A nightmarish eight minutes cost Liverpool dearly as they lost on the road to Arsenal, but at least we learned a few things from it.
The first half was a wonderfully even affair between Arsenal and Liverpool, with both sides taking the run of play for long stretches and playing some excellent football. Then it all went pear-shaped for Liverpool in the last eight minutes of the half, giving up three goals and going from confident of getting a result to struggling for answers almost in the blink of an eye.
To be fair, the goals from Hector Bellerin, Mesut Özil, and Aaron Sanchez were all lovely, particularly the latter two. But all came thanks to a series of Liverpool mistakes, most notably from Alberto Moreno and Kolo Toure, and all their good work from the opening of the match was undone just like that. They tried to find a way back in to the match, but it all went for naught as all they could manage was a penalty earned by Raheem Sterling and converted by Jordan Henderson, and ended a man light for the second match in a row when Emre Can was sent off for a second yellow -- then gave up a fourth when Olivier Giroud added a fourth wondergoal to Arsenal's tally for the day in injury time.
The result is a fantastic one for Arsenal, who at worst have secured their grasp on third place in the league, and could even rise to second if Manchester City falter on Monday. For Liverpool, it's not so good, slipping further away from the top four and maybe even falling as low as seventh if other results go against them. With time running out on the season, it's time for Brendan Rodgers to kick his side in to high gear again if they want to be in the Champions League again.
3 things
1. At least Liverpool tried - Say this for Liverpool, they didn't lose because they were too conservative or timid or anything like that. They went for it against Arsenal, and for the first 35 minutes, it mostly worked. The opening spell of the match was shaky, yes, but they settled and gave the Gunners plenty to worry about. Then in the space of eight minutes, Alberto Moreno got caught out, Mesut Özil scored a great free kick, and Alexis Sanchez made Kolo Toure look old and done -- which he pretty much is -- and just like that, this went from an even match that Liverpool were maybe edging to Arsenal running rampant.
2. Jordan Henderson is many things, but not a wingback - This is something that has been discussed before, because Brendan Rodgers is experimenting with it again so it needs to be brought up again. Jordan Henderson is perhaps among the best central midfielders in England right now. His work rate, skillset, and knowledge of where he needs to be and what he needs to do at a given moment are all top notch. But if you put him out wide and ask him to be a wingback, you take away a lot of the good things he does and emphasize what he's not so good at. He's not the fastest player, he doesn't cross well, and pinning him wide severely limits how he can help his teammates. He's just not very good as a wingback, and neither Joe Allen or Lucas Leiva give Liverpool as many options or quality as a replacement for Henderson in the middle. It's just a bad move.
3. Aaron Ramsey's still got it - His goals against West Ham and Monaco aside, Ramsey has struggled quite a bit lately. He showed some glimpses of a return to form with the Welsh international side, though, and continued that today with a pair of well-earned assists on the goals from Bellerin and Sanchez. Even beyond that, he was tremendous for the hour he was on the pitch, causing a constant threat and menace to Liverpool's midfield and demanding constant attention that created space for others in Arsenal's attack to deal with. If Ramsey can well and truly get back to form, Arsenal fans have a lot of reason to feel good about the closing weeks of the season.
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