Good triumphs over 'English passion'

Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
28 Oct	4:00 PM	P	Liverpool (A)	1	1	Draw

An important late Cesc Fabregas goal at Anfield ensured that Arsenal remain unbeaten and top of the league going into next weekend's game against Man Utd.

It was clear from the way Arsenal celebrated their goal that confidence is high at the club, and there's no reason Liverpool should have done anything to stop that; at home, in front of over 44,000 of their fans, in a big game after some poor results of late, they were dire.

Arsenal showed up and played like the home side right from the kickoff, continuing their passing and attacking tradition. It wasn't the best of displays by any means, but it provided Liverpool fans with some actual football to watch, as the general approach of their team is now on a par with the likes of Bolton under Sam Allardyce.

Arsenal were praised by the Sky Sports pundits for their football, but they still, as ever, can't resist drooling over the 'passionate' Steven Gerrard, who can do no wrong in anyone's eyes.

I've never quite bought the hype that's surrounded the Liverpool skipper for the last few years, but I've found my opinion of him decrease drastically over the last week or so.

When he was substituted off last week against Everton, the look of shock on his face when his number came up was pathetic. He's so used to being treated as untouchable that he himself has started to believe his own hype, despite doing little more than running around like a headless chicken and smacking the occasional shot at goal from 40 yards, whenever the occasion arises.

"Too much passion" were Rafael Benitez's words on his decision to take Stevie off last week. 1-1 in a difficult away game and he wanted to slow down and get a grip of the game. It was a risky decision and I'm not sure I completely agree with it, but I can see where he was coming from. I also knew exactly what abuse would be heading his way from those who can't see past heart and energy on a football pitch.

Passion is not a bad thing, but Gerrard can be prone to letting it get the better of him, so in the end bringing on Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva, who has less of an ego, and a good eye for a pass payed off for Liverpool as they won the game. English players aren't the only ones who want to win, would you believe?

So once again today Steven Gerrard blasted in a great free kick seven minutes in and then ran around chasing shadows for the rest of the match as Arsenal kept the ball in Liverpool's half and created chances. Gerrard and the rest of his team were spectators for the most part, yet at half time the Sky team are praising him for his passion. It's little wonder England look so clueless in international tournaments (if they even make it to the next one) with this mentality instilled in them so often for their clubs.

With all that in mind, Arsenal should really have done better as the Scousers were there for the taking today. The absence of van Persie was a massive blow, as our only striker Adebayor looked well off the pace at times, slowing moves down, or dropping too deep, leaving us with no options upfront. I have faith in the big man to score plenty of goals against the likes of Spurs and Derby in the future, but I do hope we won't have to be seeing him too much in big games like this, because I do wonder if he's good enough. It's hard to tell as he has done it in big games in the past, but certainly today he was a bit of a let-down. He plays better with a partner and I don't want to see us using 4-5-1 again. Having all those playmakers in the team is pointless if you have no one to aim at.

Bendtner and Walcott looked good when they came on. I had hoped Walcott would start. The occasion shouldn't be too big for him now after his recent displays, and Bendtner should get more games. He has a good touch and vision, playing some lovely passes with the outside of his foot from quite deep on the left-hand side, which would have been an unfamiliar role for him.

Fabregas is a hero, toe-poking in his tenth goal of the season. He is really becoming the man for the big occasion for Arsenal, scoring what could be one of the most important goals of the season for us. He should have scored more and should have been given the man of the match award, which of course went to Jamie Carragher who aggressively broke down Arsenal's attacks and passionately tugged on Fabregas' shirt for what should have been a penalty.

Had Arsenal lost, it would perhaps not have been such a big deal, as Liverpool aren't good enough to really challenge for the title. Next week is the big one. Arsenal and United are both playing excellent football, so something has to give at Ashburton Grove.

User Comments

paul onyango atinda

Posted on 30 Oct, 2007 at 08:04 AM - Reply

this young men are so good to be true, wining or loosing you can't just stop watching them do their t hig. congrats to the general wenger for bringing back real football to life.

man pitz

Posted on 30 Oct, 2007 at 12:32 AM - Reply

i think gerard had a great game.saves from Alumnia and Gallas prevented him from adding to the tally.As an Arsenal fan im hugely impressed by the display of the team.they show teamwork and most of the players on the park were great.William gallas in particular stood out as a leader in this particular game.palyers do have bad days and it was one of those days for adebayor.he will come around.And what a time to do that against Man United.

