An early Xmas gift from @anicoll5
Good morning from a grey and windy Norfolk on match day.
Let me open with a quote from the genuinely immortal Mr Shankly in response to a question from a journalist concerning the ‘pressure’ of his Liverpool side topping the First Division at the time.
“Pressure is working down the pit. Pressure is having no work at all. Pressure is trying to escape relegation on 50 shillings a week. Pressure is not the European Cup or the Championship or the Cup Final. That’s the reward.”
Ah yes Bill, and as you had as a teenager worked down the pit, then been on the dole in the early 30’s when your pit shut down you understood this. Drop in serving in the RAF, defeating Naziism, and helping AFC win the League Cup south during those war years and I guess you had the gravitas to opine. You understood the glaring but eternal truth that football is there to be enjoyed and success revelled in, not shied away from or complained about or feared.
It is a quote that should be marked in every match programme, learned by heart by every football fan before they are issued with access to the ground or social media, chanted rhythmically by Arsenal supporters seeking Buddhist enlightenment, even bannerized (new word alarm bleeps ! ).
The awakening would not be intellectual, but a change in how we, as fans, experience and perceive. But no, you’re right, perhaps not bannerized.
The ‘cherrypickers’ reference btw – Bill’s Ayrshire village team of Glenbuck when he was a boy.
And so on to the game. Plenty of coverage in the media of which I am sure you are all well aware. There seems to be a lot of ‘fence-sitting’ on the outcome. The Scousers first home game since their disaster against Basle, but two good football performances from them since, despite the score line at Trafford Park.
For us the nasty but receding recollection of the equivalent contest last season(shudders) but scoring goals smoothly and good players all over the park. A game in which we have a good record of wins and draws over the last decade, and the ground at which the 49 Invincibles game got underway. Would such a happy glacier begin this afternoon ?
Looking at the pictures of the Ox in training yesterday and apparently actively involved suggests Wenger’s cautious optimism concerning the young man’s groin was well founded. I shall revisit that comment on Ox’s fitness about 4.30 this afternoon however. Indeed if by 4.30 we are still 0-0 or better I shall have a strong fancy of us taking an important step this afternoon.
I shall not detain you longer this Sunday morn as you have presents to buy, gifts to wrap and, perhaps, some chanting to get on with.
Positively Arsenal 
After last week’s performance one must be confident…..nice post Andrew
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Great comments re Shankly and very timely.
Should be a good game later and the non-lunchtime kick-off won’t hurt us. Good time to bury memories of last season’s equivalent fixture but no way can this, as some try to claim, be considered a candidate for some sort of ‘routine’ win. Both sides would very much like a ‘statement’ victory; will have to wait and see who appears to want it more.
I’d say we have the better side, by some distance and for me, the continued re-integration of Giroud with his new attacking teamates is but one of the aspects that make this even more of a ‘must watch’ game than usual.
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Fantastic stuff Andrew,I’m a little bit anxious this morning about the game,but am sure if we turn up & play we’ll win.
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lest you think the ‘cherrypickers’ comment is evidence of sad but inevitable cognitive decline the title of the piece was originally “Arsenal Cherrypickers”
George knows a good hook though !
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Liverpool won’t be as bad today as many Gooners think, Arsenal will have a lot to do well to come home with 1 point, nevermind 3.
Hope they do, as ever.
Nice post Andrew.
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Thanks Andy Nic: top writing, even topper wisdom. Family stuff means that the recorder is on, and with luck should be able to settle down at abut 7 to see how it all turns out. Good luck to all involved.
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Nerves before a game? Today is no exception. Good luck my fellow gooners, gunners etc. in arms, may the best team win (The Arsenal).
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“Helping AFC win the League Cup south” That would be a tale I’d like to hear
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Nice post Andrew.
I have a comfortable feeling about pending game for some reason.
On another note I’d like to ask if anyone can think of something I can treat myself with for a couple of hours at one point next year.
Wife hits 60 and while she may well not be keen on me posting that, she is happy that I’ve complied with her wishes and booked a week away at the time, to somewhere she hasn’t previously been.
My request for something for me to treat myself to is by way of rewarding myself for getting things right with the wife.
So, if anyone can think of something I can do in the week upto my wife’s birthday on 20th March while we’re celebrating her birthday in Monaco, to give myself a pat on the back, I’d be most grateful.
