Arsenal Vs Liverpool: Masterful maligned vindicate Unai Emery

There were some masterful performances from many of Arsenal’s most maligned players in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool. Their excellence vindicates the work of Unai Emery.

Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool may look like an even game. And the chances in that match may even seem to shade Jurgen Klopp’s effervescent collection. But if you were to watch the general patterns of play, you would see one team clearly in the ascendancy for the majority of the match. Arsenal were the better team.

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This was, in fact, the Gunners’ best performance of the season thus far. They may have won seven-straight matches already this season, but this was a better display than any of those victories. The opposition, the control they enjoyed, the pressure that was on them to perform. This was an excellent showing.

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And at the heart of it were players that have previously been maligned and misunderstood. Hector Bellerin at right back was fantastic, shepherding Saido Mane expertly and bombing forwards with pace and purpose when he could. Alongside him, Shkodran Mustafi was monumental, clearing everything that Liverpool threw at him, sounding Roberto Firmino out of the game and anchoring the Arsenal defence with poise and consistency.

Similarly, in the midfield, Granit Xhaka was his tempo-setting, metronomic best, dealing with the high press of Liverpool masterfully, making more ball recoveries, tackles and passes than any other player on the pitch. And then Alex Iwobi provided directness and invention from off the bench, playing in Alexandre Lacazette with a lovely slid through pass to set up the equalising goal. This was the best Arsenal performance of the season and four players at the very heart of it were far from the most popular.

The fact that players are improving, bettering themselves, growing more confident and clinical, is a testament to the work that Unai Emery is putting in. Yes, players like Lucas Torreira are having a major impact on this team, but on Saturday, nine of the 10 outfield starters were all at the club last season.

Emery is slowly but surely re-tooling this team. But he is not using different tools. He has simply sharpened the old ones. Bellerin suddenly looks like the bright, vibrant, bounding full back he was when he first burst onto the scene. Xhaka has limited his defensive vulnerabilities and harnessed his passing to have a greater influence on the game. Iwobi looks confident, which is a breath of fresh air.

It would still be impressive if Arsenal had improved substantially under Emery with a bunch of new faces in the team. The fact that Emery has masterminded this development with many of the same players that were at the Emirates before his arrival is vindicating, indicative of what a great coach he is.

The Gunners dominated Saturday’s match against a very good Liverpool team because of a masterful group of maligned players. And for that, Emery deserves all the credit in the world.