Arsenal 1 Liverpool 1 [Premiership]
Lucas grabbed Fabregas‘s arm and spun him down in the area. But refs don’t do penalties for Arsenal.
Arsenal can’t rely on penalties. We know that.
This was Liverpool’s second team versus half of Arsenal’s first and six youth and reserves. Big risk.
Although it is 22 games unbeaten at the Emirates, and the Arsenal 100th goal this season, there has been no win here in seven weeks. Hardly the form of Champions.
A bit of a Kleenex tissue rather than a white flag in the first. Hoyte showed terrible positional sense. Eboue contrived to lose it more times than on Wednesday – a hard feat.
He typifies a lot recently – neither betwixt nor between; neither one thing or the other. In on goal, first time he elected for bobbly cross; the second time he sent a ball too far ahead of Fabregas.
Simple tactic for this Liverpool side with eight changes from Wednesday. Get the ball up to ex-Tottenham youth player Crouch at most opportunities, with Benayoun, Pennant and Lucas in to fight for second balls.
It was if the Kuyt goal on Wednesday hungover Arsenal in the first half. Liverpool were first to the ball. Arsenal’s passing was too slow to give Liverpool any problems.
Bendtner played up front on his own – a role which didn’t suit him. Gilberto, Fabregas and Flamini held the middle with Walcott and Eboue providing width.
The latent danger of Crouch was seen in the first two minutes as he unleashed a shot to test Almunia.
The nearest Arsenal came to reply was when Reina just beat Toure to a corner.
Riise cut inside Hoyte and linked up with Crouch for an open shot at goal – which he skied.
Liverpool were on top and Lucas and Pennant tried shots, before Benayoun, set up by Lucas, angled his shot wide of Almunia‘s post.
On the half-hour mark, Arsenal came into it more. Fabregas had a snap shot and soon after the ball broke kindly for Bendtner, following a Walcott run. But with plenty of time and options, the Dane shot straight at Reina.
Eboue then cut in free from the right, but his low bobbling cross was cleared by Finnan, before Fabregas could reach it.
On 42, direct style won the half for Liverpool, with Crouch winning the first ball from a Reina kick, Benayoun backing up and playing him in for a first time near post shot, which evaded Almunia. Like Rooney, Crouch scores a lot of goals against Arsenal.
The second started in the same pattern as the first, although the 6ft 4inch frame of Adebayor was seen limbering up.
Crouch shot speculatively, while Walcott went on a run and won a corner.
Toure unmarked should have done better from the corner.
Pennant, whose career should have blossomed more than it has done and a living embodiment that Arsene Wenger doesn’t get youth development right 100% of the time, gave away an unecessary free kick on the marauding Traore. Fabregas whipped it in and Bendtner, in similar fashion to the Tottenham winner headed into the empty net. Reina opted to stay.
Hoyte made way for Adebayor with Bendtner going left; Eboue dropped back to right back, with Walcott in front of him.
Fabregas swung in a corner – but like many crosses, failed to get beyond the first defender.
A flurry of substitutions changed the shape of the game, with Gerrard on for Pennant, Voronin on for Benayoun and Torres on for Crouch. Clichy came on for Traore who didn’t have a bad Premier League debut, with Hleb replacing the tiring Flamini.
And then it was a game of subs chances.
Bendtner showed class by dribbling inside the box but failed to find anyone.
Voronin was played in one on one and sent a relatively easy chance wide. Soon after he beat Almunia in the area but miskicked.
In injury time the ball fell to Hleb from a corner who could have scored with a more direct approach, but as ever he needed a touch, and the chance was gone, like any lingering title hopes, one suspects.
Two or three strong experienced quality players could have made all the difference. Some players are manifestly tired and need a break. The Arsenal style is based on fast passing and precision, hard to undertake effectively when tiredness sets in.
For the optimists, the team looks like improving on last year in both league and Champions League position. The danger is that Blackburn-PSV will happen in the form of Liverpool, in April rather than February.
But Arsenal are due a large slice of luck. And it might just manifest at Anfield.
Arsenal: Manuel Almunia, Kolo Toure, Justin Hoyte (Emmanuel Adebayor 57), Armand Traore (Gael Clichy 73), William Gallas, Emmanuel Eboue, Gilberto, Cesc Fabregas, Mathieu Flamini (Hleb 81), Theo Walcott, Nicklas Bendtner. Subs not used:Jens Lehmann, Alexandre Song
Liverpool: Jose Reina, Steve Finnan, Jamie Carragher, John Riise, Alvaro Arbeloa, Martin Skrtel,Damien Plessis, Lucas Leiva, Yossi Benayoun (Andrei Voronin 74), Jermaine Pennant (Steven Gerrard 66) Peter Crouch (Fernando Torres 81)
Subs not used: Charles Itandje, Sami Hyypia
Referee: Phil Dowd