Arsenal vs Liverpool: 5 Things We Learned from the Pulsating Draw
Emmanuel Eboue’s reckless and needless foul on Lucas condemned Arsenal to their fourth draw in five matches, stretching their meaningless unbeaten run to 15 matches.
Robin van Persie’s calm and composed penalty in the 98th minute looked to have won the game for Arsenal but Eboue’s mistake in the 101st minute meant that Liverpool earned a well deserved draw.
The last five minutes of the match was some of the most exciting football in recent time as the late drama more than made up for a timid match that looked to be petering out to a 0-0 draw.
Both teams desperately needed a win, albeit for completely different reasons.
Liverpool needed a win to continue their thrust for a spot in the Europa League while Arsenal needed the win to step up the pressure on Manchester United in their quest for their fourth Premier League crown.
In the end both Arsenal and Liverpool ended up doing their biggest rivals huge favors. Arsenal ensured that the pressure on Tottenham from Liverpool relaxed as a result of the draw while Liverpool ensured that Manchester United have a fairly easy path to become Champions of England.
For Arsenal to win the league would require a miracle of epic proportions as their fixtures ahead will be challenging to say the least.
Here is a look at five things we learned from Arsenal’s draw against Liverpool.
Liverpool’s Youngsters Are Just as Promising as Arsenal's
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It is a widely accepted fact that Arsenal is known to produce some of the most exciting talent in English football. This includes the likes of Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey and Wojciech Szczesny just to name a few.
On Sunday, three of these youngsters took the pitch with the English duo and the Polish shot stopper starting for the Gunners. But they were eclipsed by Liverpool’s youngsters who shined throughout.
With Agger out injured and with Fabio Aurelio picking up another injury seventeen minutes into the match, 17-year-old Jack Robinson was brought into play.
The other youngsters who started the game were John Flanagan who came in for Glen Johnson and Jay Spearing who came in for Liverpool’s injured captain, Steven Gerrard.
Jay Spearing soured an extremely impressive performance by conceding the penalty that allowed Robin van Persie to score. But despite conceding that penalty he performed solidly, closing down the Arsenal players and not giving them any space to work with.
John Flanagan put in another solid shift after making an highly impressive debut against Manchester City last Monday.
Many felt that Theo Walcott’s pace would prove to be too much to handle for young Robinson but he silenced Walcott as the winger struggled to outpace the 17-year-old. He would get back often to make the telling block and he did superbly to keep the in form winger grounded.
On a day when Wilshere and Walcott were not at their best it was the youngsters from Liverpool’s academy that impressed. In recent time the Merseyside club has struggled to produce top notch youngsters but right now, they have plenty of supremely talented youngsters coming through.
One of them is Martin Kelly who has been superb this season before his injury.
Arsenal’s Defense Does Not Get the Credit It Deserves
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Against Sunday, Arsenal’s best defender of the season so far, Johan Djourou made his return from injury after he injured his shoulder against Manchester United in the FA Cup.
This season he has formed an impeccable partnership with Laurent Koscielny and the duo have conceded a mere three goals this season which includes the goal scored by Liverpool.
With Thomas Vermaelen playing in just three matches this season, Arsenal have had to contend with playing with just three centre backs. The third centre back is Sebastian Squillaci.
While Koscielny has proved himself to be a fantastic buy, Squillaci has proved to be a liability as he has cost Arsenal several games.
Arsenal’s defense has come under severe criticism this season, but the question we have to ponder is, is it actually all that bad. After all only teams have conceded less goals than Arsenal this season, Chelsea and Manchester City.
This is despite Arsenal having to play without Vermaelen all season and with Djourou only playing regularly in the second half of the season.
While it is true that the partnership of Squillaci and Koscielny is extremely weak, Djourou has formed a great partnership with Koscielny and his partnership with Squillaci while not great was solid as well.
Arsenal’s defense has had several impressive performances this season and while a few changes maybe needed in this aspect, it is definitely not as bad as many make it out to be.
In Sunday’s match, Arsenal’s defenders were fairly solid with the biggest mistake coming from Eboue, Arsenal’s second choice left back who replaced the injured Bacary Sagna.
They did well in keeping Suarez and Carroll fairly quiet. It was the same attacking lineup that wrecked havoc against Manchester City but against Arsenal they were not as good.
It’s Arsenal’s Attack That is Letting Them Down
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Eventually it was Emmanuel Eboue that cost Arsenal the chance of getting all three points but the truth was that it was Arsenal’s attack that was causing worry to both Arsene Wenger and to those watching the match.
Even Wenger stated in the post match press conference that Arsenal’s inability to create clear cut chances was worrying.
For a team normally accused of having a weak defense, it was Arsenal’s much hyped attacking lineup that is letting them down and it is painfully obvious for everyone including Wenger.
We saw it against Sunderland, then against Blackburn and then again against Liverpool.
On all three occasions, the teams came to the Emirates with a stout defensive approach and it reaped rich rewards for the visitors on all occasions.
Arsenal was dominating possession and saw plenty of the ball, but the lack of the final ball and the lack of clear cut chances is the source of them dropping points.
On Sunday they had plenty of opportunities and there were some chances that you would have expected van Persie to put away.
The chance in the 84th minute symbolized the profligacy of Arsenal’s possession. Merely dominating the possession will do Arsenal no good—they need to create the final product.
In Arsenal’s last four home matches, they have scored just two goals, winning just one and drawing the rest. In all these matches Arsenal dominated the statistics but in all honesty they had little to show for their dominance and in all cases their opposition dealt easily.
The 1-1 Draw Was the Right Result
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Arsenal fans will feel hard done after Arsenal conceded a goal in what proved to be the last kick of the game thanks to Emmanuel Eboue’s inexplicable foul on Lucas Leiva.
But the reality was that it was exactly what both teams deserved.
While many Arsenal fans may feel that Liverpool were lucky to get a penalty in the 102nd minute, it was what they deserved.
For once it was Liverpool who were playing with a team that had three youngsters and despite their injury worries that is currently more than Arsenal’s they showed great spirit, passion and endeavor to keep it 0-0 till the end.
They defended with gusto and rarely gave Arsenal a sniff on goal. Even when Carragher got injured they remained defensively resolute and put in an organized and sturdy shift,
The fact that they got a goal and kept on trying to equalize too exemplifies the spirit they have.
Arsenal on the other hand, for all their domination, had nothing to show for it. The score was 0-0 with time running out and they had neither shown the killer instinct nor the ability to win it until Spearing’s foul on Fabregas.
Start Either Marouane Chamakh or Nicklas Bendtner
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As mentioned previously, throughout the match Arsenal failed to create clear cut opportunities that could have given them the win. At the end their inability to create opportunities ended up costing them all three points.
This season Wenger has stuck with the 4-2-3-1 formation and it has worked to great effect in the matches against Barcelona and Chelsea as Arsenal won both matches.
But as the season progressed, more and more teams have been able to effectively counter this strategy used by the Gunners with Sunderland, Blackburn and Liverpool walking out of Emirates with points.
There has been a tremendous hue and cry for Wenger to introduce the 4-4-2 with either Chamakh or Bendtner partnering van Persie up front and Sunday’s match only solidified that belief.
There is absolutely no doubt that van Persie is a top striker and his 17 goals this season is testimony to that. But he rarely plays as a frontman, a person to whom the full backs and wingers can cross the ball and it was evident on Sunday as several of Walcott's crosses fizzled past the box with no one attacking them.
By starting either of Chamakh or Bendtner, Wenger creates a player that can be targeted within the box and he creates a physical presence in the box.
With many crucial clashes coming up, Wenger should look to start either one of them.
