The last Wednesday evening of January 2013 saw sixth entertain seventh in a clash that saw two clubs with aspirations of climbing the table in order to obtain the highest possible finish at the end of May.
Arsenal made six changes from their difficult away FA Cup trip to Brighton, in a 4-3-3 formation with the midfield trio consisting of Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla with Theo Walcott, Oliver Giroud and Lukas Podolski filling the forward positions for the home side.
The travelling Kop also saw a vast majority of changes to the Liverpool side that were so disappointingly beaten away at League One Oldham in their FA Cup fourth round fixture. Steven Gerrard came back into the starting side to captain the team; with veteran Jamie Carragher making only his third Premier League start at the expense of Martin Skrtel amongst other changes as the away side matched their counterparts in terms of the formation.
Kick-Off saw a fluid and fiery start in a seemingly must-win game for the away side if they were even to have a sniff of regaining Champions League status in the current campaign. Luis Suarez started wide left with Downing from the right and January signing Daniel Sturridge through the middle in his preferred central role.
Within five minutes Liverpool had a vital lead. Luis Suarez picked up the ball just inside from his starting wide position and although a poor pass was made, a slip from Arsenal full-back Sagna allowed Glen Johnson, who started from the left once again after Jose Enrique was only deemed fit to make the bench, in behind and after a decent ball in, more shambolic defending saw Arsenal captain Vermaelen swinging and missing, giving Daniel Sturridge the chance to make it four goals in five games, only to be denied by Wojech Szczesny.
However, more self-destructive defending from the home side let Luis Suarez have a free shot inside the box and after a deflection that saw Szczesny stranded, the ball nestled its way into the back of the net to give the reds an early advantage.
Straight after Pepe Reina, being recalled to the side, had to be alert to push away a good Theo Walcott effort to keep the score at one-nil to the away team.
The game was developing into a good one with Arsenal pressing high up the pitch in order to combat Liverpool’s pass-and-move philosophy and this was reaping rewards as Arsenal were seeing more of the ball and dictating most of the play without ever really penetrating the Liverpool back-line.
Suarez, sensational once again, with a sublime ball on the counter-attack saw Daniel Sturridge presented with the chance to add to his impressive Liverpool start, however he was to see his shot flash wide of the post.
Just after twenty minutes, Daniel Agger is unlucky not to double the away side’s advantage. After out-jumping Sagna to meet a Gerrard corner, the thunderous header from the Dane was agonisingly close and would have found the back of the net had it not been for Podolski’s goal-line clearance.
Despite seeing more of the ball, Arsenals defending was catastrophic and seemingly vulnerable, unlike the old Arsenal days. An already suspect back-line was hit harder by the loss of Gibbs, who picked up and injury and was replaced by Andre Santos at left-back for the Gunners.
It was Liverpool who carved out the better chances however despite having less of the ball and after some good hold-up work from Downing, the impressive Jordan Henderson latched onto a good pass to see the onrushing Szczesny. Henderson has tried the audacious lob, but rather than finding the back of the net, it found the roof of it instead.
Kevin Friend blew his whistle for half-time, with Liverpool leading one-nil, probably deservedly after showing a steel in their approach to defending that was missing from a lacklustre display at Oldham 3 days previously.
The second half kicked off with both sides staying the same, in their 4-3-3 formations and matching each other across all areas of the pitch.
Liverpool had an early shout for a penalty as a ball was clipped into Daniel Sturridge, it seemed to hit Vermaelen’s hand twice – first unintentionally, second replays clearly showed was deliberate. However, the decision was not given.
Jamie Carragher back in the side epitomised what defending is all about. A block from a thunderous Podolski drive summed up his strong commitment and loyalty to Liverpool Football Club.
Yet, despite Arsenal keeping the ball they lacked penetration and were made to pay. Jordan Henderson finding himself at the forefront of the midfield trio, picked up the ball deep into the Arsenal half, with a good bit of skill he wriggled past Mertesacker and Santos, holding off the latter only for his shot to be returned rather fortuitously to tap into an empty net and double the lead, much to the delight of Henderson and Rodgers alike.
That seemed to be the game sewn up, with Arsenal at their lowest point, Liverpool in the ascendency backed by the travelling Kop now in full voice. However, this was not to be the case.
Minimal contact from Lucas, gave away a freekick, only for the impressive Wilshere to deliver in a ball, which after a rare mixup at the back allowed Giroud a free header, which he was never going to miss – the home side immediately halving the deficit.
Such an instant response gave Arsenal’s supporters and players the boost they needed and within six minutes they had made a miraculous comeback. Theo Walcott with a fine and thunderous finish after a neat lay-off from Giroud saw the ball fizz past Reina to level the scores.
Arsenal, after being at their lowest point, suddenly were playing their best football with Wilshere providing the presence and power in the middle, coupled with Cazorla’s sheer technical ability meant it was causing Liverpool lots of problems.
They almost got a third, too. Another great bit of passing saw some good link-up play between Giroud and Podolski, for the latter to square to the former and the Frenchman couldn’t sort out his feet and mis-cued his effort, when it seemed harder to miss than score.
A let-off for the away side, who almost pinched a victory right at the death. Luis Suarez linking up with Stewart Downing, finding acres of space, only to be denied by a smart Szczesny save.
An enthralling game saw it come to a conclusion at 2-2, which isn’t a terrible result for either side as it leaves them both in almost an identical position to before the start of play.
In truth, a draw was probably a fair result with both sides squandering chances to win the game, however Arsenal did dominate slightly, shown in the 54-46% possession stats coupled with their 15 shots to Liverpool’s 10.
Liverpool now move onto Manchester City in a bid to claim their first victory of the season against a side higher in the league standings than themselves. Overall, disappointing not to win after being two goals up after 60 minutes, but I’m sure most fans would have taken a draw away at The Emirates before kick-off.
Player Ratings
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Arsenal:
Szczesny – 5
Sagna – 6
Vermaelen – 6
Mertesacker – 5
Gibbs – 6
Wilshere – 8
Cazorla – 8
Ramsey – 7
Walcott – 8
Podolski – 8
Giroud – 7
SUB: Santos – 5
[/one_half] [one_half_last]
Liverpool:
Reina – 7
Johnson – 6
Agger – 6
Carragher – 8
Wisdom – 6
Lucas – 6
Gerrard – 7
Henderson – 9
Suarez – 7
Sturridge – 6
Downing – 6
SUB: Enrique – 6
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