Arsenal: Curtis Davies Liverpool Comparison Revealing
Curtis Davies has criticised Arsenal for lacking the same ruthless nature of Liverpool having played the two sides over the past two weekends.
Hull City have had the unfortunate luck of playing both Arsenal and Liverpool over consecutive weekends. With the two prospective title challengers beginning to hit their stride, the matches are a perfect litmus test for the credentials of both clubs. Are they the challengers that they profess to be, or are they more the pretenders that perhaps some detail them as?
Such an opportunity was seized upon by Hull defender Curtis Davies. After his side’s 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the Merseyside club, Davies compared their performance to that of the Gunners the week previous, questioning the second half strategies of Arsene Wenger’s side while praising the more ruthless approach of Jurgen Klopp:
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“Arsenal are a very good passing team, but a lot of their stuff is in front of you. Nice little passes. Liverpool have that mix of nice little passes and then people who will run and run at you and beat you as well like Mane and Coutinho. Last week against Arsenal, we had 10 men but it was a different performance. We were good. We kept hold of the ball but Liverpool, with their pressing game, they weren’t going to be satisfied with 3-0. They wanted 6, 7, 8. That is the difference. Arsenal were like, ‘We will sit, we will let them have the ball and then we will have it for another five minutes’. But Liverpool didn’t give you a chance to breathe to be honest.”
Such comments are extremely interesting. After an away match with Paris Saint-Germain in the week in which his side struggled to contain an energetic midfield and dynamic Edinson Cavani (thankfully he missed nearly all of his clear cut chances), Wenger seemed more intent on securing the three points, with his side dropping deeper in the second half after opening up a comfortable lead.
Liverpool, on the other hand, in a sensational display of pace and power kept their foot on the pedal, pressed Hull throughout the 90 minutes, not letting off for even a moment. This is not to say that one tactic is better than the other, it is simply intriguing to see two top class managers steering their club with alternative methods.
Ultimately, both got the all important three points – the only thing that matters come full time – but perhaps Wenger will need to ward off complacency from his side with a lead.
Wenger’s side have struggled in the past to see out games, and while the most recent second-half defensive showing against Chelsea perhaps suggests that they have improved in this area, if the Premier League is to come to North London for the first time in 12 years then not surrendering leads will be absolutely vital.
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