Arsenal's biggest trouble on Sunday came in the final third of the pitch. Although Arsenal attempted 511 passes while completing 88% of them, this ball movement did not lead to effective scoring chances. Even though Arsenal managed 17 shots, that ratio of 30 passes per shot would actually rank in the bottom half of last year’s games. Last year, Arsenal averaged a shot once every 26 passes.
More troubling for Arsenal was the fact that when they did get off a shot, they weren’t able to hit the target. Of the 17 shots Arsenal took against Liverpool, only three were on target. This on target percentage of 17.6% would rank as the fourth worse of all Arsenal matches last year and well below their 2009 season average of 35.2%. Of note is that nine of the 17 shots by Arsenal came from outside the box, a trend that has continued from last year.
While they moved the ball well side to side through the midfield, too often Arsenal gave away the ball in the attacking zone.The below picture shows the Liverpool defensive interceptions on the left and the Arsenal interceptions on the right. It is easy to see just how deep Liverpool defended, buckling down when they got in the final third of the pitch.
Liverpool made 21 interceptions in the match, with 20 of them coming in their own defensive end. Arsenal played a more pressing style, looking to close down defenders when they lost the ball in an effort to regain it. Arsenal had just 17 interceptions, but 8 of them came in the Liverpool end of the pitch. Koscielny and Vermaelen showed quickness in their ability to read the game as they combined for 9 of the 17 interceptions by Arsenal.
Abou Diaby had an impressive match in the midfield, playing a holding role that he is not accustomed too. Diaby completed 50 of his 52 passes that he attempted, most of which swung the ball from side to side.
Diaby also did well in the tackle, winning five of the seven that he attempted. The five won tackles was second highest on the team behind Gael Clichy's eight. Diaby has seemed to take a new passion for the more defensive side of the game. Diaby would often find himself pushing forward in recent years, but he has slowed down his pace at putting shots on target in his past few matches in an Arsenal shirt. In Arsenal's first 32 matches of the 2009 season in which Diaby played, he went just six matches without attempting a shot. However, since the start of April 2010, Diaby has now failed to attempt a shot in five of his last seven matches including Sunday against Liverpool.
Marouane Chamakh had an eventful first Premier League match with the Gunners. Often knocked around by Martin Skrtel, Chamakh bounced back in the final minutes as he bravely went in for the cross that led to the Arsenal goal . Although Chamakh had what some may consider a mixed bag of results against Liverpool, we can already see the importance of what a player like Chamakh can bring to the squad. Although he found it difficult at times to get involved in the play, completing just 12 passes while sending 5 wayward, looking at his passing chart shows us what style he brings.
Chamakh is a classic target man, holding up play and laying passes off to his teammates. Chamakh loves to hold the ball up and get the midfielders involved. Of the 17 passes Chamakh attempted, 11 went backwards. Meaning, while most of Arsenal push the ball forward, it is good to have a player that can lay a pass off to a close teammate. Most of his passes were of the short layoff variety.
In the end it was an important point for Arsenal. They faced a squad looking to impress their new boss while playing at Anfield, no easy place for an opponent to go to. Arsenal can take some positives away from their performance, most notably defensive, while knowing they will need to be sharper in the final third of the pitch.
All chalkboards from Guardian, which is powered by Opta.
