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THREAD: 2020 COMMUNITY SHIELD CHAMPIONS! Another top performance under our exciting young manager. So much to talk about and plenty of top individual performances. Lets dissect it! RT's so more Gooners can see my in depth thoughts on the game would mean a lot. Enjoy! 
FIRST HALF:I thought Liverpool started the game well. They were the team on the front foot looking to impose their game. But I have been so impressed with the way MA has drilled his players out of possession against the big teams. I said that in my preview that they are extremely
reliant on supply lines coming through the wide areas. In order to nullify these threats, a back 5 system, out of possession, will allow you to minimise the frequency of chances arising. Bellerin and AMN positioned themselves as defensive wing backs to make the 5, with Saka
and Auba continuously maintaining good levels of intensity and supporting the outside CBs and wing backs. Was extremely impressed with our two midfielders, in the pivot, out of possession. Firmino is an excellent 'defensive CF'. He is very effective in between the lines, linking
play and providing a connection. He's the glue. How do you stop his influence? Your midfielders and backline have to maintain tight distances. Xhaka and Elneny were very disciplined in the way that they gave him no room in between the lines. The back three, very well organised in
in how they were aggressive whenever Firmino received the ball. We never allowed Liverpool to maintain fluidity in their game. Xhaka and Elneny in particular very good in forcing them to recycle the ball wide and prevent them from making forward, line breaking passes. Defenders
tracking the runs of Salah and Mane also deserves a lot of credit. Our pressing was again very calculated. Eddie providing great intensity, whist Saka and Auba both occupying positions that eliminated passing lanes. Mo and Xhaka also taking good positions frequently in midfield
and were aggressive in the press. Now lets talk about our play. That goal!!! Again, this is where you have to give the MA huge credit in how he has got us playing. There is an idea, an understanding, players know their roles, they know each others movements. All these elements
enable successful, attractive patterns of play to be generated. Emi gives it to Elneny who draws players towards him. He lays it off to Rob who gives it to hector, which eliminates Mane's influence in the build up. Now this is where you can see the weaknesses in this style
of press Klopp deploys.The front three are tasked to be very aggressive, always looking to force mistakes straight away. This means everyone else has to push up, therefore a high line is played. Bellerins pass to Saka is fantastic. Bukayo then does extremely well to find Auba who
then drives with the ball. A lot of credit goes to Tierney as his overlapping run creates uncertainty for Williams, who is caught in two minds. Do I track the runner, or do I stop him from cutting inside? He does neither! Auba then finishes beautifully. Pure eliteness and simply
WORLD CLASS. I felt that we should have went in at half time at least 2 up. Eddie, whilst put in a top performance, lacked composure in a few instances. Leaning back for one of his chances, meant that the ball was always rising. AMN brilliant but also should have done better with
KT's cut back. In terms of systems, 5-2-3/5-3-2/5-4-1 out of possession with AMN making it a 5. But in possession, it was a 4-3-3 and AMN tucked in midfield. The only aspect i was worried about was the fact Robertson was given far too much time to put crosses in. Very good half!
SECOND HALF: Liverpool played a lot better. You could see that our fitness levels dropped which was understandable considering they were more prepared and had a couple more games under their belt. Whilst we were still defensively well organised, the two in the pivot struggled to
maintain tight distances which allowed Firmino and Minamino to drift in between the lines and link play.The goal inevitably occurred and imo, its difficult to critique individuals for it. Their players got in between the lines, few ricochets and Minamino converts the chance. But
what really impressed me was our reaction. We imposed our game and I felt that the Willock provided us with a positive impact. He provided great intensity and we were able to build some good attacks and we could have nicked the winner. Cedric delivers a great ball for Joe who
should have at least hit the target. You would have thought that after Liverpool got the equaliser, they would have pushed on for the winner, especially when you consider the fact that they were the team who were certainly a lot more prepared and ahead in pre season. It then
went to penalties. 5 great penalties on our behalf, they miss one and the rest is history! WHAT A WIN! Well done to the boys and huge credit to MA! Now lets talk about individual performances! Emi was brilliant yet again. Solid distribution. At times he was sloppy but he gives us
too avenues of chance creation. Composure on the ball allows us to build attacks from deep but also he can pick out long passes which allows us to initiate attacks further up the pitch. Couple of vital saves and commanded his area very well. Back three immense. Holding, Luiz very
good and Tierney was outstanding. He was tasked to play two roles. Out of possession, he was commanding and aggressive at LCB. In possession, he shifted to LB and was tasked to combine with Auba,create width and build a partnership. Brilliant cut back for AMN in one situation and
played an important role for our goal. Bellerin was superb. Many players could have got MOTM. But had he of played the full game, he was on course to be my standout player. Very good on the ball, some vital blocks and was instrumental in the build up to the goal. His pass to Saka
was brilliant and will go under the radar. Xhaka again quietly went about his business. Very intelligent on the ball and provides us with progressive forward passes. Elneny!! I'm not his biggest fan but you give credit when its due. Constantly drawing fouls, always showed for the
ball from deep, giving the CBs a simple passing option and provided great energy. Simple but effective and was very disciplined in midfield. AMN yet again was fantastic. Played wing back, out of possession and CM in possession. Could have done better
Could have done better in the final third in some instances but his overall performance was outstanding. Eddie worked very hard and provided excellent intensity. Saka was very influential and grabs the assist. Kid has such a high ceiling. MA is the right man to develop him.
Then we have Auba, who needs no word. ELITE ELITE ELITE! And finally, Mikel Artekkers! The future is bright and if we can bring in at least two midfielders with different profiles, (physical CM and a creative midfielder), we can compete for top 4. Hope you enjoyed the read!
