Liverpool’s winning run came to an end, but they salvaged a 2–2 draw against Arsenal late in the match, in what was not one of the Reds’ better performances this season.

Arsenal 2-2Liverpool

Eredivisie (9) | Emirates Stadium
October 27, 2024

Goals: Saka 9′, Merino 45′; Van Dijk 17′, Salah 81′

Caoimhin Kelleher – 6 (out of 10)

Considering all the pre-match talk was about Arsenal’s missing starters, we must have missed the memo confirming that Caoim is now our undisputed No. 1…

Anyway, absolutely no chance on the opener, Saka blamed it high and hard, and even less so on the second.

In between, his footwork was good and he picked up a few claims. A decent save high from Jesus late in the break, but not a game where he had to do much… apart from the goals.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6

One of his worst matches, the day after his speech about wanting to win the Ballon d’Or.

And yet we saw why he potentially could: that incredible ability to pick passes and create chances, even on a bad day, which led to him making two passes here – no assists, but both leading to goals.

Otherwise it was a story of poor passing, not his best defensive work and certainly nothing that qualified him as a captain in terms of taking the team to the next level.

Ibrahima Konate – 8 – Man of the Match

I missed an interception early but made a few big challenges, including getting a thigh to a bouncing ball in the area as Martinelli hung dangerously. Great recovery pace to take out the same player in the channel shortly afterwards.

Arsenal’s ingenuity meant no one was really marking individuals when the second goal came, but Merino ended up between Konate and Jones, but with no one near him. Nevertheless, solid and consistent.

Vergilius van Dijk – 6

A question arose as to whether he should have covered closer to Robertson for the opener – or made up ground quicker – but responded by pinging a superb pass that won a corner and then heading it level.

Mostly assured under pressure in open play, but no one from the back line was happy defending set pieces and Van Dijk, as the leader there, has to be the one to stop constant mistakes or give them away at all. One big defensive header towards the end, but there could have been more from him.

Andy Robertson-5

All defeated, Saka finishes at the first time of asking to lead to a goal in very Salah style. I struggled not only with the pace, but also with the agility in the corner.

No surprise when he was eliminated; a slight improvement in the second half, but Robertson seems to be one of the weaker links in this team at the moment.

Ryan Gravenberch – 7

Too often bypassed and marginalized in the first half; won his share of the battle, but was not involved enough and certainly not on the ball in a progressive sense.

A better player in the second half, a bit more aggressive – which we missed as a team that day – but not a dominant performance from anyone in our away shirt and Gravenberch’s position more or less demands such a performance, especially in the biggest games.

Alexis MacAllister – 6

Spooled in the centre, booked for bringing down Saka and generally looked off the pace as Arsenal swamped Liverpool. Not at all up to his usual level of composure, control or ability to influence the match.

Curtis Jones-6

Played further forward in this match, in Szoboszlai’s team, but could not have the same impact in that role as he did in the deeper areas against Chelsea.

Difficulty overcoming many challenges in a tight spot on the field; came back into the field after the substitutions and was a bit more involved from there. Again, not a top performance, but certainly a lot of work pace.

Mohammed Salah – 7

Really poor performance when he had a surprise chance after 15 minutes. Played the role of playmaker in the first half, trying to hold up and feed others rather than pose a threat to goal himself.

The second half was a little more complicated as Liverpool were on top and finally got the chance they wanted – and then buried it. Leveled with Fowler for goals in the Premier League.

Darwin Nunez – 6

Extremely hardworking and running a lot in the first half; the problem was that most of it was in the right-back or left-back area, not as an away ball or behind Arsenal’s defence.

It’s fair to suggest that if there had been other substitutes on the bench – Jota for example – Nunez would probably have come on as a matter of course at some point in the second half as nothing really went his way, but he produced a moment that mattered : a strong run into the channel and a perfect square pass to find Salah for the equalizer.

Luis Diaz – 5

He was given the nod to the left wing and he really expected to have more success in a direct battle with substitute Thomas Partey.

I beat him one-on-one a few times in the second half, but it wasn’t nearly impactful enough or consistent enough.

Diaz claimed the assist with a header for Van Dijk, but is currently a far cry from his early-season form. Didn’t really support Robertson in the first half either when he struggled against Saka.

His first half was a disaster defensively; dispossessed twice, lost 11 of 16 matches, committed four fouls – one for the second goal – and lost two tackles.

Substitutes

Szoboszlai (on for Mac Allister, 62′) – 6 – Initially sloppy after emergence. Then a better work pace, but no end product.

Tsimikas (on for Robertson, 62′) – 6 – Defended a little better than Robertson one-on-one, but there wasn’t much supporting play going forward.

Gakpo (on for Diaz, 62′) – 5 – No big impact on the left side this time.

Endo (on for Jones, 90′) – * – On for seven minutes of injury time.

Subs not used: Jaros, Davies, Quansah, Gomez, Morton

Arne Slot – 6

While not too many people might have disagreed with the names in the place and were overloaded.

A trade of Jones and Mac Allister might have been the answer, but overall we were slower, sloppier and not nearly sharp enough.

Things were certainly better in that regard after the break, with Liverpool gaining more control of the ball and playing much higher up the pitch. The boss tried to take advantage of that by making a triple sub on the hour to keep the pressure up.

This was not a vintage Liverpool show.

But Slot did enough to get a result that day and perhaps for the rest of the season as a whole. Take the point of this ground and be happy with it – there’s plenty more to play for later down the line.

A game to learn lessons for the boss perhaps.