How much Liverpool would love to have even half of the performance they gave when they last faced Arsenal at Anfield. A 20 minute blitz which saw the Merseyside club score 4 goals effectively ended any chance Arsenal had of winning that game but more importantly it gave Liverpool the impetus to push on and challenge for the title, that loss for Arsenal also had a huge effect on the rest of the season which saw Arsenal trail away in the league.
That was last season, this season Liverpool are not the same as they were and Arsenal are still trying to get into the top 4. Both teams need to win this game to get them back in the race to be in the top 4 and here are 3 things/tactics Brendan Rodgers must deploy to defeat Arsenal.
Play the 3-5-2
Brendan Rodgers either out of lack of options or from a moment of clairvoyance played with a 3-5-2 formation against Bournemouth and against Manchester United also, while it worked in the latest game it also showed that Liverpool needed a rejig of their playing style. Not playing Balotelli or Lambert up front it was refreshing to see the side adopt an approach they did try last season but were not too sure about it this season.
Playing Sterling as the striker and having Henderson and Markovic as the wing backs provides a lot of width to the team and yet they have the three centre backs that ensures they do not get caught out that easily, even though they have a pretty poor defence.
Attack Arsenal down the middle with pace
The one thing that Arsenal lacks down the spine of the team is pace. Mertersacker, Koscielny and Flamini are not the fastest in the league and Liverpool need to exploit that to have any chance of winning the game. Markovic, Sterling and Coutinho all are players who have pace and love to dribble and take on defenders.
The game against Bournemouth should provide the trio some confidence, especially Sterling, who not only scored two goals in that game but also recently won the Golden Boy award as being the best young player in the world. Pace is the key but down the middle for Liverpool, that can win them the game.
Play to your own strengths not counter Arsenal’s
Liverpool are the home team and changing the way they play to counter their opponent isn’t the best way to go about this. Liverpool are on a mini high after their performance against Bournemouth and Rodgers should ensure that the same team and players come out when they take the field. They should not try to nullify what Arsenal tries to do but they should take the game to the Gunners and play them off, like Stoke City did a couple of weeks back.
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