It wasn’t the walk in the park many had thought Liverpool would have coming to the Emirates to face a very understrength Arsenal side. Far from it. However, after the introduction of Luis Suarez and Raul Meireles into the match, there was only one side that looked like taking all three points.
Liverpool and Arsenal entered the match on the back of disappointing opening day fixtures which saw both sides take away one point. Liverpool, though, did not suffer the heartbreak of losing their star man and captain, whereas Arsenal lost Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona midweek. If that wasn’t enough, Samir Nasri was reported to be on the verge of signing for Manchester City, Gervinho and Alex Song were suspended, and a multitude of players including Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby were injured.
Liverpool walked onto the pitch looking for their first win at Arsenal in 11 years and though there was only one real chance in the first half, the Reds looked the only side capable of scoring.
Emmanuel Frimpong made his debut one to forget picking up an early yellow card and later a second to be sent off, but it was Laurent Koscielny’s injury that hurt the most. Arsenal were forced to bring on another young gun into the match, Ignasi Miquel, leaving Liverpool forward Andy Carroll drooling at the height difference. However, Liverpool began to fall into the trap of flinging crosses in to Carroll, who was later picked up by Thomas Vermaelen.
Liverpool were advised to ease Luis Suarez back into the side follwing the No. 7’s start last weekend to avoid burnout and possible long-term damage (i.e Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard), however the spark known as El Pistolero was missing and left Liverpool running out of creative options.
The second half introduction of Luis Suarez and Raul Meireles, who has surprisingly been linked with a move away from Anfield, completely changed the face of the game for Liverpool. Frimpong picked up his second yellow, leaving the Liverpool pair to run the Arsenal defence ragged, forcing Aaron Ramsey’s own goal, and a beautiful team effort seeing Suarez latch on to a Meireles pass. Liverpool walked out with the three points, and Arsene Wegner walked out with an unavailable list filled more than his squad sheet.
SLOANES VERDICT : I have to feel sorry for Arsene Wegner because the critics are going to be having a field day after today, and if the Gunners fail to hold out Udinese midweek and cannot muster a result against the Champions Manchester United, it could be the end of an era. Arsenal played with heart, but the introductions of Luis Suarez and Raul Meireles proved too much, making me wonder what the score could have been had they played from the start. For Liverpool, it is a true statement of intent. Granted it was an understrength team, Arsenal is never an easy place to get a win, with or without Fabregas. Hopefully fans can remember that it is only the second game in the new season, and who knows, maybe Arsenal are going through their slump now…
Tags: Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal, Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool, Arsene Wegner, Emirates Stadium, Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool, Luis Suarez, Raul Meireles
