Post Match Thread - Arsenal (H)

[IN_RAFA_WE_TRUST]

Scott Carson,Chris Kirkland,Pepe Reina all had a bad weekend.

[RedReet]

Glen johnson is a worry for me. Im sick of seeing him get done or turned by a player all too easy. Its school boy errors. It just seems to me that a player ca turn or step inside and he's left for dead.

Not a fan of Johnson, never really have been.

He lacks concentration at vital times, caught napping today on a few occasions and if Arshavin was on form, he'd have tore Johnson apart.

As for his attacking play, yes, by and large it's good, links well with Kuyt but too often he tries too take on one too many and the move fizzles out.
Would rather he just made room for himself then got a few crosses in.

Odd, I thought Johnson was one of our best players yesterday. I thought all our best play came down the right thanks mainly to him and Kuyt and I can't remember him getting troubled defensively at all.

Admittedly when I watched the match again I spent most of the first half on the internet, but just wondering when these times where when he was caught napping?

[PTP]

well he had a bit of a stinker for their goal - what was he thinking there, he had possesion, he had three options,

1) run witht the ball as fast he can to take it away from danger
2) pass it wide about 5 yards to kuyt(i think it was) who had got into space
3) **** it as far and as hard he can done the pitch

Instead, well it looked like he tried to kick it really hard at the arsenal player who was square to him - missed his target and it flew out - the resulting quick throw was controlled and whipped in dangerously. goal

Anyway - i like johnson - for years i moaned that our full backs were too defensive, couldn't get passed the halfway line, and we were falling behind united/chelsea/arsenal who all had at least one decent attacking fullback.

It's more difficult in the bigger games/against harder teams - but he is absolutely vital for when we play the 'lesser' teams who certainly at anfield, and some of them at their own grounds two, will look to put 10 men behind the ball.

[RedReet]

In hindsight he should have hoofed the ball up the pitch. I don’t think the first two options were viable as three Arsenal players where closing him and Kuyt down. You could see he wanted to play the pass to Kuyt, but Kuyt would have been closed down right away and probably lost possession. It would also have been far too risky to try dribbling it out of defence, he’d have been slated if he tried and lost the ball. Rule number one as a defender is if in doubt, put it out which is what he did, albeit a bit unconventionally and probably unintentionally. It’s just very unfortunate that the resulting throw-in lead to a goal.

[PTP]

aye - i totally agree - the best option was too hoof it as far as possible - my point was, that no matter how stupid or difficult it would have been to either dribble it out or pass to kuyt, it wasn't as stupid as trying to kick the ball at opposition player, near the edge of your own box, completley missing him, and going straight out for their throw.

[RedReet]

God, it really was such a **** goal to concede and such a disappointing way to drop two points.

Ahh well, Johnson to get the winner against City with an assist from Pepe.

[SK]

Just after puberty !

as soon as their balls drop

[Mostar]

God, it really was such a **** goal to concede and such a disappointing way to drop two points.

Ahh well, Johnson to get the winner against City with an assist from Pepe.

One of ****tiest I have seen. Nobody can feel worse than Pepe..

The luck was definitely on Arse's side.

If we get a point or by some luck all 3 against Cityh this will be easily forgotten.

[Leyton388]

Yeah it was a bit of a stupid decision by Johnson to try and kick it out of the Arsenal player in a dangerous area of the field.

Oh well onwards and upwards now!

[shanks69]

I thought Cole got sent off because the tackle was on an Arsenal player rather than because it was a terrible tackle, Wenger moans for years about tackles on his players and the Arsenal players reactions got Cole sent off. For what it's worth if Cole made that tackle home to say Birmingham on his debut it's a yellow all day long.

Also not sure what difference there was between that and Whilshere's tackle on Mascherano.

i heard a bit of talksport before and they had a retired ref on the hawksbee and jacobs show,he's on every week can't remember his name i think it might be alan cooper.anyway he said if you send cole of for that challange whilshere should have gone too.

[IN_RAFA_WE_TRUST]

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has defended goalkeeper Jose Reina after the Spaniard’s late blunder cost the Reds two points against Arsenal on Sunday.

The Anfield stopper bundled the ball back over his own goal-line after Gunners new boy Marouane Chamakh flicked a late header against the post to level the score in his side’s Premier League opener against the Emirates Stadium side.

But England international Gerrard believes the 27-year-old will make up for his error over the course of the coming campaign.

GEAR: Get a Reina shirt

"For me he is one of the best 'keepers in the world and he will certainly make up for that during the season," Gerrard told Liverpool’s official website.

"He is worth a lot of points to this football club, there is no two ways about it. I'm not making excuses but he was unlucky and I think the sun played a big part.

"But somewhere down the line, we will be winning 1-0 or drawing and he will make a world class save - that's what he does.

"There is no finger pointing here. Everyone can walk away from the game with their heads held high and be proud of the performance."

Liverpool will look to bounce back from the disappointment of Arsenal's late leveller in their next match, a home tie with Turkish side Trabzonspor in the final qualifying round of the Europa League on Thursday evening.

[Taxi]

"Passed us out of the game"? Personally I'd love to play teams like that every week. Dozens of passes from left to right in midfield, then back to the left and, for good measure, a dozen more passes back to the right with absolutely zero penetration once within 25 yards of goal. That's why it took them until the 86th minute when they'd been playing against only 10 men for half a match (and just 9 men for 10 minutes) to create their first chance.

If we'd had 11 men on the pitch in the second half we'd have won by at least a couple of goals. As it was we were forced by circumstances to get behind the ball and hope for something from a breakaway or a set-piece.

On the evidence of yesterday we've got far more to be positive about than Arsenal for the coming season

I'm not saying they created plenty of chances, what I'm saying is that with 11 men on the pitch we were chasing shadows as the somewhat makeshift Arsenal kept possession easily. This against a Liverpool with plenty of premiership experience.

"If we'd had 11 men on the pitch in the second half we'd have won by at least a couple of goals" Exactly how many chances did we make with 11 men? We couldn't even keep the ball.

The sending off changed the game, Arsenal came out with a more lax attitude because they thought they had it in the bag with Cole off and we came out fighting for exactly the same reason.

[Craig_H]

They were hardly 'makeshift'

[Taxi]

They were hardly 'makeshift'

well, they were 3 or 4 players down. No Fabregas, Song, Bendtner, Van Persie on the bench, but yes maybe makeshift is a bit extreme

[Craig_H]

well, they were 3 or 4 players down. No Fabregas, Song, Bendtner, Van Persie on the bench, but yes maybe makeshift is a bit extreme

Song and Bendtner wouldnt play anyway