(Short) Match Review: Arsenal v LIVERPOOL

It’s hard to believe that Liverpool went into this FA Cup tie at the Emirates as marginal favourites with many but that is exactly what happened when Liverpool took on Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.

Following on from the 5:1 mauling at Anfield last weekend, Arsenal struggled through a 0:0 home draw with existing champions Manchester United, when both sides failed to impress.  Arsenal dropped more ground on Liverpool with the 2 dropped points, whilst Manchester United fell further behind Liverpool in the race for fourth.

The result at the Emirates really couldn’t have gone better for Liverpool, while they were grabbing a much welcomed 3:2 win at Fulham to keep up the race for a top-4 finish.

After such an impressive run of late, Liverpool will be somewhat disappointed to see their momentum stopped by the FA Cup fifth round against the Gunners, particularly as it’s against familiar opposition, and he’ll be even more so now, following a 2:1 defeat that really should never have been allowed to happen.

It’s hard to know who to justifiably point the finger at in this game: the players, the manager or… Howard Webb.  Strange how that has a familiar ring to it, isn’t it? Both the players and manager were equally culpable for a defeat that was dominated by Liverpool but you’ve got to start wondering how many more times Webb has to dominate headlines before the FA realizes that he isn’t England’s ‘top referee’; I’d imagine he’s not even the best referee in his own house!

The decision to wave away protests from Reds players for a penalty on Luis Suarez was a terrible, pathetic decision by easily one of the most inept referees in the Premier League, but there were many others that were almost as bad, and not just for Liverpool either.  The Suarez call can be in doubt as the decision that turned the game though, as had the penalty been given Liverpool would probably have worn down Arsenal’s final resistance and progressed.

You have to also look at the decision to bring in Joe Allen for Jordan Henderson however, as of late Henderson’s energy and improved form have proved pivotal in Liverpool’s recent results and bringing in Allen left the team with a Henderson shaped hole in midfield.  That’s not a dig at Allen, who is improving all the time but he and Henderson are two completely different players.  It seemed that the decision to replace him with Allen was in an attempt to control possession, something which we’ve all quickly learned in Liverpool’s last few results has little bearing on results anymore.

Aside from that decision, it’s anyone’s guess as to why the manager opted to play Suarez from the left side instead of through the centre where he and Sturridge have been literally setting opposition on fire lately but that is something that only the players and manager will understand the logic behind.

The players didn’t do themselves any favours either though, after dominating much of the game and controlling the second half, only two penalty decisions (one of which was turned down) were the result of all the passing and possession.  It’s all well and good pointing the finger at the manager but they clearly understood what was expected of them and controlled a large deal of the ball but were able to do little with it.

After a game like this though, the spotlight will no doubt be solely on Webb, and rightly so but the needless tinkering of a working gameplan also needs to stop.  Everybody with a passing interest in football will know that Rodgers favours a possession, ‘death by football’ type of game but that doesn’t mean that that is something that needs to be implemented every time we put a string of results together playing a different way.  It’s clear from recent results that Liverpool have a great deal of strength in counter-attacking and also have an abundance of pace and trickery in attack – this is something which should be capitalized on to the fullest while it is paying such high dividends.

As is often the case after these types of games though, it’s hard to be too tough on the players as they again played the side that has led for much of the Premier League season and made them look less than ordinary for much of the game.  Just a bit more luck and we’d be looking at the quarter-final draw right now.

Onwards and upwards though, as the Premier League now takes on priority and we’re sitting in a position that means we’re favourites for 4th and also capable of finishing even higher.  All of our rivals for the top-4 all have either cup or European distractions so there can be no excuses from our side when it comes to tiredness or picking our strongest available side every week from now until the season ends, barring any new injuries.

The result today was undoubtedly a massive disappointment but we have to move on and look at the healthy league standing and the fact that we now have our best chance of finishing at the top end of the table as we’ve had in 5 years.  Who knows, maybe in 3 months time we’ll be looking at this FA Cup exit as a blessing in disguise, rather than the negative thing we’re all feeling it is right now.