We did but we were not good in that game at all. We could barely get the ball into any meaningful positions and could not play out of their press.

[OkieRedman]

We did but we were not good in that game at all. We could barely get the ball into any meaningful positions and could not play out of their press.

Our squad was in tatters due to injuries and the international cups. Take Rice, Saka, and Martinelli out of their side. Doubt it goes the way it did.
Arsenal has had a pretty great bill of health for a long time now. Two points adrift.

[newterp]

Our squad was in tatters due to injuries and the international cups. Take Rice, Saka, and Martinelli out of their side. Doubt it goes the way it did.
Arsenal has had a pretty great bill of health for a long time now. Two points adrift.

We were definitely missing a few - Nunez started on the bench and Salah was in the AFCON / injured phase.

Where we were hurt was midfield - Gravenberch wasn't ready for that game (endo was at the Asia Cup)

The other area that hurt us was Bradley having to miss the game due to his father's death and playing an unfit Trent.

We had a decent enough team available - but the whole feel of the game wasn't right.

The biggest culprit was that was our 8th game in the new year - and Arsenal's 4th. Also our 3rd game that week.

We looked tired and played like it too.

[Coolie High]

I think they look formidable and credit where it's due, but it's fucking absurd the luck they've had with injuries and suspensions. White, Gabriel, Saliba, Rice, Odegaard, Havertz, Saka and Martinelli have missed a COMBINED 7 games this season - that's 8 of their best 11. Salah alone has missed 6. Only Jesus and Zinchenko from their best 11 have had meaningful spells on the sidelines, and for all the noise Arsenal fans make about it, Zinchenko has missed less than half the games Robertson has for us, and Jesus has missed the same number of games as Jota and only 2 more than Salah. Even their back up players have stayed fit - Jorginho and Trossard have missed a game each all season.

They've been able to field their first choice line up in 11 games this season, or were only missing one in another 11 games - 22 of their 27 games they've been able to name near enough a perfect line-up. The comparable figures for us are 2 and 6. The worst they've had it was missing 3 of their first eleven, and only for a single match - in our last 4 games alone we've been missing 4, 3, 6, and 4 players who would ordinarily start for us. And this is being generous and not including Jota, our joint 2nd top scorer only behind Salah, as one of our starters (on the basis Diaz has played more games).

Which is not to necessarily downplay how good they've been - they have. But I don't believe for one second they'd be able to keep up with us or City with a comparable injury list - there's a healthy dose of luck involved in their title charge. All the more frustration for us really I suppose.

Didn’t they sack their medical team a couple years ago?

[Gifted Right Foot]

That is absurd numbers.  Why can't we be that lucky with injuries ffs. 

[Nick110581]

They went toe to toe with Man City and only lost the league with five points. If losing the league to this modern version of Man City is "bottling" then we're the biggest bottlers. You'd think Liverpool supporters would be more understandable after everything we went through. I don't know why some are dismissing Arsenal so easily.

What an ironic post calling our team ‘bottlers’ when we won a PL against them.

Klopp talked about turning doubters into believers yet we still have people criticising the team they support after all this success.

[Peabee]

They went toe to toe with Man City and only lost the league with five points. If losing the league to this modern version of Man City is "bottling" then we're the biggest bottlers. You'd think Liverpool supporters would be more understandable after everything we went through. I don't know why some are dismissing Arsenal so easily.

City basically only played 37 games though as they didn't even try in the final game they lost to Brentford. It would have been 8 points clear if they actually bothered. They were ahead of City by 8(?) points coming in to the run in.

[Lynndenberries]

They went toe to toe with Man City and only lost the league with five points. If losing the league to this modern version of Man City is "bottling" then we're the biggest bottlers. You'd think Liverpool supporters would be more understandable after everything we went through. I don't know why some are dismissing Arsenal so easily.

They didn't go toe to toe with them. They built out a decent lead, then proceeded to throw it away in the course in a few weeks in April. In their final 9 league matches, they drew 3, lost 3, and won 3. That run all started by blowing 2-0 leads against us and West Ham, then drawing a helpless Southampton team 3-3 at home. We never had any sort of stretch like that under Klopp when we were competing for the title.

This side could prove to be different, but their run-in looks much more difficult this season than last.

[Barneylfc∗]

The suggestion that any Liverpool side can be referred to as bottlers is insane.

18/19 we drew with Everton then won the last 9 games - Finished on 97 points in 2nd, while going all the way to Madrid to win the European Cup.
19/20 we romped home and had won the league when we beat Bournemouth on 7th March in the 29th game of the season. That put us on 82 points, Abu Dhabi finished on 81.
21/22 we finished on 92 points, again losing out by a point, winning 8 and drawing 2 of the last 10. The draws were away at Abu Dhabi and home to Spurs while also trying to win an unprecedented quadruple.

The 22/23 Arsenal side had no games apart from in the league after they lost in Europe on 16th March. They won 4 of their last 10. Threw away 2 goal leads against Liverpool and West Ham in consecutive games. Drew 3-3 at home to a Southampton side that got relegated. Got tanked by Abu Dhabi then smashed 3-0 at home to Brighton before losing at Forest.


Absolute night and day between us.

[Knight]

Don’t think he’s missed many games though?

Might be right. Staying fit is a very good thing mind!

[The North Bank]

Liverpool are the definition of winners , won everything and could’ve won so much more if not up against the most corrupt “sporting” organisation ever. The only thing I say about arsenal is that at the start of last season no one had us finishing in CL places and after a 6 years absence it was the big thing for us, so last season we massively overachieved to have a chance of winning the league, but ultimately we werent ready or mature enough.
This season the expectations before the season was for a title challenge, for the first in probably over a decade, and thats where we are now, we look a far more battle hardened, physical, and mature team from last season, but all teams that eventually win grow like that, Liverpool had that journey before becoming seasonal winners. The only ones you cant trace the journey back are the likes of city and Chelsea because the journey started with cheating so theres not much to look back on or admire.
Id say Liverpool are massively overachieving now, this isnt the same team that won everything and yet have needed no time to gel, a lot of it is down to Klopp, hes the closest to ferguson in instilling an incredible will to win even when the team is decimated.