This season, two managers are pushing the pace at the top of the Premier League: Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola. The Spanish pair, who worked together for three and a half years from 2016 to 2019, have effectively imitated each other on the tactical board during the last six months by urging their players to follow a precise form while in possession.
The duo favors a 4-3-3 formation as a starting point, but once the ball is grabbed by their players on the field, both Arsenal and Manchester City like to move to a 3-2-5 formation. The Gunners’ swap has seen left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko move into midfield to partner Thomas Partey, with right-back Ben White dropping inside to create a back three with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
At the Etihad Stadium, John Stones has taken on Zinchenko’s job by shifting into midfield from right-back to play next to Rodri in the center of the pitch, allowing Nathan Aké to play like White by tucking inside to form Guardiola’s back three. The tactical change has given the two teams a platform to dominate contests, and Jürgen Klopp followed in their footsteps on Sunday afternoon.
On paper, Klopp seemed to play his preferred 4-3-3 formation against Arsenal at Anfield, but the Reds acted differently once possession was gained, with Trent Alexander-Arnold told to perform like Zinchenko and Stones by sliding into midfield to play with Fabinho.
The Scouse defender has been occupying central positions more often in the last 18 months, but this was different. Rather than reserving such movements for the final third, Alexander-Arnold collaborated with Fabinho all over the field, demonstrating his new home from the first whistle as Liverpool sought to create plays from their goalie.
When the England international moved towards his new position, Andy Robertson tucked inside from left-back, followed by Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté to create a back three.
Klopp’s team ran into problems early in the match. Arsenal displayed why they have such a commanding lead at the top of the Premier League table, but as the game proceeded, the aim behind Liverpool’s tactical тгᎥc𝗸 became clearer, with Mohamed Salah ᵴтҽаling the show.
As a result of opponents continually tracking Alexander-Arnold as he moved towards the center circle, passing lanes in the direction of Salah opened up frequently, as demonstrated below, as he was left alone on the right wing. The Egyptian had 67 touches against Arsenal, the highest in a single Premier League game this season. In fаcт, of the 222 games Salah has made in England’s top tier over his stellar career, he has only had more touches in a single match nine times.
His previous season’s high was 59 touches against Rangers in the Champions League, and his average amount of touches during his Liverpool career is about 45.4 per 90 minutes, which includes his contribution against the Gunners.
The 30-year-old attacker also had nine shots against Arsenal, the most he’s ever had in a single Premier League game, and his attempts were worth about 1.4 non-penalty anticipated goals, his greatest total since a rout against Brentford almost two years ago.
Because of the space he was given on the right, Klopp effectively provided his talisman with a platform to participate in one-on-one duels, but that component of Liverpool’s strategy didn’t exactly work as planned. Salah tried seven take-on, which is his joint-highest number in a Premier League game this season, but he failed on all of them. Rather than being drawn to Zinchenko in isolated duels, which would have made sense and may have been the idea, the Ukrainian was drawn to Jordan Henderson in midfield, with center-back Gabriel — who is possibly defensively better — charged with handling Liverpool’s number 11.
The Brazilian international outperformed Salah, but the benefits of Liverpool’s new-look 3-2-5 were clear, with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez also benefiting from those same one-on-one opportunities as a result of their full-back partners drifting inside to open up passing lanes in their direction.
“We’ll have to get accustomed to it. To do it in a game against Arsenal is a significant step forward in my opinion “said the Reds’ manager after the encounter. “That provided us with new chances. If you watch it again, you’ll see that you’ll have to learn when to utilize it. Hendo was narrow and kept indoors. Then we could hand off the initial pass to Mo.”
It гҽмɑᎥ𝚗s to be seen if Klopp’s adjustment was just for Arsenal or whether it will be carried over for the rest of the season, but Salah will be hoping for the latter.
