Soler
Established Member
Saturday, 27 November 2004 4:21 PM
Every year Arsenal plays a home game and an away game against all nineteen opponents. We are all well accustomed to this routine. One game in the closing year (2004), one game in the starting year (2005). Well, unless it's Fulham who we play twice in the 2004 portion of this season, but that's irrelevant. Thirty eight games in total, nineteen at home, nineteen away from home. It's a daunting yet incredibly satisfying campaign if it is a successful one.
But there are some fixtures that stick out more than others. They have to, it's what they do. The league fixtures that stick out the most for us Arsenal fans are the two matches against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Those two aside, there are still some equally as special fixtures we face twice over nine months. The two matches against Chelsea are fast becoming more and more important every week, matches against our neighbours West Ham still hold some important (they do for me, as I hate West Ham), matches against the Geordies of Newcastle are always exciting fixtures in modern, Wenger times, and finally the two fixtures against the once mighty Liverpool hold a special aura about them, at least they do for me.
The Reds of Merseyside and the Gunners of Islington share many things in common with each other to begin with. Both teams as we all know wear the winning colour of Red with a white trim, both teams are two of the most successful clubs in English football and both sets of fans share a common bond. A common bond that a Scouser and a Gooner could sit down together of a pint and talk about for hours on end: hatred of Manchester United.
It's not just a hatred of Manchester United or wearing red and white that we share with Liverpool, there's more to an Arsenal vs. Liverpool clash than that. The fact of the matter is, any time we're on the same pitch at the same time as each other, the match usually turns out to be special. There have been many classics between the two sides over the years. Some of Arsenal's finest performances and results have been wearing yellow, as the away team against the once mighty Reds of Merseyside.
Of course the most famous Arsenal victory over Liverpool occurred a few months over fifteen years ago, on May the 26th of May 1989. If you're an Arsenal fan and are asking yourself what happened on this day, you need to be taken outside and promptly slapped in the mouth. There is no possible introduction that should be given to this match because, at least in my opinion, it's the game in Arsenal's history.
I was a few weeks away from turning two years old when Michael Thomas charged through the midfield with it all up for grabs. Just two. Barely a toddler. Supposedly I watched this match in my parents' West London home at the time with my Dad, the Sp**s supporter who was watching just to see Arsenal get thumped by the great Liverpool side of the 80s and fail in misery once again. Just as side note: bollocks to you, Dad.
The May 1989 encounter at Anfield is the typical summary of what a match between Arsenal and Liverpool is all about. Sure, it may not have the hatred that a match against Sp**s or Man United may have, but it's a passionate encounter that's exciting and always offers drama. It also strangely enough seems to be that Arsenal plays against Liverpool in those really important matches.
It seems to be one of those things that is naturally expected. In 1971, who did Arsenal secure their first double against? Liverpool, of course. The exhausting encounter ensured Arsenal their first of three doubles. In typically spectacular fashion the game went to a climatic finish in extra time after being locked at 0-0.
Liverpool finally made the breakthrough two minutes into extra time, when Steve Heighway caught out Bob Wilson to score inside the Arsenal keeper's near post. Wilson's rare blunder was quickly forgotten as substitute Eddie Kelly levelled for Arsenal nine minutes later, though Graham also claimed the goal as he took a swing at the ball which deceived Ray Clemence. A draw looked likely, but a visibly drained George suddenly burst to life with eight minutes left, letting fly with a 20-yard shot which gave Clemence no chance and Arsenal the historic first double.
There are many more magical moments in the Arsenal's battles with Liverpool over the years, especially under the tutelage of Arsène Wenger and the googly eyed one, Gerard Houllier. During the conquering double season of 2001/02 we travelled to Anfield in what was a turbulent match between the two heavyweights of that season: Arsenal also hadn't scored a goal at Anfield for six years prior.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst was sent off early in the match under controversial circumstances, but the 10-man Arsenal side overcame those odds to defeat Liverpool two goals to one. Thierry Henry scored from the spot just before the break and a few minutes after play resumed Freddie Ljungberg latched onto an excellent pass from a Robért Píres run down the flank of Anfield.
