Liverpool v. Arsenal 1-2 13/Dec/09

Childish defending gave Liverpool the lead
[Photo: Ian Hodgson via Daily Mail]


This time the "kamikaze football" had to wait as the Gunners finished the Merseyside team in "two halves". The Gunners are assuring a reputation of something like Jekyll and Hyde: sublime attacking prowess with tremendous effective goal-scoring abilities against dismal and depleted lack defending talent. Even when the key word for a successful run of games is consistency and considering external factors -such as injuries- permeate in the final decision it is imperious that the form is sustained.
Whether the halftime rant Wenger gave to his players was as surprise, it seemed to have the effect needed. Maybe one of those techniques from Football Manager really works.



[Photo: Tim Hales/Associated Press via Guardian]


In the "first half" the Liverdpudlians were very much abusing the young visiting team. The first attempt came from a link between Torres and Gerrard, which the Spaniard wasted. Another one came from Liverpool's main striker which ended in Gerrard blatantly diving at the feet of William Gallas. The hectic start of the match was combined with the inability of the visiting defence to cover the spaces left by the defence. Instead Torres kept terrorising the London back over and over, when the twentieth miute mark was approaching.
The hostility that the Gunners put was by far one of the poorest that we had seen in the season: flops, pass misses, poor challenges, no attacking dimension at all. With fifteen minutes to go the threat proposed by the home team was a real worry. Within a space of ten minutes the Reds managed to put their counterparts agaisnt the wall, mainly through the incursions of Glen Johnson. Not a single attacking chance came from the Londoners as the match wore off.
The first attempt was a weak driver from Nasri, in the 36th minute. Obviously Liverpool's efforts paid bountiful dividends within five minutes: Almunia made one of his common timid approaches to the ball and Dirk Kuyt tipped to get the ball in the back of the net after hitting a couple of legs.



Andrey Arshavin, again the saviour as the last season.
[Photo: Getty Images via Soccernet]


Following the late lead and the desperate measures that Wenger took, the Gunners went out with renovated spirits for the second half. Luckily enough for the visitors, the leveller came pretty fast after nearly seven minutes of game. Before Johnson's own goal, the threat of Torres set up several chances for the Gunner defence. The momentum that Liverpool had during the first ten minutes of the first half, was exchanged by the fierce and aggressive style Wenger's men deployed.
The lead came, as Andrey Arshavin grabbed a lost ball before striking it in Reina's net, with a reminiscence of that 4-goal salvo last season. If there was a moment in which the Liverpudlians could have closed the gap it was when Howard Webb booked two Arsenal players for a couple of fair challenges.
As the match wore off and two substitutions were made, the current result was likely to stay due to the absence of a decision by the Liverpool squad. Two more injuries, near the end of the game arrived to the already-depleted London squad. When Sylvestre and Ramsey came in there was a sense of an achievement by many of the visiting players. The final whistle - which came after five minutes of injury time instead of the announced four - was a relief to many supporters and at this stage of the tournament.

Olympiakos v. Arsenal 1-0 9/Dec/09

[Photo: Giorgios Karahalis/Reuters via Guardian]


In another Carling Cup (sorry!) Champions League match, the young Arsenal "reserve" team lost their last game at group stage in Athens. With a place in the last sixteen already secured, the Gunners needed just a draw to end their comfortable group with a perfect record - a thing that it actually did not happen. This math was yet another exercise and a leap of faith from the high ranking officers in London to provide younglings with such an unfathomable test as visitors in Europe. With and average selection of 21 years, Kyle Bartley and Thomas Cruise were among the debutants. ITV commentator Clive Tyldesley asserted in an unmatched way the "unbeaten leaders of the Greek league against Arsenal reserves".



[Photo: Reuters via Daily Mail]


As it seemed that the incredible atmosphere in Athens could break the young guns' hearts, they managed to please the the visitor supporters at least for the first twenty minutes. The fierce Grecian defence led the way from having the London team at their won end, to providing three clear chances in the following ten minutes.
Even though in the first ten minutes the young Gunners posed an outstanding disposition, the impetuous defending and the off-guarded central defenders showed a lack of unity. The visitors travails were acquiesced by the little resistance from the Greek side, such as Ramsey's wide shot in the 34th.
The Welshman, at the heart of every movement, managed to give pace to the Londoners' match. With two yellow cards in the final 6th minutes, they looked to end the half in a high note but instead the home team made a step forward just by winning in possession and confidence.



The best man in the field for the Gunners, just after wasting a valuable chance.
[Photo: Reuters via Daily Mail]


If the first half was outstanding regarding the age of the visiting starting XI, the Gunners let themselves and their travelling supporters down as Leonardo scored just within a minute and a half from start. The London defence was caught off guard and Leonardo just went past through the remaining dummies and finished against Fabianski. In the counterpart Ramsey fed Vela in an incredible opportunity, which was timely saved by Nikopolidis.
With half-hour to go, the Gunners really did not look as if they were able to break the opposition in two, despite the number of opportunities they created. Reaching the 75th minute, luck was running out as Galitsios crashed with Sylvestre, although both players continued; Sunu replaced Jack Wilshere.
As the minutes went, the difference that was established as minimum in the previous half, slowly passed away as the London youngsters proved to be nothing but a "childish" match for the Greek team. One thing is to play every one or two weeks a merely competitive reserve match, and the other is playing week-in week-out for the last three months in such a demanding league as the Greek. Mainly, it was the physical shape of the visitors which kept them aside for contending in the last ten or so minutes. Still, Ramsey managed to deflect a venomous corner into Leonardo's body, who covered the near post.