RSS
ATOM
advertisement
Premier League Preview: Arsenal - Liverpool
As Gunners host Reds, Wenger takes Rafa's place in firing line...
| Bet: | Returns: | Sunderland £34.00 | Draw £33.00 | Arsenal £21.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Sunderland £35.00 | Draw £33.00 | Arsenal £21.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Sunderland £34.00 | Draw £33.00 | Arsenal £21.50 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Sunderland £35.00 | Draw £34.00 | Arsenal £21.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Sunderland £32.50 | Draw £33.00 | Arsenal £20.40 |
|
Feb 9, 2010 10:55:00 PM
By Graham Lister
Wednesday, 10 February 2010, Kick-off: 19:45
Emirates Stadium, Ashburton Grove, London N5
A week may be a long time in politics, but three weeks can seem an absolute age in football; in Arsenal's case, an ice age. A chill of glacial proportions has descended on the Emirates since the young Gunners had the temerity to go top of the Premier League by beating Bolton Wanderers 4-2 on 20 January.
They haven't won a match since, and their title ambitions will be in deep freeze should Liverpool extend that demoralising streak on Wednesday night. Indeed, a win for the Merseysiders would leave them just two points behind Arsenal and underline once again how quickly and dramatically fortunes can change in football.
Liverpool were, until recently, the season's biggest casualty, the team who had been tipped by many to end their 20-year wait for the title this term but instead found themselves scrabbling about at the back of the queue for fourth place, out of both domestic cups and relegated ignominiously from the Champions League to the Europa League in Europe.
But a run of seven Premier League games without defeat has pushed the Reds up the table, rebuilding battered confidence and leaving them suddenly with third-placed Arsenal in their sights rather than fretting about the likes of top-four aspirants Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Reflecting how the pendulum has swung recently, Rafael Benitez has been replaced in the media firing line by Arsene Wenger. While Rafa's hang-dog expression has given way to a more upbeat demeanour and he is now able to talk about team spirit, battling qualities and clean sheets, Wenger's body language increasingly betrays frustration. He is presenting the sort of defensive qualities that Gunners fans would love their team to display on the pitch.
Such stalwarts of the halcyon days of Arsenal defending as Lee Dixon and Martin Keown have this week been brutally honest about the shortcomings of the current back-four, so clinically exposed in the last 10 days by the ruthless single-mindedness of Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba. Nor, it must be said, has the goalkeeper behind those defenders covered himself in glory.
And having observed the calamitous vulnerability to counter-attacking of Arsenal's adventurous possession football, those of a Liverpool persuasion such as Jan Molby, Alan Hansen and Steven Gerrard have concluded that the Gunners are there for the taking by the Reds, with Rafa's side fortunate to be meeting Wenger's at a time when the latter are perceived to be so deflated.
Of course, things are rarely so black and white, particularly in this Premier League season. After all, while Liverpool haven't lost a league game since crashing at bottom club Portsmouth on 19 December, their recent performances have been far from vintage, and embedded in their current run was that sobering Anfield defeat by Reading in an FA Cup replay.
True, they haven't conceded a goal since Robert Huth's last-gasp equaliser at
Stoke City, and have been displaying the sort of grit and resilience that was conspicuously absent earlier in the season.
As for Arsenal, their performance at Stamford Bridge was at least a significant improvement on the one they'd produced a week earlier against Manchester United. And for all their inability to conjure a goal despite abundant possession in the Chelsea game, they remain the Premier League's second highest scorers.
They are now being widely written off, with Wenger carrying the can - not only for failing to bring in a target-man striker in January, but also for adhering to a style of play that had pundits cooing with admiration a short while ago.
Whether such criticism is wholly justified is debatable; a sense of perspective is helpful at times such as these. Wenger's adversary on Wednesday, Benitez, knows all about going from hero to zero overnight and coming out the other side with your footballing principles uncompromised.
