Analysis: Slot's midfield switch earns point at Arsenal

Alex Keble analyses the thrilling 2-2 draw between Arsenal and Liverpool.

Both Arsenal and Liverpool will be satisfied with a hard-fought 2-2 draw despite the result leaving Manchester City top of the Premier League table.

Perhaps on another day Arsenal would have seized their first-half initiative or perhaps Liverpool could have ridden their momentum in the final minutes to complete the turnaround, but a draw was a fair result in a scrappy, stop-start match at Emirates Stadium.

Certainly Arne Slot will be pleased to have gone toe-to-toe with the Gunners in, arguably, his first major test away from Anfield.

Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, might be more distracted by the defensive injuries that left him with a makeshift back four for the final minutes.

Here’s the tactical analysis of Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool.

Arsenal’s midfield and wide attacks dominate first half

Arsenal’s primary tactical strategy in this match was to outnumber Liverpool in central midfield and then use the territorial advantage gained to hammer the visitors down the wings.

For the first half it worked very well, mainly because Liverpool’s aggressive shape left Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister with too much to do.

In a typical first-half example, here Leandro Trossard (circled) picks up the ball in between the lines and drives Arsenal forward. He and Kai Havertz (circled) both dropping off, with the German generally dropping to the right, was too much for Mac Allister and Gravenberch to handle.

With three or four Arsenal players in central midfield against Liverpool’s two, the hosts were able to carry the ball through the thirds and release Bukayo Saka or Gabriel Martinelli, who both got the better of the Liverpool full-backs.

That was most notable for Arsenal’s opener, of course, when Saka completely dominated Andy Robertson.

Gravenberch and Mac Allister just couldn’t get a grip on midfield and despite a set-piece goal getting Liverpool back into the match, Slot will not have been best pleased with how Arsenal had control throughout the first half.

Liverpool recalibrate their midfield

We know Slot wasn’t happy because he made a significant change at the break: Curtis Jones was moved a lot deeper, helping form a midfield three when Liverpool were in possession.

That also meant he was in more useful areas of the pitch when Arsenal turned the ball over. Suddenly Liverpool had all the momentum as Jones began to dictate the play.

Then, completing the midfield turnaround, in the 63rd minute Jones was moved into the double pivot as Dominik Szoboszlai came on for Mac Allister. Szoboszlai’s superior strength and pressing completely shut down Arsenal’s ability to find that pass through the lines into Havertz and Trossard.

Even Liverpool’s second equaliser came via the midfield recalibration. Szoboszlai (circled), dropping deeper than Jones had done when he was deployed as the attacking midfielder, began the move from deep that ended with Mohamed Salah’s goal.

From here, Liverpool had Arsenal pinned and perhaps could have gone for the winning goal.

The headline battles were the one-on-ones between wingers and full-backs, but this game was really all about the two midfields.

Arsenal dig deep to hold on for a point

Sensing the direction of the match was going against them, and after Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber were forced off, Arteta moved to the sort of deep defensive position we saw in their 2-2 draw with Man City in September.

For the final 20 minutes Liverpool held 58 per cent possession but managed just two shots on goal.

It somewhat killed the game’s momentum and as the clock ticked down it seemed that both sides were happy with a point.

Liverpool remain unbeaten away from home in all competitions, making Slot the first Liverpool manager or head coach to not lose his first seven matches since William Connell in February 1923, while Arsenal averted a disastrous defeat despite ending the game with their third and fourth choice centre-backs, a midfielder at right-back, and 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back.

It was the first time since May 2023 that neither Gabriel nor William Saliba were on the pitch for Arsenal, and indeed that uncertainty across the back explains some uneasy defending for Liverpool’s second goal.

It is to the hosts’ credit they did not concede after that, and Mikel Merino deserves special mention for his role in shutting things down; only Thomas Partey made more combined tackles and interceptions than Merino's five.

The draw was an accurate reflection of the game and all-in-all a decent day’s work for both teams.

But from an Arsenal point of view, that perception will change should Gabriel or Timber now face lengthy spells on the sidelines.