SPORTING ETHICS OF A ROUGH FA CUP DRAW

Jan 06, 2024

Arsenal vs Liverpool is always a monster game – it’s not one I have fond memories of, if I’m honest. We’ve been getting battered since the Brendan Rodgers days. Even under Arteta, bar a few freak results; it’s mostly been unhappy times.

The FA Cup presents all sorts of ethical sporting dilemmas.

Klopp wasn’t interested in cups in the early years when he was chasing league titles. Arteta hasn’t been very good in these competitions since he won it in his first season in peak covid with a banter squad.

This game is a nightmare for both teams for these reasons:

LIVERPOOL CRUNCH: They’ve played a lot of games lately and they have a semi-final against Fulham in 4 days time. The League Cup is an easier path to a trophy with Middlesborough and Chelsea in the other semi. There’s a chance Klopp might see the FA Cup as overkill as he pursues a title and Europa League glory. He has a good squad, not a deep squad.

ARSENAL FATIGUE: The players are cooked. You can see that in the way they are applying themselves and how badly they took the West Ham result with that gross performance against Fulham. Arteta has to seriously consider how he sets up the team this weekend. There’s talk of Zinchenko being ready – he won’t be, because not even Mikel is mad enough to bring his injury-prone left-back back into the squad early for a cup game. We only need Zinchenko to stay fit for Palace, Forest, and the second Liverpool game at Anfield. He needs to be wrapped in cotton wool and dumped in a kryo chamber until Jan 20th.

What is worth noting is that 2 weeks off in sport is manageable and good for the body… 3 weeks off can start to affect fitness and form. Arteta can’t really afford to rest players in this game because that’d mean a chunk of squad out the game for 3 weeks.

THREE ON THE BOUNCE: Arteta will know the impact of losing three games on the bounce, at home, will not be good for the home crowd and it could impact the confidence of the players. At worst, he needs to spark some sort of reaction, and we need to see a fiery performance. A result could also calm the nerves of some fans who think Liverpool have stolen a march on us already. The worst thing that can happen with cup games is the players don’t want it because time off is more appealing. We saw performances like that under Wenger and it had the second-order effect of impacting future performances.

THE DRAW: Both teams will be desperate to avoid a draw. The replays will be on Jan 15th. That’s 5 days before the Premier League restarts. A nightmare for Liverpool, but really, a nightmare for both sides who don’t want to keep expending energy in grudge match showdowns. Expect the game to be off the chain, end to end, a battle for a knockout.

ARTETA TROPHY CABINET: The manager has been in a state of building for a long time, we all appreciate what he’s done, we love that we’re competing… but a trophy, even a small one, would show that we’re tracking. If we don’t win a cup this year, the project goes on… but it does open the manager up to critique. Is this tenure going to be like Pochetinos at Spurs or will it finally convert into the one that Klopp built at Liverpool? We are close to the 5-year mark. The process has been trusted, the squad is in all the comps it should be, we just need a shinier trophy cabinet.

Ok, that’s my Liverpool preview done. Jump on the Before the Whistle podcast, sign up to Patreon Exclusive for the ON THE WHISTLE tomorrow, and lets keep them crossed for a BIG win.

— LE GROVE (@LeGrove) January 5, 2024