As Wenger told journalists this week: "You have to accept that when you lose games, the way you play is always questioned - a fantastic quality when you win becomes a fantastic mistake when you lose."
What will particularly irk Wenger, though - apart from what he feels is wilful misrepresentation of his words by the gentlemen of the press - is the damning perception that his team's progress has been somewhat illusory.
It seems that, for the fourth season running, a promising campaign has unravelled in the space of three or consecutive fixtures. A five-match sequence that began in the intimidating atmosphere of Stoke City's Britannia Stadium, ends with Liverpool's visit this week and embraced games against Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea in between. That was always going to be a season-defining spell, at least on the domestic front.
Elimination from the FA Cup and one point from the last nine in the league has left critics concluding that Arsenal are no further forward than they were a year ago. Many of those same critics, meanwhile, are starting to revise their earlier dismissal of Liverpool's prospects. For the Reds are now suggesting that Benitez's bold 'guarantee' of a top-four finish was not as fanciful as it seemed.
That promise was made in the wake of Arsenal's 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Anfield on 13 December, when Liverpool were a distant seventh.
FORM GUIDE
Arsenal
07 Feb (Premier League) v Chelsea (A) LOST 0-2
31 Jan (Premier League) v Man Utd (H) LOST 1-3
27 Jan (Premier League) v Aston Villa (A) DREW 0-0
24 Jan (FA Cup) v Stoke City (A) LOST 1-3
20 Jan (Premier League) v Bolton Wanderers (H) WON 4-2
17 Jan (Premier League) v Bolton Wanderers (A) WON 2-0
Liverpool
06 Feb (Premier League) v Everton (H) WON 1-0
30 Jan (Premier League) v Bolton Wanderers (H) WON 2-0
26 Jan (Premier League) v Wolverhampton W (A) DREW 0-0
20 Jan (Premier League) v Tottenham Hotspur (H) WON 2-0
16 Jan (Premier League) v Stoke City (A) DREW 1-1
13 Jan (FA Cup replay) v Reading (H) LOST 1-2 (aet)
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal
Nicklas Bendtner could make his first start since October, after coming off the bench against Chelsea to provide a more physical focal point in attack. Fellow striker Eduardo is still sidelined with a torn hamstring.
Johan Djourou, Carlos Vela (both knee), Kieran Gibbs (foot), Fran Merida and Robin van Persie (both ankle) are all unavailable.
Last starting XI (v Chelsea): Almunia; Sagna (Eboue 74), Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy, Diaby (Rosicky 74), Song, Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott (Bendtner 64), Arshavin. Subs not used: Fabianski, Denilson, Ramsey, Campbell.
Squad: Almunia, Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy, Arshavin, Fabregas, Walcott, Song, Nasri, Diaby, Fabianski, Campbell, Denilson, Fabianski, Ramsey, Eboue, Bendtner, Rosicky, Eastmond.
Liverpool
Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos begins a three-match suspension after being sent off against Everton.
Martin Skrtel is likely to be recalled in his place, but midfielder Alberto Aquilani misses the game through illness.
Yossi Benayoun (broken rib), Glen Johnson and Fernando Torres (both knee) are unavailable.
Last starting XI (v Everton): Reina; Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Agger, Insua, Mascherano, Lucas, Kuyt (Skrtel 90), Gerrard, Maxi (Aurelio 90), Ngog (Babel 63). Subs not used: Cavalieri, Aquilani, Riera, Degen.
Squad: Reina, Skrtel, Agger, Carragher, Insua, Gerrard, Lucas, Rodriguez, Riera, Ngog, Kuyt, Cavalieri, Pacheco, Spearing, Darby, Babel, Aurelio, Degen.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal
Andrey Arshavin memorably scored four at Anfield against Liverpool last season, and also hit a stunning winner there for the Gunners in December. The little Russian has cut a forlorn figure, though, in recent matches, and has admitted that he is being used out of position as Arsenal's centre forward - a state of affairs forced on the team by injuries to others and the failure to buy a new striker last month.
