So last weekend I was rewatching old Premier League highlights when this itch started bothering me – just how much have Liverpool and Arsenal’s lineups actually changed these past five years? Figured I’d sit down and actually compare them season by season. Grabbed my dusty laptop where I keep football spreadsheets.
Digging Up Old Team Sheets
First thing – finding reliable starting XI data was a pain. Club sites only show current season, some stat sites locked their archives behind paywalls. Ended up cross-referencing fan forums with BBC match reports for each season. Wasted 20 minutes realizing I’d mixed up Arsenal’s 2020/21 lineup with cup games. Bloody hell.
Made this mess:
- Pulled up photos of handwritten team sheets from my old notebooks
- Scribbled formations on sticky notes for each season
- Took screenshots from highlight videos showing players’ positions
Spotted Some Mad Patterns
Arsenal’s wild shift from old to young jumped out immediately. In 2019 they still played Özil, Mustafi, Sokratis – proper experienced guys. By 2023? Nearly all their starting XI were academy kids or signings under 25. That backline aged backwards!
Meanwhile, Liverpool clung onto their legends way longer. Henderson and Milner starting every season until 2022. Even replaced them with Thiago (old) and Fabinho (experienced), not kids. Only major shakeup happened this year after all the midfielders left at once.
Position changes told a story too:
- Both teams’ wingers turned into attackers – Salah stopped tracking back as much around 2021, Saka stopped being a fullback.
- Striker roles got blurry – Firmino wasn’t really a #9, nor was Jesus. False nines all over.
My Cracked Phone Notes
Finished this madness by laying all my sticky notes on the kitchen table like a detective wall. Wife called me a nutter when she saw three years of Liverpool defenses spread next to bread crumbs.
Biggest surprise? How consistent the formations stayed until something broke. Klopp played 4-3-3 religiously until his midfield imploded. Arteta stubbornly used 4-2-3-1 even when losing. Made me realize changes only happen when forced – injuries, sales, bad runs. Otherwise? Don’t fix what ain’t broke, innit?
Took way longer than YouTube told me. But damn, seeing it all side-by-side – changes make way more sense now. Might do Chelsea vs City next when I recover from sticky-note madness.
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