I’m Lovin’ It

[Liverpool 0 – 1 Arsenal].

Hold on, we just lost. At Anfield. To the Gunners, something that hasn’t happened in 14 years.

So why am I happy?

First, Arsenal got lucky. They should not have won this game, but it’s the kind of luck that tends to fall on the side of champions, especially a team as cohesive and well-drilled as this Arsenal is at the moment. Arteta spent years building this team, and with patience come the rewards. So yes, we should have gotten a penalty for that shirt pull on Isak, and yes, Macca should have scored (and would have at least eight times out of ten), and certainly the ref didn’t help himself with a series of champions-favoring calls once the game started heating up.

But none of that matters to me, because the truth of the matter is, Arsenal got lucky. Liverpool were better, period, and I doubt anyone other than a hardcore Gunners fan would say otherwise. It’s normal for champions to win this kind of game, it’s what makes them champions, but the spirit, the intensity, the willingness to put Arsenal to the sword without fear, these are all hallmarks of Iraola ball, and with a bit more luck, this could easily have gone the other way.

Let’s also remember that this Liverpool is a team that is still being built, with a system the players still need to learn, and with many new players (and more incoming, most likely) and several incredibly talented but still inexperienced youngsters. Nyoni is so impressive, but could have also easily gotten booked in the first ten minutes. Rio added even more to the fire, but still loves the ball a wee bit too much at times. Even Jacquet, impressive as he is, does have the occasional brain fart, which is only fair. At the other end of the experience scale, Araujo is still learning to speak the language which must hurt communications, and yet he still puts in remarkable performances week in, week out. Wirtz is showing more physicality, and has stopped being bundled off balls the way he used to. I can go on, but the important part is this: Iraola is still mixing the ingredients, we’re not there yet, but it sure is starting to feel like this recipe isn’t going to spoil.

That is a reason to celebrate.

The one goal came off another sloppy pass from Ali. He kinda made up for it later with an incredible, instinctive save that kept the hope alive, but it was the kind of mistake a good team, a team defending their crown, would take advantage of, and Arsenal did with a champion’s certainty. It’s disheartening to watch Ali’s distribution deteriorating the way it seems to be recently, and one can only hope it’s temporary, but if it isn’t, if it’s a sign of the inevitable decline, then we may be closer than we think to Mamardashvilli stepping in to number one.

In the end, like one of my colleagues said in our team chat, I haven’t been happier to lose in a while. Well, since Klopp’s time. For Iraola to build something this evocative of the German’s heavy metal approach this quickly makes my heart sing. Losing is fine, especially to this Arsenal at its peak, as long as you lose well.

Which the Reds absolutely did.

And let’s also say this: if things keeps improving in this manner, the reverse fixture may not be quite the given that we might otherwise imagine.