At least Bendtner's return from injury could take some of the pressure of Arshavin's shoulders, and free him up to play in his preferred role as support striker. His goal against Bolton took the Gunners to the top three weeks ago; another goal on Wednesday could help arrest their current slide.
Liverpool
Dirk Kuyt can take as much credit as anyone for Liverpool's recent improvement. The tireless Dutchman has scored four of the Reds' last five goals, including both against Tottenham and the winner - his 50th in a Liverpool shirt - in last Saturday's Merseyside derby against Everton.
Although often unappreciated, his whole-heartedness and willingness to work for the team are key qualities that earned praise from Benitez this week. And the ex-Feyenoord man - bought as a striker but mostly deployed wide in midfield since Fernando Torres arrived at Anfield - is also benefiting from leading the attack in El Nino's absence. And it was Kuyt who scored the opener against Arsenal at Anfield.
PREDICTION
Back-to-back defeats against the two teams above them have left Arsenal nine points behind Chelsea with 13 games to play, but they are not giving up on the title just yet - despite defensive naivety. Meanwhile Liverpool have closed to within five points of Arsenal, and will be aiming to reduce that gap to two by heaping more misery on the wounded Gunners.
However, while Liverpool have won six of their last nine league games, and lost only once, they have a poor recent record against Arsenal. It is a decade since they last won on Arsenal turf, they have yet to win at the Emirates and have already lost twice to the Gunners this season, once in the League Cup in October when Wenger fielded a side with an average age of 22.
But Arsenal are winless in their last four games in all competitions, and have only scored twice in that time, so much may come down to confidence on Wednesday, with Arsene Wenger still looking for his 300th win as a Premier League manager.
The Gunners' rehabilitation may have to begin with a draw.
Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool
Emirates Stadium, Ashburton Grove, London N5
A week may be a long time in politics, but three weeks can seem an absolute age in football; in Arsenal's case, an ice age. A chill of glacial proportions has descended on the Emirates since the young Gunners had the temerity to go top of the Premier League by beating Bolton Wanderers 4-2 on 20 January.
They haven't won a match since, and their title ambitions will be in deep freeze should Liverpool extend that demoralising streak on Wednesday night. Indeed, a win for the Merseysiders would leave them just two points behind Arsenal and underline once again how quickly and dramatically fortunes can change in football.
Liverpool were, until recently, the season's biggest casualty, the team who had been tipped by many to end their 20-year wait for the title this term but instead found themselves scrabbling about at the back of the queue for fourth place, out of both domestic cups and relegated ignominiously from the Champions League to the Europa League in Europe.
But a run of seven Premier League games without defeat has pushed the Reds up the table, rebuilding battered confidence and leaving them suddenly with third-placed Arsenal in their sights rather than fretting about the likes of top-four aspirants Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Reflecting how the pendulum has swung recently, Rafael Benitez has been replaced in the media firing line by Arsene Wenger. While Rafa's hang-dog expression has given way to a more upbeat demeanour and he is now able to talk about team spirit, battling qualities and clean sheets, Wenger's body language increasingly betrays frustration. He is presenting the sort of defensive qualities that Gunners fans would love their team to display on the pitch.
Such stalwarts of the halcyon days of Arsenal defending as Lee Dixon and Martin Keown have this week been brutally honest about the shortcomings of the current back-four, so clinically exposed in the last 10 days by the ruthless single-mindedness of Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba. Nor, it must be said, has the goalkeeper behind those defenders covered himself in glory.
And having observed the calamitous vulnerability to counter-attacking of Arsenal's adventurous possession football, those of a Liverpool persuasion such as Jan Molby, Alan Hansen and Steven Gerrard have concluded that the Gunners are there for the taking by the Reds, with Rafa's side fortunate to be meeting Wenger's at a time when the latter are perceived to be so deflated.
