Arsenal manager trusted his young full-back against the explosive Mohamed Salah and Maitland-Niles can be pleased with his performancePerhaps, in the kind of skewed reading that meetings between Arsenal and Liverpool have come to invite, this fixture was the perfect laboratory for a young full-back making his way.By the time Ainsley Maitland-Niles, 20 years old and making his third Premier League start, left the field he could at least assure himself that nobody would have noticed any ragged edges very much. Related: Roberto Firmino saves point for Liverpool after Arsenal’s crazy five minutes Related: Fab Four sparkle but bend Liverpool out of shape in collapse at Arsenal | Jonathan Wilson Continue reading...
Mohamed Salah, Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané could do nothing to prevent meltdown after passing up chances to finish off home sideThe battle for the top four produced a game that was all about fours, as both managers opted for a boldness of approach: the Fab Four Liverpool forward line against the back four of Arsenal.Pep Guardiola has said, with a slight element of self-mockery, that his ideal team would feature 11 midfielders. This game seemed to look forward to a future in which everybody is either a forward or an attack-minded full-back and nobody pays too much attention to such dull and necessary parts of the game as defending. Related: Roberto Firmino saves point for Liverpool after...
How will Arsenal cope with Liverpool’s fearsome foursome, the Mark Hughes ultimatum and whether Sam Allardyce will ever win over Everton fansIt would be a dereliction of duty if Arsène Wenger has not spent the past few days coming up with a way to stop Liverpool’s fearsome attack from running riot at the Emirates Stadium on Friday night. Arsenal’s manager cannot say that he has not been warned. He knows how much his team has suffered against these opponents since Jürgen Klopp’s arrival on Merseyside in October 2015 and nobody could say it was a surprise when Liverpool hammered Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield in August, with Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah inspired and Philippe Coutinho not even involved....
Having suggested that a three-man defence was an effective guard against counterattacks, the Arsenal manager has played a back four in the past three matchesThree weeks ago, before Arsenal lost against Manchester United, Arsène Wenger suggested playing a back three had helped his side combat the counterattack which, of all their many weaknesses over the past decade, has probably been their biggest.It was a claim that prodded interest at the time and has become more intriguing only in the days since. The truth of it will be severely tested on Friday as Arsenal face Liverpool, who at the moment are one of the most dangerous counterattacking sides in the world. Related: Arsène Wenger: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain not a sure starter at...
Rafael Benítez and Chris Hughton need to turn their ailing teams around but David Moyes can take credit for what he has done with Marko Arnautovic• Sign up now and get our weekly email, The Recap, every Friday Related: The Dozen: the weekend’s best Premier League photos Related: Tottenham are the latest challengers floored by the Manchester City problem | Jonathan Wilson Continue reading...