MATCH REPORTS: Liverpool 1 – Arsenal 2

A Liverpool-Arsenal encounter has always been a thrilling entertaining ride, partly due to Arsenal’s open game complimenting Liverpool’s counter-attacking exploits.

A game of 2 halves, and depending on which side of the fence you’re on, you might want to forget one or the other.

Leading 1-0 at half time, I was in a buoyant mood, confident that the Arsenal backline will be having a nightmare second half, but Arsene Wenger seemed to have prepared the perfect script to turn the tide around.

An unfortunate ricochet off Johnson led to their equaliser and a bullet of a snapshot from Arshavin killed off the home team effectively.

While Johnson may take the blame, space on the left flank wasn’t closed down enough to prevent the cross from causing any damage, and it’s a team game ultimately, and the team just didn’t do enough for a win.

But Arsene Wenger and his boys certainly did enough.

What he said remains indefinitely within the walls of the dressing room and whatever words were used, they effectively sealed Liverpool’s fate to another loss, and condemning the Red’s into a stupor induced performance — cue criticism from all corners of the web.

Yet again, a lacklustre second half Liverpool performance was enough to raise the ire of the manager and fans alike — but it’s good to know that we’re strongly behind the team.

You’ll never walk alone is the motto, and judging by the lightning pace of the first half, you can somehow sense that this unwelcomed storm is nearing its end.

You begin to wonder what happened to the Liverpool of season past, where they, more often than not, anxiously made us wait into the injury time for a respite in the form of a last minute equaliser or game winner.

The Liverpool of this season somehow presents itself as a team that is just not willing to fight back or keep possession and up the tempo for that much needed equaliser.

It is as if everyone stalled and was simply hoping for someone else to provide that game-winning inspiration, and just too bad that Gerrard and Torres, both fresh from injury and not fully fit to play the role of saviour this time round.

There was not to be any saviour last night, and deservingly Arsenal brought home the 3 points gleefully.

But there was a glimpse of silver lining decorating the boots of Aquilani as his 30 minutes or so worth of gametime exposed sneak previews of things to come.

Next up Wigan, a game where you can expect the unexpected, from a team that is consistently inconsistent.

There’s a light at the end of the tunnel — but I’m hoping that it isn’t just another train of bad dreams.

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AUTHOR BIO: Mar may be a supporter of countless football teams but he’s a Kopites through and through. His views may not necessarily reflect the subject’s opinions, but its much more balanced than most. Do catch him at his personal blog.mar.sg and say hi.