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Great write up Andrew, the Yellow buzz running around anfield will hum today. It should be a great match COYG
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two wins in 9 with Michael Oliver as ref and to help matters Arsenal are not really in the game yet, very flat performance so far.
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well am not watching so can someone watching say if we are that bad? see the comment by BBC for the goals
GOAL
Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal – Philippe Coutinho
Posted at 45 mins
Again Arsenal lose possession and Jordan Henderson finds Philippe Coutinho 20 yards from goal. The Brazilian has impressed today and finds space to drive low, across goal and in off the post. He races away to celebrate and is mobbed.
Jackpot for Liverpool and Arsenal get what they deserve right on half-time.
Then…
GOAL
Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal – Mathieu Debuchy
Posted at 45+2
This goal is reminiscent of Bolton in the Sam Allardyce days. Keep the ball alive was the mantra. Very un-Arsenal.
A free-kick into the box is headed partially clear but Mathieu Flamini nods it right back into the mixer and there is Mathieu Debuchy six yards from goal to level.
What an escape for Arsene Wenger’s side.
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so it is what pool deserved, but for us it escape?
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And with one bound, almost entirely against the run of play and after one of the most bizarre sessions of passing I have ever seen, we are free !!!
The Scousers have been very good to be fair and it’s been clinging on for most of the game. Pat on the back for Debucy but I hope Arsene slaps Flamini
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Funnily enough, although Liverpool have had most of the possession, they haven’t done much with it. Bit frenetic me thinks – lots of giving the ball away, more us than them. Surely we can’t be that poor in second half. I also expect things will slow down somewhat as tiredness takes its toll.
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Mind you I see Flamini won the header back to Debuchy – fate ?
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come on Arsenal, Giroud puts us ahead
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ye yes yes… Giroud
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arsenal still very open in midfield, we seem to lack energy and speed today
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Alexis loses the ball an awful lot needlessly, especially on the turn. Arsenal despite leading are not playing that well. Need to bring on Coquelin to help put in a few tackles in midfield, and Theo out wide to give us an escape ball. 15 minutes plus what I expect to be up to 10 minutes injury time to play.
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9 minutes of injury time to be played
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how the fuck do you not have a player on both posts, such a stupid fucking goal to let in, utterly avoidable.
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You said it eduardo.
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Bloody hell – I’m exhausted
Great game
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A fair distribution of the points I’d say
Much improved second half I thought – I would give Giroud the MotM for us by some distance although in last 15 minutes Szcz was superb. Debuchy had a good afternoon too.
Obviously I should blame Michael Oliver but for once I just can’t be arsed.
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2 DM’s and 5 defenders v 10 men and they still get a free header to level, Steve Bould needs to up his set piece training, and talking about set pieces, we would be better off knocking the ball out of play at our corners as its a complete waste of time what we are doing, cant even get the ball past the first defender, Alexis and Cazorla were as usual totally inept with their corner taking today, amazing that such talented players can’t fucking take a decent corner kick.
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wenger reveled that Giroud was very sick overnight, that late goal has left us all very sick tonight
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Unbelievable isn’t it eddy ?
If it was down to me I would have chopped Skrtel in half as he ran in
Simple
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I particularly the relentless and totally pointless knocking it in low every corner, thereby lulling the opposition into a false sense of security that we can’t take a corner
Then wham
We hit a long one over everyone’s head
Cunning
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skertel is their main danger at corners, we had an extra man, surely you don’t let their biggest danger a free run, you put someone in front of him, its not rocket science, its a bit of intelligence and a bit of desire. You have to put your body on the line so late in the game, and we did not. It cost us the game.
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I’m surprised we did so well with the midfield we had. A point is fair, in my estimation.
At least we’re still in with a shout at third while still missing a bunch of really good players.
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On the other hand eddy if you are Skrtel, the big threat etc. , are you just going to stand there and allow yourself to be blocked off ?
No you are going to move about, and angle and time your run so that you hit what was a good corner as well as you can.
It was a good goal although about as preventable as any other good goal.
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No idea why Rodgers is complaining about the Anfield pitch ?