Of course, things are rarely so black and white, particularly in this Premier League season. After all, while Liverpool haven't lost a league game since crashing at bottom club Portsmouth on 19 December, their recent performances have been far from vintage, and embedded in their current run was that sobering Anfield defeat by Reading in an FA Cup replay.
True, they haven't conceded a goal since Robert Huth's last-gasp equaliser at
Stoke City, and have been displaying the sort of grit and resilience that was conspicuously absent earlier in the season.
As for Arsenal, their performance at Stamford Bridge was at least a significant improvement on the one they'd produced a week earlier against Manchester United. And for all their inability to conjure a goal despite abundant possession in the Chelsea game, they remain the Premier League's second highest scorers.
They are now being widely written off, with Wenger carrying the can - not only for failing to bring in a target-man striker in January, but also for adhering to a style of play that had pundits cooing with admiration a short while ago.
Whether such criticism is wholly justified is debatable; a sense of perspective is helpful at times such as these. Wenger's adversary on Wednesday, Benitez, knows all about going from hero to zero overnight and coming out the other side with your footballing principles uncompromised.
As Wenger told journalists this week: "You have to accept that when you lose games, the way you play is always questioned - a fantastic quality when you win becomes a fantastic mistake when you lose."
What will particularly irk Wenger, though - apart from what he feels is wilful misrepresentation of his words by the gentlemen of the press - is the damning perception that his team's progress has been somewhat illusory.
It seems that, for the fourth season running, a promising campaign has unravelled in the space of three or consecutive fixtures. A five-match sequence that began in the intimidating atmosphere of Stoke City's Britannia Stadium, ends with Liverpool's visit this week and embraced games against Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea in between. That was always going to be a season-defining spell, at least on the domestic front.
Elimination from the FA Cup and one point from the last nine in the league has left critics concluding that Arsenal are no further forward than they were a year ago. Many of those same critics, meanwhile, are starting to revise their earlier dismissal of Liverpool's prospects. For the Reds are now suggesting that Benitez's bold 'guarantee' of a top-four finish was not as fanciful as it seemed.
That promise was made in the wake of Arsenal's 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Anfield on 13 December, when Liverpool were a distant seventh.
FORM GUIDE
Arsenal
07 Feb (Premier League) v Chelsea (A) LOST 0-2
31 Jan (Premier League) v Man Utd (H) LOST 1-3
27 Jan (Premier League) v Aston Villa (A) DREW 0-0
24 Jan (FA Cup) v Stoke City (A) LOST 1-3
20 Jan (Premier League) v Bolton Wanderers (H) WON 4-2
17 Jan (Premier League) v Bolton Wanderers (A) WON 2-0
Liverpool
06 Feb (Premier League) v Everton (H) WON 1-0
30 Jan (Premier League) v Bolton Wanderers (H) WON 2-0
26 Jan (Premier League) v Wolverhampton W (A) DREW 0-0
20 Jan (Premier League) v Tottenham Hotspur (H) WON 2-0
16 Jan (Premier League) v Stoke City (A) DREW 1-1
13 Jan (FA Cup replay) v Reading (H) LOST 1-2 (aet)
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal
Nicklas Bendtner could make his first start since October, after coming off the bench against Chelsea to provide a more physical focal point in attack. Fellow striker Eduardo is still sidelined with a torn hamstring.
Johan Djourou, Carlos Vela (both knee), Kieran Gibbs (foot), Fran Merida and Robin van Persie (both ankle) are all unavailable.
Last starting XI (v Chelsea): Almunia; Sagna (Eboue 74), Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy, Diaby (Rosicky 74), Song, Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott (Bendtner 64), Arshavin. Subs not used: Fabianski, Denilson, Ramsey, Campbell.
Squad: Almunia, Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy, Arshavin, Fabregas, Walcott, Song, Nasri, Diaby, Fabianski, Campbell, Denilson, Fabianski, Ramsey, Eboue, Bendtner, Rosicky, Eastmond.
