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It was an absolute disaster of a game for Arsenal at Anfield, as they were thrashed to death by the Premier League's leaders Liverpool. The scoreline read 5-1 and it was an embarrassing display by the North London side. The Gunners clearly won't be having a good night's sleep for weeks after watching their team getting downplayed to such an extent.
A Bobby Firmino hat-trick, Mohamed Salah's penalty and an easy Sadio Mane finish were enough to see off the visitors, and Liverpool completely switched off their engines in the second half.
The lack of quality substitutes on the bench for Arsenal made it even harder for Emery to make decisions, as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil, and even Hector Bellerin, missed out the trip to Merseyside.
Well, they weren't the only players injured. The likes of Rob Holding, Danny Welbeck and Nacho Monreal were also injured. Basically, six of the starting team players were injured and this was a huge blow to Emery and co. The defeat was expected but not with such a huge margin.
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However, there is still time left for Arsenal to make a comeback and book a spot in the top 4. They are five points behind Chelsea, seven behind Tottenham, nine behind Manchester City, and 16 points behind Liverpool; a big reason to worry.
But there are a few factors which could help Arsenal get back to winning ways
#3 Heavy transfer links with Eric Bailly and Ever Banega
It is crystal clear that Arsenal needs some world-class reinforcements in their defensive line in the winter transfer market, as they have conceded 30 goals in 20 games, more than Liverpool (8) and their city-rivals Tottenham (21) combined.
With Holding out, the Arsenal board need to get at least one quality defender next month. Shkodran Mustafi is clearly not good enough, and Laurent Koscienly's injury has had a really bad effect on his game. Sokratis is Emery's choice, so he will be in the squad for years to come.
Eric Bailly will certainly solve the defensive crisis in the Arsenal squad, but the deal is still not complete. According to many media outlets, Bailly is allowed to leave Manchester United in January, while Arsenal are also linked to Ever Banega, who plays for Sevilla as a central midfielder.
Several Gooners have been disappointed with the board for going after a 30-year-old Banega instead of completing the deals with Nicolas Pepe or Ousmane Dembele. But the thing is, it is better to get Banega currently, for a few reasons.
Firstly, Arsenal do not have time to test. Emery has worked with Banega in the past and the Argentine knows Emery's style of play, which would make it much easier for him to start performing on a great level. Secondly, he is extremely experienced. Emery led Sevilla to a hat-trick of Europa Leagues between 2014 and 2016, with Banega being a Sevilla player in 2015 and 2016.
Dembele is highly unlikely to join the Gunners and Pepe would cost us staggering €90 million, so let's keep the expensive signings aside.
Banega would add immense quality to the squad. He can replace Granit Xhaka at times and I doubt if you have noticed, but Xhaka has been playing game after game for Arsenal, without adequate rest. The reason is that Arsenal do not have a CM as good as him in their ranks.
So, according to me, Banega would be a vital addition to the squad.
#2 Lucas Torreira's form
Lucas Torreira is the man Arsenal's midfield heavily relies on. The 22-year-old was the man of the match when Liverpool last met Arsenal at the Emirates, but the Uruguayan could not do much damage at Anfield. In fact, Lucas' mistake was the reason for Firmino's second goal.
However, the fans and the coach back him to get back in form, and he dominates the pitch better than everyone else on the team. He has arguably been one of the best central-defensive midfielders in the Premier League this season, but we cannot expect him to make vital tackles in the 18-yard box, can we?
Arsenal defenders have been horrible this season. A complete overhaul in the defensive lineups is required, and Bellerin must return as early as possible. Without him, the defence shatters down.
Coming to Torreira, fatigue must be the reason for his silent game against the scousers, and he must be benched for the next game as Fulham must be an easy opponent to win against.
#1 Unai Emery's tactical nous
One just cannot blame Emery for the horrific display by Arsenal at Anfield. Emery managed to control things till the 15th minute, but Firmino's first goal was where Arsenal pressed the "self-destruction" button.
Arsenal's defence switched off several times, and Liverpool are arguably the best at capitalising on mistakes. Emery had no player on the bench who could provide him with extra quality on the pitch.
Emery was short of players. Whereas if Mkhitaryan and Ozil would've been available for the game, the scoreline would have been significantly better for Arsenal.
The Spanish coach knows what he has to do, and the players he has been trying to sign in January says it all. He knows where Arsenal are lapsing and, with the budget available to him, he is trying his best to help his side finish in the top 4.
Emery's game style of keeping possession of the ball and pressing high up the pitch after possession loss is a style of play not every player is comfortable with. He is currently working with Arsene Wenger's players, and he needs a complete overhaul in the squad to execute his ideas into the team.
With a budget of just €50 to €60 million, the Spaniard brought in Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, Sokratis, Bernd Leno and Stephan Lichtsteiner. Only the latter has disappointed the fans with his inconsistent performances, but the rest have impressed every Gunner.
PL managers like Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Maurizio Sarri were given hundreds of millions of euros to spend on transfers and look what Emery is getting. And still, Emery is competing against the giants, which is a great achievement in itself.
I, as a Gunner, have placed my belief in him as I have been following him as a coach for years. His time at Sevilla was pretty amazing and he brought some great players into the limelight when he was at Valencia as well.
Klopp took 3 and a half years to build his team, you just cannot expect Emery to do it in under six months, can you?
