Unai Emery failed to guide Arsenal to a third straight win in the Premier League as they went down 3-1 to Liverpool last weekend.
Before the match, Unai Emery had joking said that he never wished to face Liverpool and during the match, surely some Gunners fans would have been hoping for just that as the Reds were in full control of the game.
Speaking in his post-match press conference though, the Arsenal boss has revealed that even though he was frustrated with the loss but he still was optimistic since his team did a lot of things right during the 90 minutes.
“Really I’m disappointed with the result. It’s the first analysis we can do but after 90 minutes we did different situations with the players, tactically and spiritually,” the manager said to the club’s official website.
“I think the team showed in one moment good character and it’s one step ahead we want to do. The result means we’re not happy today, but we can be optimistic for another situation.”
But according to Tony Cascarino, it was Unai Emery who got his tactics wrong for the match which is why Arsenal looked so ineffective at Anfield during the weekend.
“Arsenal have improved under Unai Emery but tactically he got it all wrong against Liverpool on Saturday,” wrote Cascarino in for the Times.
“Firstly, if you don’t know that Liverpool’s full-backs are a threat then you’ve been living on the moon for the past year.
“Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson had so much time on the ball. Secondly, Roberto Firmino must have dropped into midfield 20 or 30 times and there was no one taking responsibility for picking him up.
“He’s so vital for Liverpool, he must be shackled to stop them. And finally, I don’t think you can play a back four with David Luiz — watching him one-on-one with Mohamed Salah was laughable.
“Emery spent £135 million this summer and they may be better but still looked naive and limited in terms of shape and system. They are still a long way off the top two.”
The loss now means that Unai Emery’s side have now slipped to third on the league table while Liverpool sit pretty on top with nine points.
