From Jim Johnson from Merseyside
Hi Myles
I went to the Liverpool-West Ham opener at Anfield before settling down with my Sunday dinner on my lap to watch the AFC-Citeh game.
My observations on Liverpool are that they appear to have more collective than most of their opponents.
Sturridge getting a goal with his first touch in a red shirt for nine months, Keita dropping in like he’d been there all his life and the ever-improving Henderson playing his first twenty minutes since running himself into the ground in extra time of the World Cup semi-final bollocking new keeper Allison for a shoddy clearance.
West Ham were abject and looking at a very long season. Jack Wilshere cut a sad figure, bereft of the automatic that dazzled Barcelona and shorn of the comfort of better players around him.
Much of the narrative on AFC this week has been around Neville’s assertion that Emery will need three transfer windows to get this right, just as Klopp did to get LFC back in the big time. The difference is Arsenal’s total spend in this window has been £70 million while Liverpool have splashed out £70 million on a keeper in this window and the same in the last window on the colossal Van Dijk.
More fiddling while Rome burns, methinks. Silent Stan won’t mind. He knows they could play to an empty stadium and still make money thanks to the TV deals.
Unai is going to need to be the motivational and tactical genius of all time to get a tune out of some of these players.
Ozil, Miki and Rambo in the same team? Not for me. Guendozi might surprise a few though…
Still, as you say, judge it after ten games.
Here’s hoping…
Myles says: Thanks, Jim.
Emery has to change the narrative and this afternoon would be a good time to start.
You would expect Sarri and Emery to be measured in what they say, as both are new to the EPL.
Emery is looking for a lot of automatic. He said, “I want at each moment every player to know what action to do in the match.”
Former Napoli boss Sarri, suitably circumspect, said, “I think Emery is a good coach. I think Arsenal this season will be competitive. I think they will be able to fight for a place in the Champions League.”
http://arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/wp/lucas-torreira-key-for-arsenal-in-coming-weeks-citeh-shaky-at-first/