Liverpool hasn’t won in an fa cup match against arsenal since the 2001 final, but the 23-year wait is a bit misleading. Since meeting, jürgen klopp (and mikel arteta) have only met once, and it was a huge surprise to see them come out of the hat together. Arsenal will be able to convince itself that it now has one distraction less. The gunners now have a say in the premier league title race and the champions league. But the truth is that this was a statement victory from liverpool. In the final third, the reds showed plenty of fire and a much more of a clinical advantage without any of the key players. It’s yet to be seen where each of these teams will finish in the league standings, but arsenal needs to find a solution to its goalscoring problem. It was another game for liverpool in which the players devised a way to win.
There are certainly still work to be done. Liverpool was opened up at the back too many times, but there are some key players who are expected to return in the future. In a few weeks, klopp’s side will be much stronger when the two sides meet again on the same pitch. As the reds secured their place in the fa cup fourth round, here’s what liverpool.com learned and what you may have missed it.
One thing we learned:
Luis daz hasn’t played on liverpool’s right-hand side, but he came alive in this match when he was introduced to the team. He came across and changed flanks much more frequently in the first half, when he was mainly stationed on the left. Daz was once again outstanding in his first game against newcastle united on monday, but he was not in top shape until that moment. Mohamed salah’s rise in fortunes could not have come at a better time than when he was away for afcon. He was a big threat playing from the right. Harvey elliott was much more useful deeper than alexis mac allister and curtis jones, given dominik szoboszlai’s absence from midfield. In salah’s absence, which could be another seven games depending on how far egypt progresses, daz has more speed and is more suited to playing on the right.
