Anfield: Arsenal kick started their new Premier League campaign with a fighting 1-1 draw against a resilient Liverpool side under new manager Roy Hodgson. Even in the absence of the talismatic midfielder Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal kept more of the ball and looked more fluent in midfield, thanks to the trio comprising of Samir Nasri, Thomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby. Arsenal did manage to keep more of the ball but failed to create too many chances to bother Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina. In the first half Arsenal were clearly the better side overall. The highlight of the first half though was the sending off of Liverpool's new recruit and someone who was seen bragging a lot about his new club and how he thought he would contribute to the club he thought was great and blah blah... but it was clearly not his night and after a rash tackle on Arsenal defender Kosceilny, he was shown a straight red in the 44th minute much to the disbelief of the Anfield faithful.
The second half saw the home side start brightly as their sole striker David Ngog, who started in place of the unfit Fernando Torres gave his side the lead with a clinical finish to which Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia and no answer. The game picked up after around 54 mins when Arsenal felt the urgency to create more and show more attacking intent. Eboue and Wilshere were substituted for Rosicky and Walcott and their presence certainly improved the pace of Arsenal's game. Rosicky looked almost infallible and he almost gave Arsenal the equaliser after an exemplary display of individual brilliance which saw his shot being pushed away by Reina. Liverpool didn't let Cole's sending off affect them and made some good inroads in Arsenal's half to create some discomfort in the Gunners' defense. Kosceinly was very solid at the back and was the best defender for Arsenal. He didn't let Torres(who came on as a sub) settle and held him with ease a couple of times. When it looked like Liverpool would clinch a commendable win with 10 men, a goal keeping blunder by Pepe Reina handed Arsenal an equaliser in the 90th minute, much to the dismay of the home crowd and much to the relief of the visiting gooners.
All in all, it was a fair result. Arsenal didn't create much and at times looked ordinary even after keeping much of the possession. Arshavin in particular looked clueless all game and seemed to have lost pace and that spark which saw him scoring a magnificent 4 at Anfield 2 years ago. The stand out players for Arsenal were Samir Nasri, Thomas Rosicky and Laurent Kosceinly. The Gunners no doubt would be content with a draw, but they need to improve if they want to score more goals especially against top sides. Fabregas' absence did affect them for sure and once he returns, Arsenal's midfield would look much better. RVP too came on for about 20 mins which was good to see...hopefully he'd be fully fit for next week's home clash against Blackpool.
happy with a draw. We were lucky to get a point and need to improve quickly before next week. Fabregas will be back that should provide us with a much needed boost in midfield.
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