Arsenal vs Liverpool: 4 crucial elements needed to win

2. Winning Duels

Talk about the basics, eh?

You can win football matches without having to dominate the duels. Wolves are a strong and physical side and they outscored Arsenal aerially and in tackles in both of the Premier League meetings this season. The problem is that they’re not Liverpool.

Duels in this particular fixture are paramount. Winning their individual battles is how Liverpool continue to exert their pressure. When they got on top of you with their blistering pace in the press and counter-press it is these situations where they stamp their authority.

There will be long spells where they turn the screw. They’ll hound Arsenal down at every opportunity. In these moments it is not composure on the ball that matters and instead composure off the ball.

When we hear teams being ‘rattled’ by Liverpool it’s often because they’re first to every ball physically and mentally. They can charge down on the defenders playing out of the back and force errors, which is part of their devastation, but they’re engaged physically from the first minute to the last.

It’s more than just quality on the ball.

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