Moments before Liverpool rolled the ball forward to commence the second half, NBC Sports Network’s best play-by-play commentator Arlo White reminded his audience just how long it’d been since Liverpool and Arsenal endured a scoreless draw.
The last such match was January 9, 1999, he said in his standard poetic articulation. Following which, White, wary of the commentator’s curse, said he didn’t think Monday night’s match had the making to break that streak.
Arlo White was wrong, which is a foreign and unnatural sentence to type. The match finished 0-0 as both sides share the spoils.
In defence of White: who could’ve possibly predicted this match would’ve ended scoreless after that scintillating first half? Arsenal controlled the ball and Liverpool the chances. Aaron Ramsey had a goal wrongfully called off while Petr Cech stood on his head to deny Christian Benteke and Philippe Coutinho.
It was Arsenal’s turn in the second half to match Liverpool’s banging of the woodwork from the previous half while it was Simon Mignolet’s turn to match Cech’s heroics upon returning from the tunnel for the second 45.
A brilliant 90 minutes of football, more thrilling than most multi-goal games. The spectacle was enthralling; it reached through the TV and pulled the audience to the edge of their seats.
Player ratings ahead. Don’t be shy in telling me how many times I was wrong.
Simon Mignolet, 9 (MoM): This game had everything but a goal. The finishing may not have been as polished as either manager would’ve preferred, but either team could’ve, and probably should’ve, had two goals each. But they didn’t. And that’s due to Mignolet and Cech. The Belgian was beaten by Ramsey’s aforementioned wrongful non-goal, but was near perfect in plays that would count. His near post was rattled by an Alexis Sanchez strike six yards out, but Mignolet stonewalled Giroud from the same distance. His shot stopping was world class and he stoutly dealt with crosses, his typical bugaboo. Mignolet enjoys his third consecutive clean sheet to open this season and there’s no reason for this trend to discontinue.
Nathaniel Clyne, 7: Clyne played very well again on Monday night, proving he was the one player Liverpool needed most from Southampton last summer when Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert arrived but not the fullback. At any rate, he’s here, albeit a year late. Clyne continues to render himself an extremely successful addition. He got forward and back too many times to count, tirelessly doing his best to muffle Sanchez while contributing to the attack at the same time.
Martin Skrtel, 7: The Slovakian was about two feet away from clinically banging the ball into his bottom corner late on, but that touch saved the result. Theo Walcott was awaiting just behind him, a tap in screaming his name. He and Lovren dealt well with Giroud and all the buzzing around him from Arsenal’s attacking midfielders. Great game for the pair.
Dejan Lovren, 7: When will it be safe to assume that THIS is the real Dejan Lovren standing up and not last year’s (hopefully) faux version? Maybe not yet, but it’s got to be soon. Confident away from the ball and staunch when his attacker held it, Lovren contributed a huge part to an entertaining clean sheet at the Emirates.
Joe Gomez, 6: A treble of matches to begin his Liverpool career and a treble of 6’s from me. He was slightly worse than his opening two matches but the game seemed to find him more tonight. There’s no hiding against Arsenal and the 18-year-old certainly wasn’t attempting to bury himself into anonymity. He was up for the fight and made it difficult for Arsenal to find success on his left flank.
Lucas Leiva, 6 (OFF 76′): With exit rumours swirling aplenty surrounding the Brazilian’s stratosphere after failing to make the matchday squad for Liverpool’s first two 1-0 wins of the season, Lucas started Monday night. Like the experienced and reliable veteran he is, the transition back into the side was seamless. Outside of his fitness not being sharp, which isn’t surprising given his lack of first-team football, he enjoyed a solid game.
James Milner, 7: Just two league matches into his Liverpool career and he’s leading his new side out onto the slick surface at the Emirates confidently sporting the captain’s armband. Milner elevated his game and thrived as the captain, barking orders to the team late on to stay compact when it seemed inevitable Arsenal would find its way through the fortress Liverpool had built around the goal. Refusing to leave a blade of grass untouched, he might’ve ran a marathon Monday night.
Emre Can, 6: A satisfactory match from Can in his first start of the new campaign. When he picks up the ball, there’s just one word that can correctly depict the scene: power. Can traveled on numerous powerful runs without crafting a goal. He worked his tail off for the team in attack and defence, a very solid first start.
Roberto Firmino, 5 (OFF 63′): Speaking of first starts, Firmino’s simply wasn’t good enough. There were flashes of quality again but no consistency. In the minutes leading up to his removal there were multiple instances where he watched Nacho Monreal sprint past him and neglected to pick him up, leaving more running for Milner and Clyne while pulling Lucas out of place. It wasn’t abominable, but it certainly wasn’t great. He’ll look to improve on his full debut in Liverpool’s next match against West Ham.
Christian Benteke, 7: We all knew that Benteke was great in the air before Liverpool brought him on board but, man, he is DAMN good in the air. It feels as if he never loses an aerial dual. At half-time he must’ve picked up his mobile to call the authorities and report the robbery of a goal from Petr Cech on him. Yes, he still should’ve scored, but, take nothing away from the save. His link-up play was quality again. Benteke seems to be settling in quite nicely.
Philippe Coutinho, 6 (OFF 88′): Coutinho put on one hell of a show in the first half but his second half sequel wasn’t anything near his first 45. He rattled the crossbar after five minutes, he put Bellerin on skates in the dying minutes of the first half then loaded up his right leg dense with power, only for Cech to get the slightest of touches to push it onto the post. That is peak Coutinho, bar Cech refusing to let the net bulge. His second half obscurity buoy’s his match rating to a respectable 6.
SUBS
Jordon Ibe, 4 (ON 63′): When Ibe entered the fray I was excited and thought he’d catch the ambitious Monreal out of position and run at either centre-half. Or do anything to wreak havoc with his pace, basically. Well, he didn’t do any of that. He was timid, tucked in far too often and didn’t nearly make enough forward runs.
Jordan Rossitter, 6 (ON 76′): He was a straight swap for Lucas and played similarly sturdy at the anchor of the midfield. Rossitter got stuck in, won a few tackles and did his job well.
Alberto Moreno, N/A (ON ’88): Moreno picked up the ball at midfield on the counter in the second minute of stoppage time with eyes for goal. Unfortunately those eyes never left the goal, ignoring an open Liverpool player running to his right. Had he slipped him in, maybe Liverpool take three points at the death. We’ll never know.
