LONDON-Liverpool roared back from a goal down to beat Arsenal 4-3 on Sunday in a thrilling finish to the opening weekend of the new Premier League season. It’s a major positive to have him and the rest of the squad full of confidence after just one week, and hopefully that conviction will inspire similar displays in the future.
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The final whistle was greeted by a chorus of boos from the home fans but Wenger was quick to shrug aside the discontent of the Gunners’ faithful. “I always said that the one thing I really needed to improve was to score more goals”.
The Gunners led through Theo Walcott but were pegged back by Philippe Coutinho’s free kick just before half time. “[But] if you don’t play them you miss them”.
The young Spaniard looked sharp throughout the game but faced trouble in getting forward on the right flank and had to mostly cut inside during the first half. There was a point in the second half when it felt like a cup match, end to end.
Despite coming out on top of the seven-goal thriller, Klopp also said there was room for improvement.
The view was also echoed by Sky Sports’ Gary Neville who said that Liverpool might as well start a goal down with Moreno in the side.
Though Arsenal paid Borussia Monchengladbach’s £33.8million asking price for Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka in May progress on their key targets in attack and defence has been, at best, frustratingly slow.
Holding did not shame himself in front of Liverpool but it is obvious that he is not yet ready.
The Spaniard looked very fresh in the first half as he showed his speed on the left flank and put in some great crosses.
The centre-back pair are both recovering from heel problems, though Joel Matip is available and could come in to replace Lovren.
The Frenchman played in the central midfield but seemed to be playing in a more advanced role than Elneny.
Thierry Henry says he finds it hard to understand Arsenal’s failure to compete in the transfer market and fears the very best players may no longer want to join the club.
The Spaniard gave away a clumsy penalty which Theo Walcott missed, before being caught out of position as the England worldwide made amends moments later.
Alexis Sanchez, starting in attack in the absence of Olivier Giroud, was involved early, flicking the ball off for Aaron Ramsey in the box but the Wales global could only poke his shot straight at Simon Mignolet.
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“There are a lot of things to improve on and work on, but a lot of good things as well”, said the England global.
