Arsenal vs Liverpool: 4 crucial elements needed to win

4. Find Gabriel Martinelli in Behind

All teams have tactics. Every side goes into matches with a plan in place on how to maximise their strengths and nullify their opponents’. The difference is that Liverpool have a higher calibre of player to execute those demands.

The standout area of this Liverpool team that everyone looks to target is the space behind Trent Alexander-Arnold. His role this year is even more dynamic than before, with him making underlapping movements into midfield where he can operate as a No. 8. He’s just brilliant.

But the advancing runs come at a cost. Liverpool know this. Protecting the spaces he vacates is crucial, as they are aware it’s an area that the opposition will look to target.

How this is done would normally be with the striker (Lacazette) coming short to drag a defender out of position and prompting a shift at the back, opening the avenue for a run in behind (Martinelli) the right-back.

With a defender like Virgil van Dijk who can effectively defend all on his own and cover all the space makes the task all the harder. It won’t be a simple matter of one man coming short and then a dink in behind, Arsenal have to maintain the variance in how the build-up that they’ve shown throughout this run to avoid predictable patterns of play.

They’re a more balanced attacking side now. Finding Martinelli down that side has become second nature. Against Liverpool, however, it’s about maintaining their principles because as much as it is well known, that is an area Arsenal can exploit with the Brazilian’s blistering pace.