“He was worst and woeful than Zinchenko last night, he lost possession 13 times in 90 mins”- Arsenal legend Thierry Henry singles out Arsenal worst player who loser possession 13x and was “shocking” against Liverpool at Anfield
‘Last night he was the worst and as pathetic as Zinchenko, he lost the ball 13 times in 90 minutes’ – Arsenal legend Thierry Henry highlights Arsenal’s worst player, who lost the ball 13 times and was ‘shocking’ against Liverpool at Anfield
Arsenal’s £74m star was even worse than Zinchenko against Liverpool
One of Arsenal’s star players must find form again if the Gunners are to win the league
Arsenal traveled to Anfield on Saturday night knowing that if they avoid defeat they will top the Premier League at Christmas.
They avoided defeat, but not without fear, as Liverpool drew 1-1 with the Gunners.
Arsenal were very lively at the start of the game and could have led by a couple of goals in the first ten minutes. Unfortunately, they had to settle for a goal when Gabriel rose highest and headed past Martin Odegaard.
Mohamed Salah equalized for the Reds in the first half and could have been penalized after Odegaard was inadvertently worked into the area.
Trent Alexander-Arnold had the best chance in the second half, hitting the crossbar in an outstanding one-on-one situation.
Overall, the draw was probably well deserved in a game that gave Mikel Arteta plenty to think about, especially at left-back.
Oleksandr Zinchenko’s game in numbers
If Takehiro Tomiyasu had been healthy this weekend, the Japanese would probably have started at Anfield.
In such games, Arteta prefers to play with four center backs, but this weekend Oleksandr Zinchenko was brought in at left back.
This was not unusual. After all, his inverted style of play has been very important to Arsenal since his arrival from Manchester City.
Yet he is prone to making unusual mistakes. We saw it a few weeks ago against Wolves. The Ukrainian stepped into the penalty area and passed the ball straight to Matheus Cunha, who scored a stunning goal from the edge of the penalty area and created a nervous finish at the Emirates.
He was not quite as guilty this time on Merseyside at the weekend, but he could have done more to prevent Salah’s goal. The Egyptian took the ball inside the penalty area, danced past Arsenal’s number 35 as if he wasn’t even there, and then beat David Ray with an unstoppable shot.
Zinchenko, again in the second half, mostly passed the ball around and gave Salah possession in Arsenal’s half, but luckily all that was left of the chance.
Despite the ineffective effort, one of Arsenal’s offensive players was unfortunately the worst player in the match.
Gabriel Martinelli’s game in numbers
The Brazilian has been a phenomenon for Arsenal over the past 18 months.
As recently as last season, the young winger was the club’s top scorer alongside Bukaya Sako and Odegaard, but in the 2023/24 season, Gabriel Martinelli hasn’t quite been there.
The 22-year-old has only scored two goals in 16 Premier League games so far, and his only goal in the last ten games came away from Luton. Liverpool are by no means an easy opponent, but even on Saturday night they were far from rhythm.
Most worrying was his decision-making. He was often flawed, running into dead ends, failing to shoot when space opened up, or not even being in the right place at the right time.
This was summed up by the fact that the Brazilian international only took one shot, and that was on target, and only made one key pass in the time he was on the pitch.
Martinelli was eventually sent off after 68 minutes, having won only 30% of duels and lost the ball 13 times out of 33 touches – once every 2.5 touches.
It was a performance that one OPTA analyst described as “shocking” and urged the £74 million Brazilian to improve his game.
If Arsenal want to go all the way and win the league next May, Martinelli will need to shoot again. This season has been indifferent for the youngster and, as his performance at Anfield proves, improvement is needed. It would not be a surprise if Leandro Trossard starts in his place against West Ham after Christmas.
