Match Day Thread Liverpool vs Arsenal - Matchday Thread - Carabao Cup semi-final (1st leg)

HT. 0-0.

We’ve done well defensively especially since going down to 10 but for ****s sake. How many times is Xhaka going to let us down? A hard task has just been made even harder.

Ultimately Arteta is the one who keeps picking him and gave him a new deal, so the wider issue here is Arteta choosing to rely on a player we all know is a liability.

Also, why are we even in a position where Xhaka and Lokonga are our only two senior midfielders when we know Partey and Elneny would be going to AFCON? Awful squad planning yet again. This new midfielder should have come in ages ago and now we are short for the Spurs game.

 

0-0. FT. That’s a fantastic result especially considering the circumstances.

Depleted team, short in midfield, a few COVID cases and injuries, down to 10 men for 75% of the game vs a stronger than expected Liverpool team.

And the boys fought valiantly to keep a clean sheet away from home.

It also means we are still in this tie and have a chance of getting to the final.

I think we were all expecting the worst when we went down to 10 men. So I’m very, very glad to be proven wrong.

 

Apart from the defence, I want to credit Lokonga for his second half performance. He was very nervy and clumsy in the 1st half, but was extremely solid and took responsibility in the second.

I know he’s had a bit of a slow start to his Arsenal career, but I do believe he’s got a lot of potential and hopefully that second half display will do his confidence wonders.

 

Absolute battlers out there tonight.

Every one of them can hold their heads high for that performance

I know Xhaka is a liability, but I thought that red was harsh. It was clumsy, but he went for the ball. Yellow card offence really.

Anyway, we're still in it and there's everything to play for in the 2nd leg

Also, our fans were immense tonight

 

I don’t think we can complain about the red card tbh. Xhaka was the last man and his challenge gets nowhere near the ball, he ends up kicking Jota in the mid section. It was a stupid challenge to make in a situation where we were left exposed because we were pressing too high.

Agree with the rest though.

 

if that was Henderson it’s a booking, coz it’s Xhaka it’s a red.

 

Yep. Said it on the prem match day thread. Xhaka’s reputation means he’s always going to be treated more harshly