jose jozisky

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 05:11 PM - Reply

Oh my! the boys are splendid, good work Wenger.But i think Bendtner should be given more games he is excellent and has clever passes.Big ADE should work on his balance and ball control.Eboue was a let down in the winger position.`Everybody played their part well but there is one player we should never neglect since he took charge of the post-ALMUNIA,great goalkeeping man you should be first choice for ever.

mr-showtime

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 04:39 PM - Reply

come on gooners! arsenal although they only picked up a point, they played liverpool off the pitch. some bad misses aside,arsenal played really well against a team that packed the defence. once again the team proved the doubters wrong, resilliance is there in this team now. its gunner be tough against utd for sure but they can do it. big shout out to hleb. hes been amazin all season. long may it continue.i always thought he was a special talent.roll on saturday. one things for sure, it shud be a great game of football, between the top 2 teams in england,not just through league positions but style of play too. come on gunners woo hoo

Val

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 04:11 PM - Reply

Your article is spot on but two things; 1. You said Ade is not made for these big game situations, I'd like to remind you of the first game we played Man U. last year. Arsenal played a 4-5-1 and Ade was the only goal scorer in that game, beating Man U that day. 2. Gerrard is the best English footballer bar none. Rooney is a one demensional striker - He can do lots of things as a striker but that's just it,it's as a striker. Rooney could not have done what Gerrard did for Liverpool in Istanbul 2005 Champions League final. Forget Lampard. Question, how many goals do you think Gerrard would have scored if he had 24 clear cut chances in a World Cup tournmant?

Keith

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 04:10 PM - Reply

Akeem #11 Not only did the Arsenal keep the ball, they completely outplayed Liverpool. It looked as though the Arsenal were the home team. The saves Almunia made are saves a quality keeper is going to make. What I thought was most glaring was how poorly, and I am a fan, Rosicky played. I felt Arsene should have taken him off sooner than he did. I don't think Adebayor had his best game but he is a quality player and belongs on this team. Hleb was fantastic and Fabregas is a freak and I mean that in the best way. We should all feel fortunate as there is not a team in the world that is more exciting to watch, they are sublime!

hericoni (Nigeria)

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 03:51 PM - Reply

I understand how we all feel when your main striker wastes 5 chances in a crucial match. but what i dont understand is - Ade wasn't the player who missed an open net this very nite so pls give this guy a break. fab & Bentner missed and they weren't stoned for that but am sure if its was ade, we all wud have murdered him with our words. this is very unfair. am not an ade fan but i want us all to look at it this way, if Eduardo was top striking for us do u think he will be able to control the ball more than 4 times in this kind of game where liverpool players were playing like old bolton and current blackburn?

wenger used a 4-5-1 bcos he knew that liverpool will be using 4-3-3 & we need to control the midfield. they were all in their box (liverpool) most of the time & thats because they score us first which makes life difficult for us. fab was the player who opened the wall for Gerrade's thunder (though Fab was still my man of the match) & i thought our players wud have known that his shot is alws a grounder so there is no need to rush to him, i knew his shot will be a low drive & thought it will only hit the wall.

We were suppose to give credit to our players bcos coming back to equalise against a defensive liverpool is alws hard. dont forget that every opponents also came to win & not bcos a team is goin thru difficult period means you can run them over. Man u tried it twice last season against us & they got burnt. Valencia wanted to take advantage of chelsea's management problems recently but ended up losing at home.

I know most people tot bcos liverpool's confidence is gradually reducing, we shud be able to beat them at anfiled which some people still blives we shud have but remember that almunia kept us safe on this game, so i blive liverpool deserves this draw. ade's role in a game is only to wear out defenders and create room for others to score.

i will never be bothered by the way ade plays bcos i never expect any goal from him in a match. note that in a match, you find urself asking if a particular striker is on the field even after 10mins of play but with ade, one tends to recognize his presence right from the referee's blast bcos his work rate is alws 120% though conversion might be 20% but of course, wenger doesn't rely on him to win us a match most times. Van Persie is the only striker who's conversion is 80% but his work rate sometimes might be 10%. so if you're the manager, do ur maths when ur have excellent strike force midfielders in ur arsenal.