And then who could forget the 9th of April, 2004 encounter between Arsenal and Liverpool at Highbury? Arsenal had suffered a miserable week as I'm sure we all remember: defeat in the FA Cup to Manchester United was followed up by a defeat and eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Chelsea. It was a horrifically miserable week that would culminate on the Sunday, away at St. James' Park on Tyneside. I'm sure we all remember this day.
I thought it was over; the unbeaten streak was lost when Sami Hyypia stooped down to nod in a goal in the fifth minute. Thierry Henry slammed a shot passed Jerzy Dudek on the half hour to draw us level, but just before half time Michael Owen did his utmost to confirm my beliefs that our wonderful streak was going to end that day when he scored a jammy goal from a long Steve Gerrard pass. However the Arsenal responded in typically stupendous fashion first with a Robért Píres goal and a mind boggling run from Monsieur Arsenal, Thierry Henry, confused the Liverpool defence to put Arsenal 3-2 up. The comeback of all comebacks was capped off by a bumbling and awkward Henry capitalisation on a Dudek mistake to crown his hat-trick.
Those are but four of the many great matches between Arsenal and Liverpool. Of course it may seem a little Arsenal biased but there have been some fine Liverpool victories over Arsenal in recent years. The 2001 FA Cup final will live in memory for a lot of Liverpool fans for some time, as will Robbie Fowlers moment in the sun against Arsenal in 1994. Fowler grabbed his first goal in the 26th minute, when a Jamie Redknapp free-kick rebounded off Ian Rush's shins and fell on a plate for the youngster. Two minutes later he had his second. Steve McManaman was allowed to advance to the edge of the box by the back-pedalling Arsenal rearguard, and with Lee Dixon drawn inside, he slipped the ball to Fowler whose left-footed drive beat the flat-footed Seaman. Almost immediately it was three, when the teenager somehow beat Seaman again from an impossible angle to leave the Anfield crowd in raptures.
Hopefully this Sunday's encounter between our two glorious sides produces something epic. With both teams down on their luck, with injuries affecting both teams and out of form players, something has to explode. It just has to, and I, for one, hope it does. Liverpool badly needs a win to give themselves a faint hope of winning the league and a real shot in the arm to contend for the Champions League (or UEFA Cup) places while our beloved Arsenal have to win so the upstarts from King's Road don't get too far ahead.
Come on you Gunners!
Every year Arsenal plays a home game and an away game against all nineteen opponents. We are all well accustomed to this routine. One game in the closing year (2004), one game in the starting year (2005). Well, unless it's Fulham who we play twice in the 2004 portion of this season, but that's irrelevant. Thirty eight games in total, nineteen at home, nineteen away from home. It's a daunting yet incredibly satisfying campaign if it is a successful one.
But there are some fixtures that stick out more than others. They have to, it's what they do. The league fixtures that stick out the most for us Arsenal fans are the two matches against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Those two aside, there are still some equally as special fixtures we face twice over nine months. The two matches against Chelsea are fast becoming more and more important every week, matches against our neighbours West Ham still hold some important (they do for me, as I hate West Ham), matches against the Geordies of Newcastle are always exciting fixtures in modern, Wenger times, and finally the two fixtures against the once mighty Liverpool hold a special aura about them, at least they do for me.
The Reds of Merseyside and the Gunners of Islington share many things in common with each other to begin with. Both teams as we all know wear the winning colour of Red with a white trim, both teams are two of the most successful clubs in English football and both sets of fans share a common bond. A common bond that a Scouser and a Gooner could sit down together of a pint and talk about for hours on end: hatred of Manchester United.
It's not just a hatred of Manchester United or wearing red and white that we share with Liverpool, there's more to an Arsenal vs. Liverpool clash than that. The fact of the matter is, any time we're on the same pitch at the same time as each other, the match usually turns out to be special. There have been many classics between the two sides over the years. Some of Arsenal's finest performances and results have been wearing yellow, as the away team against the once mighty Reds of Merseyside.
Of course the most famous Arsenal victory over Liverpool occurred a few months over fifteen years ago, on May the 26th of May 1989. If you're an Arsenal fan and are asking yourself what happened on this day, you need to be taken outside and promptly slapped in the mouth. There is no possible introduction that should be given to this match because, at least in my opinion, it's the game in Arsenal's history.