Liverpool
Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos begins a three-match suspension after being sent off against Everton.
Martin Skrtel is likely to be recalled in his place, but midfielder Alberto Aquilani misses the game through illness.
Yossi Benayoun (broken rib), Glen Johnson and Fernando Torres (both knee) are unavailable.
Last starting XI (v Everton): Reina; Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Agger, Insua, Mascherano, Lucas, Kuyt (Skrtel 90), Gerrard, Maxi (Aurelio 90), Ngog (Babel 63). Subs not used: Cavalieri, Aquilani, Riera, Degen.
Squad: Reina, Skrtel, Agger, Carragher, Insua, Gerrard, Lucas, Rodriguez, Riera, Ngog, Kuyt, Cavalieri, Pacheco, Spearing, Darby, Babel, Aurelio, Degen.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal
Andrey Arshavin memorably scored four at Anfield against Liverpool last season, and also hit a stunning winner there for the Gunners in December. The little Russian has cut a forlorn figure, though, in recent matches, and has admitted that he is being used out of position as Arsenal's centre forward - a state of affairs forced on the team by injuries to others and the failure to buy a new striker last month.
At least Bendtner's return from injury could take some of the pressure of Arshavin's shoulders, and free him up to play in his preferred role as support striker. His goal against Bolton took the Gunners to the top three weeks ago; another goal on Wednesday could help arrest their current slide.
Liverpool
Dirk Kuyt can take as much credit as anyone for Liverpool's recent improvement. The tireless Dutchman has scored four of the Reds' last five goals, including both against Tottenham and the winner - his 50th in a Liverpool shirt - in last Saturday's Merseyside derby against Everton.
Although often unappreciated, his whole-heartedness and willingness to work for the team are key qualities that earned praise from Benitez this week. And the ex-Feyenoord man - bought as a striker but mostly deployed wide in midfield since Fernando Torres arrived at Anfield - is also benefiting from leading the attack in El Nino's absence. And it was Kuyt who scored the opener against Arsenal at Anfield.
PREDICTION
Back-to-back defeats against the two teams above them have left Arsenal nine points behind Chelsea with 13 games to play, but they are not giving up on the title just yet - despite defensive naivety. Meanwhile Liverpool have closed to within five points of Arsenal, and will be aiming to reduce that gap to two by heaping more misery on the wounded Gunners.
However, while Liverpool have won six of their last nine league games, and lost only once, they have a poor recent record against Arsenal. It is a decade since they last won on Arsenal turf, they have yet to win at the Emirates and have already lost twice to the Gunners this season, once in the League Cup in October when Wenger fielded a side with an average age of 22.
But Arsenal are winless in their last four games in all competitions, and have only scored twice in that time, so much may come down to confidence on Wednesday, with Arsene Wenger still looking for his 300th win as a Premier League manager.
The Gunners' rehabilitation may have to begin with a draw.
Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £100 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power for a free bet up to £50 |
|
Thank you for your comment!
Please enter your name
Please enter your location
Please share your comment!
71 Comments
Advertisement
Inside Goal.Com
-
Capello remains one of the greats of the game
After tasting success wherever he had gone previously, the coach will look upon his time at Wembley as an incomplete job rather than a complete failure
-
Can Suarez repeat Cantona's grand comeback?
The divisive Uruguayan can look to history when he starts against United on Saturday for the first time since receiving an eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra
-
Key battles: Manchester United v Liverpool
The former Reds defender believes that the Uruguayan must put controversy to the back of his mind when his team face the champions
-
The importance of Champions League qualification
The Ruhr side's remarkable run in Europe's elite tournament saw their revenue unexpectedly soar last season, but some teams are structured to depend on such results to survive
-
Cartoon: Capello's managerial merry-go-round
Goal.com cartoonist Omar Momani gives us his unique take on the football news of the day ...
Advertisement
Advertisement
