LEAGUE CUP – At 10 for an hour, Arsenal hold a draw at Liverpool in the semi-final first leg

On paper, the two teams parted with a draw. But Arsenal, reduced to 10 in the 24th minute and the expulsion of Xhaka, is the moral winner of this League Cup semi-final first leg (0-0). Solidarity behind, daring in sequence, Mikel Arteta’s men heroically snatched a 0-0 victory against the Reds short of ideas. Everything will be decided next Thursday (8:45 p.m.) in the return leg of the semi-final second leg.

Heroic Arsenal in Defense

The game licked by the Gunners had been praised for several weeks, carried by the triumphant youth of Saka, Martinelli or even Odegaard. But, tonight, they have shown very different qualities to hold up against Liverpool. Abandoned by Xhaka due to a naive fault by the Swiss on Jota in the position of last defender (24th), Alexandre Lacazette’s teammates took their captain’s example. The Frenchman, not stingy with efforts, showed the way forward, especially in bad times.

Because Arsenal has long done the round back, arched in front of the cages of Ramsdale before the break. While Arteta’s move from 4-to-5 defense after Xhaka’s exit is to be credited, the heroism of his players did the rest. With only one professional midfielder in the field, namely Lokonga. In the second period, the Gunners did not confine themselves to defending and sometimes brought danger to the defense of the Reds. For example, it took a good exit from Alisson to remove the ball from the feet of Saka (72nd).

A single strike on target for Liverpool

Opposite, Liverpool seemed to pay for the absences of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, who left for CAN. Minamino, as fast as he was, did not show the same skill as the two African players. Worse, he wasted the Reds’ biggest opportunity at the very end of the game, yet alone against the cages (90th).

An opportunity symptomatic of everything that did not work for Jürgen Klopp’s men this Thursday: imprecision, an ounce of sufficiency in numerical superiority. The encouraging entries from young Jones and Williams were not enough to turn the tide of a game Liverpool did not deserve to win. It was not until the strike of the first named in added time (90th + 2) to attend the first attempt on target of the Reds. It is up to Jordan Henderson’s troop to show other qualities next Thursday at the Emirates Stadium in the return match. Carried by a London audience this season, the Gunners have every reason to dream of a final against Chelsea at Wembley.