Before last night’s game I’d probably at a push have accepted a draw at Arsenal, and I’d definitely have taken us scoring two goals. We were always going to have spells under pressure and our defence would have done very well to keep a clean sheet, but it would have been nice being 2-0 up to have gone on and won the game.
To be honest last night was a very entertaining game that didn’t really tell us too much about Liverpool, it will have only reinforced whatever you already thought about us, whether that was positive OR negative.
If you believe that Brendan Rodgers isn’t the right man for Liverpool and the squad is too young, inexperienced and lacking in leaders then the way we failed to hold on to our lead will only have made that belief stronger.
If you think we’re improving with a young, adaptable squad then the way we went 2-0 up with Suarez settling in immediately to a new position on the left and Henderson growing into his role as a first team player, then the first hour will have given you great encouragement.
The reality of yesterday’s game is probably somewhere in between the two, there were plenty of positives and good performances but there was also a worry about how far back we sat early in the second half and how we struggled to win the ball back once Arsenal had it.
Jordan Henderson played well even not taking into account his goal, he looked confident and his movement, energy and passing was good. And I loved his goal celebration, nothing fancy, just a player who was absolutely made up to score a goal and would play for free if it meant he got that feeling regularly. The performance of Jamie Carragher certainly showed there’s life in the old dog yet and will certainly give the manager a few selection headaches. And the biggest plus for me was Pepe Reina’s shot stopping, he’s been a bit below par for a while now but he was excellent yesterday despite missing the last few games through injury.
Both sides could have won the game and both sides could have lost it. Arsenal didn’t defend well and it was good to see us capitalise on their weaknesses, but they also attacked well and made some good chances that they didn’t take as well as the ones they did. Suarez could have won it right at the end and if he had done I’m sure the press would have said we deserved it, the same way if Giroud had taken his easy chance inside the six yard box the reports would have favoured Arsenal.
It would have been interesting to see (though I’m glad we won’t have to) the reaction had Suarez taken the dive Giroud was booked for. I’m sure he would have taken more stick than the Frenchman for the same act but I think the topic of the media coverage of Luis Suarez has been done to death so I’ll leave that alone. Until next time.
All in all a good point, though it could have been more, but it could also have been less. We should go to Man City on Sunday with belief rather than just hope after we proved we can hold our own against the sides chasing Champions League places and I wouldn’t be particularly surprised to see an unchanged Liverpool starting XI at the Etihad.
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