I was a few weeks away from turning two years old when Michael Thomas charged through the midfield with it all up for grabs. Just two. Barely a toddler. Supposedly I watched this match in my parents' West London home at the time with my Dad, the Sp**s supporter who was watching just to see Arsenal get thumped by the great Liverpool side of the 80s and fail in misery once again. Just as side note: bollocks to you, Dad.
The May 1989 encounter at Anfield is the typical summary of what a match between Arsenal and Liverpool is all about. Sure, it may not have the hatred that a match against Sp**s or Man United may have, but it's a passionate encounter that's exciting and always offers drama. It also strangely enough seems to be that Arsenal plays against Liverpool in those really important matches.
It seems to be one of those things that is naturally expected. In 1971, who did Arsenal secure their first double against? Liverpool, of course. The exhausting encounter ensured Arsenal their first of three doubles. In typically spectacular fashion the game went to a climatic finish in extra time after being locked at 0-0.
Liverpool finally made the breakthrough two minutes into extra time, when Steve Heighway caught out Bob Wilson to score inside the Arsenal keeper's near post. Wilson's rare blunder was quickly forgotten as substitute Eddie Kelly levelled for Arsenal nine minutes later, though Graham also claimed the goal as he took a swing at the ball which deceived Ray Clemence. A draw looked likely, but a visibly drained George suddenly burst to life with eight minutes left, letting fly with a 20-yard shot which gave Clemence no chance and Arsenal the historic first double.
There are many more magical moments in the Arsenal's battles with Liverpool over the years, especially under the tutelage of Arsène Wenger and the googly eyed one, Gerard Houllier. During the conquering double season of 2001/02 we travelled to Anfield in what was a turbulent match between the two heavyweights of that season: Arsenal also hadn't scored a goal at Anfield for six years prior.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst was sent off early in the match under controversial circumstances, but the 10-man Arsenal side overcame those odds to defeat Liverpool two goals to one. Thierry Henry scored from the spot just before the break and a few minutes after play resumed Freddie Ljungberg latched onto an excellent pass from a Robért Píres run down the flank of Anfield.
And then who could forget the 9th of April, 2004 encounter between Arsenal and Liverpool at Highbury? Arsenal had suffered a miserable week as I'm sure we all remember: defeat in the FA Cup to Manchester United was followed up by a defeat and eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Chelsea. It was a horrifically miserable week that would culminate on the Sunday, away at St. James' Park on Tyneside. I'm sure we all remember this day.
I thought it was over; the unbeaten streak was lost when Sami Hyypia stooped down to nod in a goal in the fifth minute. Thierry Henry slammed a shot passed Jerzy Dudek on the half hour to draw us level, but just before half time Michael Owen did his utmost to confirm my beliefs that our wonderful streak was going to end that day when he scored a jammy goal from a long Steve Gerrard pass. However the Arsenal responded in typically stupendous fashion first with a Robért Píres goal and a mind boggling run from Monsieur Arsenal, Thierry Henry, confused the Liverpool defence to put Arsenal 3-2 up. The comeback of all comebacks was capped off by a bumbling and awkward Henry capitalisation on a Dudek mistake to crown his hat-trick.
Those are but four of the many great matches between Arsenal and Liverpool. Of course it may seem a little Arsenal biased but there have been some fine Liverpool victories over Arsenal in recent years. The 2001 FA Cup final will live in memory for a lot of Liverpool fans for some time, as will Robbie Fowlers moment in the sun against Arsenal in 1994. Fowler grabbed his first goal in the 26th minute, when a Jamie Redknapp free-kick rebounded off Ian Rush's shins and fell on a plate for the youngster. Two minutes later he had his second. Steve McManaman was allowed to advance to the edge of the box by the back-pedalling Arsenal rearguard, and with Lee Dixon drawn inside, he slipped the ball to Fowler whose left-footed drive beat the flat-footed Seaman. Almost immediately it was three, when the teenager somehow beat Seaman again from an impossible angle to leave the Anfield crowd in raptures.
Hopefully this Sunday's encounter between our two glorious sides produces something epic. With both teams down on their luck, with injuries affecting both teams and out of form players, something has to explode. It just has to, and I, for one, hope it does. Liverpool badly needs a win to give themselves a faint hope of winning the league and a real shot in the arm to contend for the Champions League (or UEFA Cup) places while our beloved Arsenal have to win so the upstarts from King's Road don't get too far ahead.
Come on you Gunners!
