Jazz vs. Science: The Difference Between Liverpool and Arsenal
What might have been a huge match in the title race on Thursday will be nothing of the sort. How far apart are Arsenal and Liverpool?
Fortunes can swiftly turn. Liverpool were top of the Premier League entering the first weekend of October. They are 11th across the 14 matchweeks since, with one point fewer than Everton in that period (but keep that stat to yourself).
The Reds travel to Arsenal on Thursday. It would’ve been viewed as a hugely important match in the title race three months ago. With the teams now 14 points apart, it’s anything but.
Ideas for articles can be filed away, forgotten or become obsolete. Often all three. A strange imbalance crossed my mind in the summer. Arsenal were praised for their set play prowess after scoring 15 league goals from them in 2024/25 whereas little was made of Liverpool’s 14 via counter attacks being a new record for that type of goal. It was probably because there was no counter coach for camera operators to pick out.
The idea for the article (as per the title) was to view the two teams as jazz and science. Arsenal’s dead ball approach is very methodical, relying on angles, ball trajectories and outnumbering opponents at the back post. Liverpool had shown they could be more freeform, darting across the pitch, all over the place in a good way. Opening your mind like a John Coltrane solo.
The article was uncompleted, the comparison no longer as strong. The Gunners have scored so many set piece goals this season that they could feasibly top the Premier League record of 26, set by the Reds in 2013/14. Liverpool, meanwhile, have scored just three fast break goals and are playing like they can’t do anything quickly, least of all tear up field to put the ball in the net.
Arne Slot is looking for improvisation in a different sense this term. “To create chances against a low block you need pace, individual special moments to create an overload,” he said after his side drew 0-0 with Leeds. Recognisable patterns of play would be more reassuring yet the Liverpool head coach wants an attacker to deliver a slice of magic by conjuring something out of nothing. That said, the set play process at the club has recently come under harsh scrutiny too. The jazz and the science both need to heat up for the Reds.
The issue is almost inevitably going to come to a head, probably via a head, at the Emirates. If Arsenal win as expected - most likely 1-0 thanks to a corner - then Liverpool will be 17 points adrift. The top two in 2024/25 have been turned upside down with a chasm between them inside half a season.
Opta’s data suggests the margin between the two is not quite so seismic. Their expected points table has the Gunners 8.1 ahead of the Reds. That immediately shows that finishing has had an outsized influence, as it so often does.
But how far apart are the two teams, really? Will it take much for Liverpool to be performing at the same level as the league leaders once again? The underlying numbers can give Kopites a realistic kernel of optimism that all is not lost.
