LIEGE, BELGIUM - DECEMBER 12: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team's second goal with teammate Alexandre Lacazette during the UEFA Europa League group F match between Standard Liege and Arsenal FC at Stade Maurice Dufrasne on December 12, 2019 in Liege, Belgium. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Arsenal Vs Standard Liege: 5 things we learned – Here come Freddie’s youngsters
MILAN, ITALY – DECEMBER 10: FC Internazionale coach Antonio Conte looks on during the UEFA Champions League group F match between FC Internazionale and FC Barcelona at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on December 10, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images)
4. Winning the group ideal
While the performance is perhaps the more pertinent aspect of Thursday night, the result is not completely meaningless. Arsenal may have essentially secured qualification into the knockout stages prior to their Liege trip, but it is important that they were able to win the group, even if if required some help along the way.
The Gunners draw coupled with Eintracht Frankfurt’s shock defeat to Vitoria SC meant that Freddie Ljungberg’s side would enter the Round of 32 draw as group winners. This means they are a seeded team and cannot draw another seeded team.
This is vital. The 12 group winners will all be seeded teams, as will Inter Milan, Ajax, Red Bull Salzburg and Benfica, the best four teams from the eight that enter the competition from the Champions League. This means that Arsenal will play a second-placed team from the Europa League group stages or one of Bayer Leverkusen, Shakhtar Donetsk, Olympiakos or Club Brugge. All in all, this is a much kinder draw.
Arsenal this season, they toiled to a difficult draw with a lesser team thanks to a largely underwhelming performance splintered by a ten-minute explosion that featured some of their best play in some time. Freddie Ljungberg’s young side travelled to Standard Liege hoping to lay down an offensive marker. The pitch had other ideas, but thanks to Alexandre Lacazette and some Bukayo Saka, they were able<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50749747"> to rescue a 2-2 draw</a> and, coupled with Eintracht Frankfurt’s defeat, top the group.</p>
<h2><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/pain-in-the-arsenal-podcast-on-arsenal-fc/id1314514440?ign-mpt=uo%3D4%26amp%3Buo%3D4&mt=2%22>Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — A Christmas Miracle</a></h2>
<p>Here are five things we learned.</p>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-96370" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1193562580-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LIEGE, BELGIUM – DECEMBER 12: Interim Manager of Arsenal, Freddie Ljungberg looks on prior to the UEFA Europa League group F match between Standard Liege and Arsenal FC at Stade Maurice Dufrasne on December 12, 2019 in Liege, Belgium. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)</p>
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<h4>5. Freddie’s favourites reveal themselves</h4>
<p>As is often the case when a match in a lesser competition is next on the schedule, the thinking of interim head coach <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=freddie+ljungberg%22>Freddie Ljungberg</a> was unveiled that bit more on Thursday night, especially regarding the pecking order of the players at certain positions.</p>
<p>Gabriel Martinelli was rested while Alexandre Lacazette started up-front. Matteo Guendouzi has seemingly slipped behind both Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira in central midfield, while Calum Chambers is now the number one centre-half with both David Luiz and Sokratis starting here.</p>
<p>Whether this will be the case for the remainder of Ljungberg’s tenure or not remains to be seen. This is only his fourth game in charge. He is allowed to change his mind. And with a packed festive period on the horizon, there will, of course, be an element of rotation that enters his selections also. Nevertheless, if you wanted a peek into Freddie’s thinking when he first inherited the team, this was the greatest peeling back of the curtain.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 4. Winning the group ideal </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-96389" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1193266596-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">MILAN, ITALY – DECEMBER 10: FC Internazionale coach Antonio Conte looks on during the UEFA Champions League group F match between FC Internazionale and FC Barcelona at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on December 10, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images)</p>
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<h4>4. Winning the group ideal</h4>
<p>While the performance is perhaps the more pertinent aspect of Thursday night, the result is not completely meaningless. Arsenal may have essentially secured qualification into the knockout stages prior to their Liege trip, but it is important that they were able to win the group, even if if required some help along the way.</p>
<p>The Gunners draw coupled with Eintracht Frankfurt’s shock defeat to Vitoria SC meant that Freddie Ljungberg’s side would enter the Round of 32 draw as group winners. This means they are a seeded team and cannot draw another seeded team.</p>
<p>This is vital. The 12 group winners will all be seeded teams, as will Inter Milan, Ajax, Red Bull Salzburg and Benfica, the best four teams from the eight that enter the competition from the Champions League. This means that Arsenal will play a second-placed team from the Europa League group stages or one of Bayer Leverkusen, Shakhtar Donetsk, Olympiakos or Club Brugge. All in all, this is a much kinder draw.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 3. Options, options, options </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-96393" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1193571418-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LIEGE, BELGIUM – DECEMBER 12: Zinho Vanheusden of Standard Liege battles for possession with Reiss Nelson of Arsenal during the UEFA Europa League group F match between Standard Liege and Arsenal FC at Stade Maurice Dufrasne on December 12, 2019 in Liege, Belgium. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)</p>
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<h4>3. Options, options, options</h4>
