Arsenal tactics
Arsene Wenger did not have his first-choice centre-back pair of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny but the Gunners boss had the rest of his regular starters so he retained his preferred game-plan.
Arsenal had to dominate possession, pin the opposition in the offensive half before creating chances with attacking midfielders roaming between the lines.
The only slight change saw Santi Cazorla spending more time at the base of midfield alongside Francis Coquelin when Arsenal had good possession in Liverpool’s half. The Spanish ball-player still played a key role in feeding the attacking midfielders between the lines and creating chances. He also picked moments to push on and support the forwards.
Aaron Ramsey drifted in from the right attacking midfield position in order to join Mesut Ozil in floating just behind Liverpool’s midfielders while Alexis Sanchez took up a starting position on the left flank, where he could receive the ball and use his dribbling ability to run at Nathaniel Clyne.
Olivier Giroud completed Arsenal’s 4-2-3-1 formation as the centre forward, working with his back to goal in order to help link up play. Giroud also provided a target for crosses from Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin.
When out of possession, Ramsey and Sanchez pulled out wide to press from the sides of midfield while Ozil defended just behind Giroud. The full-backs dropped to the defensive line while Cazorla and Coquelin worked in front of the defenders.
Liverpool tactics
Brendan Rodgers also had a couple of players missing through injuries so he set his side up in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Lucas Leiva as the defensive midfielder. The plan was to stop Arsenal from getting into their passing rhythm, with Liverpool’s attacking midfielders beginning serious pressing on the Gunners in the middle-third.
Christian Benteke led the defending in a 4-5-1 formation with the central attacking midfielders – James Milner and Emre Can – engaging Arsenal’s central midfielders to stop them from comfortably dictating play.
Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho tracked back with the Gunners’ full-backs to deal with their threat from wide areas while Lucas policed the space in front of the back-four.
When in possession, the Reds had a direct option of getting the ball into the offensive half quickly with Simon Mignolet taking his goal kicks towards Benteke. On top of being a target man, Benteke also ran the channels looking for balls slipped down the sides of Arsenal’s centre-halves.
When the Reds had good possession, Lucas remained as the sitting midfielder protecting the central defenders to allow the rest of the outfield players to push on. Firmino and Coutinho drifted in from the flanks to join Milner and Can in working the ball and creating chances via intricate play through the middle.
Liverpool mainly funnelled their attacks through the centre of the park, but Nathaniel Clyne and Joe Gomez occasionally supplied width to the offensive operations before providing Benteke with crosses.
Key tactical changes
Arsenal started strongly in the first quarter-of-an-hour but Liverpool grew into the game and completed the first-half as the better side.
After their brief dominance, Arsenal became careless in possession in dangerous areas and Liverpool capitalised on that by crisply working the ball during transitional plays. That led to a couple of decent chances for the Reds with Petr Cech keeping Arsenal’s clean sheet intact thanks to some world class saves.
The Gunners started the second half much better; they retained the ball well and Cazorla started joining the attacking midfielders in the attacking-third to stoke up pressure on Rodgers’ men. That saw Liverpool sink deep into their half with Arsenal creating a couple of chances as a result.
Arsenal were clearly on top in the last quarter of the game with play concentrated in Liverpool’s defensive-third so Wenger pushed for a winner by taking some defensive risks. The French manager sacrificed his sitting midfielder, Coquelin, while a more mobile centre forward, Theo Walcott, replaced Giroud up top.
Arsenal still attacked in a 4-2-3-1 formation but Ramsey and Cazorla both supported play centrally while Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain frequently pushed into the box from the flanks to support Walcott.
Rodgers settled for a 0-0 by reinforcing Liverpool’s left flank, where Oxlade-Chamberlain and Bellerin were threatening. Alberto Moreno protected Gomez as a wide midfielder doubling up with the teenage defender.
Liverpool finished the game in a compact 4-5-1 formation with Milner at the base of midfield while Can and Jordan Rossiter completed the central midfield trio minding Arsenal’s attacking midfielders.
A 0-0 result seemed an accurate reflection of the game given Liverpool’s performance in large parts of the first-half and Arsenal’s dominance in the second-half. Both goalkeepers also deserved clean sheets for keeping their teams in the game with some outstanding saves.
