Same old faults at front and back negate positives

It was a match we needed to win coming off the back of two positive performances against Man United and Bournemouth with very different outcomes.   

Again, Sterling moved in from the flanks to start in a striking role after his brace in the Capital One Cup with Markovic, Coutinho and Lallana ear marked as the creative options in support.

The start was Liverpool of old.  Quick tempo, sharp and good interchange in the final third with Coutinho on the tiller.  In only the second minute a direct run from him earned Liverpool a free-kick just outside the area which Gerrard curled wide of the post.

Swarming all over Arsenal in midfield, Liverpool were pressing high and dominating as Arsene Wenger’s team found it increasingly difficult to find and answer to the 3-4-3 formation.  Gerrard intercepted a breaking ball, succinctly dabbed the ball over the right back for Markovic to run on too before seeing his shot saved by Szczesny holding his ground at the near post.

Sterling found Markovic with excellent ball moving right to left which the Serbian midfielder could only curl high over the bar.  Through all Liverpool’s great football the poignancy of their crushing victory over Arsenal in last year’s fixture was laid even more to bare as the dominance was not being translated into goals.

Finally, a minute before half-time Liverpool struck.  Jordan Henderson, again playing away from his more familiar central berth, picked the ball up on the right and heading centrally delivered a quick pass into Coutinho who controlled beautifully with a cushion touch before making space with a drop of and shoulder before shooting home off the post.  It was nothing more than Liverpool deserved.

The fact they the lead was wiped put in less than a minute with half-time beckoning should come as no surprise to anyone watching Liverpool’s mishaps from dead-ball situations over the last two seasons.  After failing to clear Sanchez initial free-kick with any authority, Flamini headed back for Debuchy to get the better of Skrtel at the far post and equalise.  It was a crushing blow to lose the lead to a piece of rank defending.

Buoyed by their equaliser Arsenal started the second-half with more urgency although Liverpool were still on the front foot.   Skrtel’s head injury, after being inadvertently stomped on by Giroud, seemed to temporarily throw Rodgers side off kilter with the defender struggling to regain his equilibrium.

Arsenal capitalised in thrilling style breaking down the left with Gibbs playing the ball into Giroud who exquisitely found Cazorla who in turn return the compliment for the striker to sweep home in clinical fashion.  In effect Arsenal had shown the difference between the sides.  Both teams remain poor defensively, but even living off crumbs Arsenal were still able to snatch the lead.

Liverpool were in the game with Coutinho probing and came close with Lucas arriving late to just screw his shot wide of the post.

Brendan Rodgers looked to add incision in the final third introducing both Borini and Lambert.   Borini came close seeing his header pushed over by Szczesny.

The forward revved up with his lack of minutes this season was sent off after a high tackle on Cazorla after an earlier yellow card for chucking the ball down after seeing a throw-in incorrectly awarded against him.  His chances in a red shirt are disappearing faster than our Champions League chances.

The saving grace was the nine minutes of injury time and Gerrard’s long range drive saw a scrabbling diving stop from Szczesny.  Then with very little time remaining Lallana produced a flat trajectory from his corner as requested by Skrtel and the central defender looking for atonement generated a stunning header to rescue a point.

Man of the match: Philippe Coutinho – At the head of affairs, twisting, turning, prompting and probing at every opportunity.  If he could only become a more insightful player in the final third Brendan Rodgers will have the architect he craves and with Lallana now beginning to look the player of old supported by Markovic, an effective creative pool of talent is beginning to emerge.

Both goals could have been avoided.  Skrtel’s defending for the first was shocking in allowing the relatively diminuitive Debuchy to outmuscle and out jump him.

The second, admittedly a stunning move was inept in the sense that Giroud was the one Arsenal player in the box up against the three Liverpool defenders.  In a game where we effectively shut down Welbeck and Sanchez is was disappointing in the extreme to lose two goals.

A word for Brad Jones who I thought handled himself well, especially using the ball well on the ground and claiming the ball well on one occasion.  He is obviously not the answer in the long run, but such is the position we are in between the sticks that there is very little choice until changes can be made in January.

Teams:

Liverpool: 1 Jones, 4 K Toure (Lambert – 81 mins), 37 Skrtel, 17 Sakho, 14 Henderson, 21 Lucas, 8 Gerrard, 50 Markovic (Borini – 74 mins (sent off), 10 Coutinho, 31 Sterling, 20 Lallana

Substitutes: 3 Jose Enrique, 9 Lambert, 18 Moreno, 19 Maquillo, 22 Mignolet, 23 Can, 29 Borini

Brendan Rodgers comments: "Slowly we are getting back to where we want to be. Our performance was outstanding," he said.

"Our passing was crisp. When you add that to the pressing and intensity that was back in our game, and then hopefully bring Daniel Sturridge back in January, then we can get back to being the team we were last season.

"He's gone to Boston to pick up the next stage, then he'll move on again to a specialist facility out there and hopefully in the early part of the New Year he'll be back and be somewhere close to being fit and playing."

"We played better and dominated more than we did last year when we won 5-1.

"We had that intensity and pressing in our game but we are very disappointed with the goals we conceded.

"We were brilliant but we need to make better decisions defensively.

"We lost three one-on-one headers in the box for Arsenal's first goal. That is not about defensive organisation; that's about winning your duel."

Arsenal: 1 Szczesny, 21 Chambers, 2 Debuchy, 4 Mertesacker, 3 Gibbs, 15 Oxlade-Chamberlain (Campbell – 90 mins), 20 Flamini, 19 Cazorla, 17 Sanchez (Monreal – 94 mins), 12 Giroud (Coquelin – 82 mins), 23 Welbeck

Substitutes: 9 Podolski, 14 Walcott, 18 Monreal, 26 Martinez, 28 Campbell, 34 Coquelin, 70 Maitland-Niles

Referee: Michael Oliver

Attendance: 44, 703