<p>Throughout the first half, Arsenal really struggled to play out from the back — which is a troubling pattern with this team. In the past, it has been the pace of their passing and the overall tempo with which they have played that has held them back in this aspect of their play. This time, it was options.</p>
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<p>Let’s start with Emiliano Martinez. Martinez had two or three curious moments with the ball at his feet. But while they made him look incompetent, the true fault lay with centre-halves, none of which were willing to pull wide and away from a defender to receive a pass, leaving Martinez with no options. He then panicked and faltered, admittedly, but the initial errors came from those in front of him.</p>
<p>Similarly, Dinos Mavropanos struggled greatly to progress play. Like with Martinez, he did not help his cause, playing one terrible pass to the edge of the penalty area and foolishly trying to dribble out of the defensive third when under pressure, but there were no passing options on either occasion, Ainsley Maitland-Niles particularly responsible with poor movement off the ball.</p>
<p>Unless they had ample time and space on the ball, the Arsenal players did not want the ball. Joe Willock was poor in this area, Matteo Guendouzi was often isolated, while Sokratis clearly had little intention of getting involved. It may be the distributor that looks stupid when the team fails to play out from the back and loses the ball, but often, it is on the teammates to provide suitable options. Here, Arsenal failed to do so.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 2. So much for competition </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LIEGE, BELGIUM – DECEMBER 12: Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal battles for possession with Kostas Laifis of Standard Liege during the UEFA Europa League group F match between Standard Liege and Arsenal FC at Stade Maurice Dufrasne on December 12, 2019 in Liege, Belgium. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)</p>
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<h4>2. So much for competition</h4>
<p>Entering Thursday night’s trip to Liege, there was an expectation that Freddie Ljungberg would provide some of his lesser-used veterans with the chance to prove their worth, such that they can establish a place in the Premier League XI. Those that were dropped for Monday’s victory over West Ham United, for instance, would have been keen to make their voice heard.</p>
<p>But none of Arsenal’s veteran ‘starters’ impressed to the degree that they deserve to start at the weekend against Manchester City. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=arsenal%22>Alexandre Lacazette</a> played the full 90 minutes up-front and, while scoring, did not look head and shoulders above the other players on the pitch as he should have done. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=matteo+guendouzi%22>Matteo Guendouzi</a> was fine in central midfield but did not exactly pile on the pressure on Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira. Similarly, <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=sokratis%22>Sokratis was extremely poor once more, especially in possession, though will likely start with Ljungberg resting him in the final moments of the match.</p>
<p>As the festive period looms and the inevitable rotation begins, these players will be given more opportunities to prove that they should be starting ahead of others in the squad. But if you were hoping for them to display the inner-squad competition that Arsenal boast on Thursday night, you will have come away disappointed.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 1. Smith Rowe, Saka shine </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-96387" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1193571106-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LIEGE, BELGIUM – DECEMBER 12: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal scores his team’s second goal during the UEFA Europa League group F match between Standard Liege and Arsenal FC at Stade Maurice Dufrasne on December 12, 2019 in Liege, Belgium. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)</p>
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<h4>1. Smith Rowe, Saka shine</h4>
<p>While some of the more experienced players underwhelmed on Thursday, two youth starlets shone brighter than any others. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=bukayo+saka%22>Bukayo Saka</a>, initially playing at left wing-back and later at left-back, and<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=emile+smith+rowe%22> Emile Smith Rowe</a>, starting on the right-wing and then moving centrally, both positions providing freedom to roam throughout the pitch, were the best players on the pitch.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<p>Saka provided the inspirational moments to inject Arsenal’s comeback. His cross for Alexandre Lacazette’s header was sensational, whipping a vicious ball that flashed across the six-yard box and left no opportunity for a defender to clear or the goalkeeper to collect. He then topped that moments later, darting inside, playing a neat one-two with Gabriel Martinelli, and bending a right-footed shot into the far corner.</p>
<p>Smith Rowe, meanwhile, did not provide the star-studded moments like Saka but was overall the brighter player. His influence was relentless, throughout the 90 minutes. Like a more mobile and willing Mesut Ozil, he dropped into pockets of space that made him incredibly difficult to mark, received the ball on the half-turn and then progressed play from there. He pressed hard off the ball, was extremely tidy in possession, and drifted across the pitch beautifully, always looking to thread passes forward or spin beyond Alexandre Lacazette himself.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Arsenal Vs Standard Liege: Player ratings" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-player-ratings-emile-smith-rowe-shines/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-5-things-learned-here-come-freddie-youngsters/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/12/12/arsenal-vs-standard-liege-player-ratings-emile-smith-rowe-shines/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Arsenal Vs Standard Liege: Player ratings </a> </div>
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<p>As Ljungberg continues his tenure as interim head coach, look for the young players to burst onto the scene. He knows them, believes in them, and is willing to play them. And with Saka and Smith Rowe leading the way, why wouldn’t he?</p><!—pageview_candidate—></p>">
