The FA Cup’s 3rd round saw Liverpool win over Arsenal by 2-0. What makes it interesting is the fact that this is the third consecutive loss for Arsenal in the tournament, the first time since April 2022. The first to trigger a series of two goals was a self-goal by Jakub Kiwior. That was scored in the 80th minute, followed by a goal by Luis Diaz in the 95th minute. There was an OT over the actual run-through, without which a victory for Liverpool was still rock-solid.
Emirates Stadium was rooting for both sides equally, considering Arsenal were expected to make a comeback. Instead, they fell pretty deep, and Arteta now has the only option to introspect about how they can survive. Liverpool moved on to the 4th round with a win. Klopp is likely to strongly root for forming 4-3-3 for upcoming football games.
Liverpool’s win is somewhat of a surprise. They had the ball for only 45% of the total possession. Although it would be right to assume that their strong defensive line-up did wonders in securing the attack led by Saka, Nelson, and Havertz.
The defensive line-up from Gomez to Arnold did not allow their opponents to navigate their way around them, find the net, and beat Alisson for a score.
Arsenal did take 18 shots, with five on target. It was ultimately Liverpool that leveraged the most of what they got. Twelve shots were taken, and three were put on the target. A lower number of passes instilled a sense of being able to tackle the players at Arsenal in a better way.
According to the sports news, the defeat of Arsenal in the hands of Liverpool by a margin of two goals follows a football event that was able to deliver a broader win margin. Man City met Huddersfield in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. They went on to establish dominance in terms of possession and the number of goals. Having the ball for 84% of the total possession helped them make their opponent sweat for 90 minutes. Cruelty did not precisely end on that note; Man City found the net five times and kept Huddersfield goalless.
It was a near replication of what West Brom did to Aldershot Town. The final tally of 4-1 in favor of the West set the tone for another brutal outcome that could be on the way.
Liverpool will next meet Fulham for the first leg of the EFL Cup Semi-Final. Arsenal have the next fixture with Crystal Palace. Based on how much thought Mikel has given, his statements justify the current scenario with words stating that there is a need to hit the reset button for Arsenal following their elimination at the hands of Liverpool.
Manchester United and Wigan Athletic will soon meet for the next football event in the FA Cup.
