How Roberto Firmino can help Liverpool move on from Philippe Coutinho, plus Arsenal’s formation dilemma.
It took just one game for Liverpool to remind us what we already know. Jurgen Klopp’s side can score goals for fun, but will concede them at the same rate.
Nothing new there.
Yet what was interesting about the Reds’ 3-3 draw against Watford in their first game of the new Premier League season on Saturday was how they coped without Philippe Coutinho.
Specifically, Jurgen Klopp’s men looked to another Brazilian for inspiration at Vicarage Road. Roberto Firmino provided it while Coutinho sat out injured, but fresh from handing in a transfer request on Friday.
Firmino scored Liverpool’s second from the penalty spot. He also set up debutant Mohamed Salah to score.
In fact, Firmino’s combination with Egypt international Salah is the silver lining from the Reds dropping two points in their first league game.
More important, Firmino’s general movement and clever touches showed how Liverpool can move on from Coutinho. The latter wants to leave and continues to be linked with Barcelona, per Duncan Castles of the Daily Record.
Manager Jurgen Klopp refused to rule out a sale after the match, per Metro‘s Mark Brus:
"I have to accept decisions from owners (on transfers). Sometimes players. That is how it is."
Klopp can warm to the idea of saying goodbye to Coutinho because Firmino is a player with a similarly creative temperament.
The ex-Hoffenheim star wore the No. 9 shirt against Watford, but it was his only resemblance to a classic center-forward. Instead, Firmino spent the game rotating positions and finding pockets of space where Hornets defenders were unable to venture.
Firmino lived between the midfield and forward lines. He constantly dropped off the front and out of the middle, showing for the ball, combining well in possession and spinning in behind out of it.
The 25-year-old wasn’t the focal point of Klopp’s forward line. Rather, he was the foil for the rest, the catalyst for Liverpool’s best moves.
When Firmino drifted out of central areas onto the flanks in the second half it allowed Salah to play through the middle more often. The Egyptian wide forward’s pace was too much for Watford to handle.
Yet pace is only as effective as the passes releasing it. Firmino gave a terrific example when he dropped back to the tip of midfield in the first half, before threading a ball through for Salah in the box.
Sadly, the former Chelsea man toe-poked over, but the message was clear: Firmino and Salah can establish a prolific partnership.
So it proved when Firmino made a typically astute sprint behind on 57 minutes, after first drawing his marker deep. His attempted chip beat the goalkeeper and left Salah to nudge into an empty net.
Of course, Firmino dropping out and creating space centrally for Salah and fellow winger Sadio Mane is how Liverpool’s attack is supposed to work. The Brazilian has been a de facto false 9 since Klopp took charge.
Even so, the way Firmino roamed central midfield areas against Watford also stood out. His willingness to drop deep gave license to a player like Georginio Wijnaldum to break forward more often.
Wijnaldum is a classy, forward-thinking midfielder whose goal potential was somewhat wasted last season. If Coutinho goes, the Netherlands international will grow in importance, but only thanks to Firmino’s perceptive movement.
The latter finished his day at Vicarage Road as Liverpool’s standout player, as numbers from Squawka Football showed:
It’s a distinction Firmino should continue to merit most of this season.
Klopp won’t find a playmaker with Coutinho’s touch and flair in his central midfield ranks. But he can make his floating false forward the creative fulcrum of his team.
Dennis Bergkamp performed the same function for years at Arsenal. Meanwhile, Liverpool wasted a player of similar type and talent by ignoring Jari Litmanen in the early 2000s.
Klopp needn’t make the same mistake with Firmino, who can help Liverpool stay potent if Coutinho moves on.
Gunners should consider returning to back four
Just a passing thought on Arsenal’s 4-3 win against Leicester on Friday. The Gunners scored twice late on to beat the Foxes in an instant classic at the Emirates Stadium.
The goals came courtesy of substitutes Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud. But only after manager Arsene Wenger switched Arsenal to a back four.
Prior to the switch, Jamie Vardy and Leicester had picked apart a makeshift Gunners’ back three. Moving to a four let Wenger get more strikers on the pitch, as well as putting an extra playmaker into midfield.
Admittedly, the three-at-the-back approach that served Arsenal so well late last season was wrecked by a lack of numbers. Per Mertesacker and Gabriel were injured, Shkodran Mustafi lacked match fitness and Laurent Koscielny was suspended.
Two of those, probably Mustafi and Koscielny, likely start with Nacho Monreal when available.
Next: Arsenal 4-3 Leicester: Highlights and recap
Yet this is still an Arsenal team strongest in central midfield and forward areas. Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Granit Xhaka and Jack Wilshere don’t have natural positions in a 3-4-3. Nor do they have the same freedom the more rigid three-at-the-back formation restricts.
Wenger should consider going back to the 4-1-4-1 setup common in 2013, when he found room for Ozil, Ramsey, Wilshere and Santi Cazorla.
More important than what it would do for the midfield, returning to a back four may settle a defense worryingly shaky on Friday. The Gunners don’t have the standout center-backs to justify playing an extra body there.
Wenger has historically relied on playing a back four and overloading central areas with schemers. Going back to his roots could help Arsenal strike the balance between defense and attack missing against Leicester.