John Ngahu

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 03:37 PM - Reply

I watch all the arsenal matches with ever swelling enthusiasm. The clinical passing is the semblance of a simulation of how soccer is and was meant to be played. However, i do agree with the view that Ade seems to me as the weakest link in this outfit. He definately has the skill but his vision is wanting. Against liverpool, he somewhat slowed the pace and his passing impeded 2 or so rapid counter attacks. Also, i feel he's been playing the role of a center forward than a hungry striker. I would consider replacing him in the future with Eduardo or Theo upfront to inject some pace into their game. I hope the saying what begins well end well applies to the letter for Arsenal.

abs

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 01:43 PM - Reply

come on . gerrard was one of the best players on the pitch. just the threat of him counter attacking would make players dread.
BUT THE MAN IF THE MAN BY FAR WAS ALEXANDER HLEB
( WHERES THE MENTION OF HIM? )

aabbs

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 12:04 PM - Reply

I got to be honest and thought Arsenal played well last night, Adebayor was'nt as influential in the 2nd half, but to say Adebayor isnt good enough I think is out of order. Hes scored some vital goals for us over the past couple of years. hes a class act, he gives us a plan B. I think maybe the formation dont suit him, I prefer Arsenal 4-4-2 Fabregas showed why everyones going mad about him, I thought Hleb played excellent aswell, I was slagging him off last year, I couldnt see why Arsene bought him, but now im convinced, he was out standing. How did Carragher get man of the match??? We should have won 4-1, had Van Persie been playing, we would have won 4-1. Oh well, 2 pts lost really but overall, we'r still unbeaten, the REAL REAL test is on Saturday against the Mancs, their flying, we'r flying. Can someone please tell Sky sports to stop being so biased against the London sides, they love Liverpool and Man utd.

Goonerbeall

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 11:54 AM - Reply

What with people criticising Ade? remember that he was bought to give us presence and harrassing/rattling defender. This makes them nervous and make mistakes from which other more nimble players to profit. Why else do you think Gaffer does'nt take him off if he was useless as you say he is?

Pádraig

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 11:51 AM - Reply

Gerrard should not have scored that free kick. Flamini should have stayed in the wall. If Gerrard had not scored that goal, I think Arsenal could have won by two or three goals.

4-5-1 formation: I would agree with some of the comments below; Adebayor does play alot better when he has a striking partner. Playing with one striker, like someone has already mentioned, gives players like Fabregas and Hleb very little to aim at. Another thing I don't like about the 4-5-1 formation is that if Adebayor gets the ball wide on the left, he had nothing to cross to in the box. Late in the game, when Arsene sent on Gilberto, Bendtner and Walcott, and when we switched to a 4-4-2 formation we scored that goal and Fabregas hit the post. We looked much stronger in the 4-4-2.

Gilberto: I have to admit that he did look a little of pace and I actually think that he will be the next big player to leave Arsenal. Although he made some mistakes last night, he made a crucial tackle on Steven Gerrard who was bursting through and was close to pulling the trigger. Clichy played fairly well in my opinion, but looking back on it, I think taking him off was a sacrafice Wenger had to make to get a point from the game and almost a win.

I agree with everything you said about Gerrard. Carragher is as cunning as a fox sometimes. He gets away with far too much. Looking back now, I think we should have got at least two 20 yard free kicks and a penalty from fouls which Carragher was never punished for. I was glad to see him get booked.

David

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 10:54 AM - Reply

Ade is not good enough to play for this Arsenal team. His scoring ratio is poor compared to Van Persie. Sometimes he mistimed a perfect pass from the midfield, and sometimes he wasted a golden scoring chance with his awful first touch. I think Wenger should give Eduado a chance next week, and even Bentdner is better than the big mouth Ade. I don't agree with No3, van Persie is still maturing and can score from any angle, and he can create chances too. Thought you hadn't missed a Dutch game last summer.

Akeem

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 09:37 AM - Reply

I'm a liverpool fan and must admit Arsenal kept the ball far better than liverpool.

But in my opinion, your goalkeeper had more vital saves to make than liverpool's. In fact, he kept you in the game otherwise you would have been dead and buried before the equalizer.

matthew,nigeria

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 09:11 AM - Reply

i was happy with a draw but i was not satisfied to say the least. i thnk le boss substituted tactically well but 1 thn is sure not that i am saying ade is not good enouf but he worries me seriously a striker is paid to tuck away goals maybe on big occassions as d match against liverpool.ade misses too many chances and i pray that doesnt hunt us as d season goes on missing 5 chances to score one is a bad ratio concerning the fact that against teams like united u dont get so many with an animal as vidic in partnrship with rio.a friend of mine suggested that ade and bendtner be paired he said all sorts of insults was rained on him suggesting theo or dudu were better choices, he said the english gooners called him a kop gooner for suggesting such.4 me dudu is ny becoming the fox in the box we want him 2 be as the physicality of d pm is 2much 4 him.theo 4 now is beta as a substitute so dat he can xpose doz tired legs.niclas on d other hand is more of a point man than ade good link up play and always looking for his partnr wen not in the right position,yes he is arrogant but that reflects on his game a little smaller than ade in frame but wins challenges in the air which ade does not do xcept wen he sees paul robinson chasing a burger or against low clubs like derby and if sagna puts a good cross like he does bendtner is more likely to win it than ade.he has a football brain ade does not have so thay can worl together,ade running around the box with niclas in the box doing the finishing.le boss consider this.

