Liverpool strolled to a 3-1 win over Arsenal in the Premier League yesterday and they have Roberto Firmino to thank despite no headlines for the Brazilian.
If you watched the excellent Liverpool 3-1 victory over Arsenal at Anfield yesterday in the Premier League you will have an opinion on who was the most influential on the pitch was for the Reds. i would want to argue it was Roberto Firmino despite picking up few headlines.
It would make sense to give the Man-of-the-Match award to Mohamed Salah who had two goals and won a penalty. Joel Matip justified his inclusion over Joe Gomez with a goal and a stellar defensive performance. However we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of Firmino yesterday.
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The Brazilian caught people’s eye with an exquisite flick over Dani Ceballos late in the game but the headlines were written by his colleagues.
Though it Firmino who opened the game up for the Reds to dominate. He has been a terror to the Gunners during his time at Anfield scoring heaps of goals and running riot against Arsenal year after year.
That must have been in Unai Emery’s mind when he decided to pack the midfield against Liverpool yesterday. By employing four central midfielders in a diamond the hope was to close down the central areas where Firmino roams deep.
And it worked! Firmino did not have acres of space to dictate the game. However, that tactical decision opened the wide areas for Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold in the first half to pummel the Arsenal box with crosses and through balls which eventually led to the corner for Matip’s goal.
Then in the second half the dense midfield allowed Mohamed Salah to drift wide and torture David Luiz. The only reason for Emery to give creative license to Salah and the full backs is because he was paranoid about Firmino.
That influence was far more important contribution from the Brazilian than the party trick flick that made into a hundred gifs. Firmino is a treasure.