“Some players who came back late were physically short”, Wenger said.
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With centre-halves Gabriel and Per Mertesacker injured and Laurent Koscielny not match fit, Wenger started young pair Calum Chambers and Rob Holding in the heart of the defence.
He also lost midfielder Aaron Ramsey and winger Alex Iwobi to hamstring and thigh injuries respectively in the second-half.
Arsenal responded and hit back through substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and defender Calum Chambers but Liverpool held on to take three points – with Lallana aware that it was not a ideal afternoon in north London for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Liverpool started the season on a strong point as they won against Arsenal at their home ground where the Reds had a dismal record. The players are not ready and they play this kind of game and get injured, like Ramsey today.
He added: “We played a very good first half and were unlucky to concede a goal just before half-time because the free-kick was very harsh”. Do you give the players a rest and start the season without many of your players?
United, in their first league game under new manager Jose Mourinho, followed last weekend’s Community Shield success against the champions Leicester City by winning 3-1 at Bournemouth, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring again.
Lat season they conceded 50 goals last season, the joint most ever conceded in the premiership.
Arsene Wenger’s side started brightly and they were rewarded in the 29th minute with a penalty after Alberto Moreno brought down Theo Walcott, but the England worldwide saw his spot-kick saved.
There are several problematic situations to take from yesterday’s game against Arsenal, but most importantly what was the problem with Liverpool leaking in 3 goals and a penalty in their opening fixture?
They were level though in injury time at the end of the first half and it was a moment of magic from Coutinho, who curled a free-kick from 30 yards over the wall and into the top corner.
“The game was intense for all of us”. We played well, we got a goal, we had opportunities and we missed a penalty, but the reaction was great because we scored two minutes later.
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“We can always score goals and we can defend much better”, said their manager Juergen Klopp. Liverpool were short of the target just 2.4 km of that target as they harried and hassled Arsenal and forced them to commit mistakes because of the incessant press.