Olalekan Agbaje

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 07:45 AM - Reply

Nice Column, This Boys are really gunning for it this season. they have shown the whole world what they can do.

Rombosia

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 03:16 AM - Reply

I've never understood people. However poor their form may look, Liverpool at home will always be a difficult match. U must change tactic! It will definitely not be our best match coz, well, it is LIVERPOOL! We look for faults in our players n not appreciate that their defence, after the goal was tight. Give Ade a break, he was alone out there, their mid was crowded out so ours didn't support as well as it should have. Am sure not all matches will be like this, but I'm certain we will need to play the 4-5-1 again. If need be lets do it n hope we do it well. Important point though!

arsenal11730

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 01:14 AM - Reply

Some Interesting Pro and Con Comments.
I felt We Played Well enough To Win.
However at Times we are Unbelieveable, then We Turn Off for 15 Mins and Let the Opposition Back in.
I Feel 4-5-1 was too Defensive.
When Bendtner came on we had chances.
Well Played To Almunia, Gallas and Toure. They were great.

Steve. G

Posted on 29 Oct, 2007 at 12:48 AM - Reply

After 12 wins on the trot, Wenger switched to a 4-5-1 formation? And odd choice, I think.
Playing a 4-5-1 like that required Ade to stay up top, and let the midfield support him. He had great difficulty staying onside today, and eventually didn't bother being on the shoulder on the defender. He'd rather come deep and, almost Henry-like, pick up the ball and get down the left wing.

I agree with alot of the article, but we have to recognise that Ade is a hit and miss player, Cesc is the instrumentalist that will create goal scoring opportunities for everyone around him.

As for our subs today, Walcott seemed to have his feet mixed up and stumbled over the ball a few times as we were trying to counter-attack. Gilberto seemed very off the pace, making numerous missplaced passes, slow attempts at getting back. for us to beat United next week the whole team will need to step it up.

gunner always and forever

Posted on 28 Oct, 2007 at 09:57 PM - Reply

no i have to disagree with you i thought arsenal played fantastic football and kept playing right until the end. liverpool made a wall of defence after gerrard scored which was very hard to breakthrough. and we were unlucky with hitting the post twice. but overall decent result.

rodger waters

Posted on 28 Oct, 2007 at 09:54 PM - Reply

the control and movement of the arsenal midfield was a magic that had me choking,i wish my beloved lfc can someday reach those heights,wenger i salute you.

Richard D.

Posted on 28 Oct, 2007 at 09:03 PM - Reply

Agree with most of your assessment, except for the notion that Van Persie was missed. He's the one major player on this team who doesn't really fit Wenger's style of play. Big left foot, yes, but he lacks vision...an essential part of the Gunner's attack. Adebayor has the vision and is a monster striker with tremendous upside, Van Persie has already peaked, in my opinion...with nothing to add to his game. Liverpool played 11 back, or at least stayed in their half for most of this match, crowding the action in the middle and making it difficult for a big player like Adebayor to get untracked. Give him space and he's lethal. With Liverpool packing it in, it took a player like Walcott - small, nimble and fleet afoot - to break down the defense. This team is still young and will make mistakes but play the game the way it was meant to be played. Go Gunners

Tim

Posted on 28 Oct, 2007 at 08:11 PM - Reply

Well said. Speaking of passion, what a celebration from Cesc. They got lucky with that free kick as well it shouldn't have gotten past the wall. I just thought it was unfortunate that Eduardo wasn't even on the bench. He would have convereted the chance which Bendnter missed after Cesc hit the post if he was in that position. I guess Arsene doesn't think hes ready for the big time yet. Three points at Anfield would really have us flying going into next Sunday.

LB

Posted on 28 Oct, 2007 at 07:59 PM - Reply

Agree with the article. But for lack of experience, we would have clobbered this crowd. Definitely want to see us move from Adebayor to Bendtner and Walcott. We were too frantic. A bit of calmness and Liverpool are just average.

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