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In January signing a replacement for Arteta is more important than another CB, although after another very poor performance from Per today a CB is needed, but I very much doubt even if we sign a CB that it would be Per that would get dropped. Did he actually duck the ball on their second goal
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anicol the fact is for him to get on the end of the corner is way more difficult if he has to move around trying to free himself from a blocker, than it is when there is five yards of totally vacant space for him, we made it so much easier for him to get a fre run at the corner. Questions also have to be asked as to why we did not place men on both posts.
Giroud going off was a big miss when defending the corners, he is very good in there, much better than Welbeck, but AW said OG was very sick last night, so its understandable why he was taken off.
A bit surprised that Theo did not come on for Alexis so that we had an out ball v 10 men, but can’t put blame for bringing on another defender
first choice players missing today, Koscielny, Arteta, Ramsey, Ozil and Walcott, that is half our first choice outfield players, so a 2-2 is not a bad result, just the manner of it that makes it fell that way.
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Only another 10 sleeps til Transfer Bingo
Yaaaay
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Twitter is in meltdown yet again.
Arsenal are doing far better in difficult away games compared to last season, shame nobody is noticing.
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Fingers I would point at tonight would be Welbeck, Alexis and AOC. But that wouldn’t be be popular.
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Ed, we did have men at both posts.
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DC we did not, gibbs was not on the post, he was yards away from it, if he had been on the post the goal would not have gone in, Gibbs went out to cover their first man, as Welbeck(I think) seemed to lose him or maybe he was assigned some other spot, when the ball went long Gibbs moved back towards his goal but was a couple of yards away when ball went in.
DC I agree on the players who were very poor today, Welbeck, Ox and Alexis, not sure we can say yet that we are doing much better in the big away games than last season, only played 2, lost at CFC and gave away the win today
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I thought Danny was poor today but I also thought Danny looked knackered today – just not sharp and lacking that spring in his step
He has played a lot of football since 1st September and worked hard – I would not be sorry to see Joel start against Rangers
And who knows – there is always Theo ?
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not what I’d expect from an Arsenal captain, Per should have been taking the hit for the team, not ducking out
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B5ZpNJxCEAAmunh.jpg:large
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Eddy that photo doesn’t show anything.
If anything Chambers could’ve closed down Skertal or the clearance for the corner could’ve been better, but that’s no a reason to bust anyone’s footballs.
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that photo shows per not being committed enough. Yes there were many mistakes on the goal, at least four of our players could have done things differently that may have with any one of them stopping the goal.
On a wider issue there is a flaw in the way we do zonal marking, our players tend to be in an area but many of them never actually attack the ball when it comes to their area, and also many of the players whose job it is to block runners just don’t do it. Martin Keown says that Steve Bould does the training with the squad on defending set pieces, as a player Bould was outstanding at set pieces, both defending and attacking, he needs to get a bit more work done with the squad.
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Eduardo
The photo doesn’t show anything. A replay, that’s a different matter, but this particular still is not very conclusive or useful and I wouldn’t waste my time with it.
I’m sure the eleven men of Arsenal could’ve done some things better there at the death against the ten but I’m not going to tell a key member of a WC winning defence in the opinion I his peers and coaches, or Steve Bould what to do! And I was singing Bould’s praises when the AAAA Groaners were groaning about his appointment before the predictable shift to cunning groaning tactic (“Why don’t they let Bould coach?”, “erm, he is a coach, in case you hadn’t noticed…”) Though now you’ve got me started I wish someone would tell them to mix up the attacking corners a little bit (like the u21s have been soon so well 😉 ), and maybe stop Alexis taking them for a bit etc.: always room for improvement but also it’s worth considering that:
That was arguably Liverpool’s best game against AFC in ages even better then their performance in the corresponding fixture last season when things went in their favour in the opening spell of the game and AFC were not playing well.
Most shots most poss. for Pool vs Arsenal in any game since 03. They were unlucky with the ricochet that landed in the keeper’s hands. A draw was not an unfair result.
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Sanchez and Welbeck both due a breather, this slight delay for Walcott has been annoying in that regard. But I’m not moaning about the injuries. Nope! Been nice to have had Rambo out there today.
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Another big game coming up!
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finsbury, even Wenger has said Per erred by not jumping at the corner, (so it seems the photo does show something) think he also mentioned Monreal too for being at fault for not challenging
And yes finsbury, our corner taking is a way bigger problem than our defending of corners, the odd thing is that we basically seemed to have two types of corners, hit the first defender or miss everyone. The odd thing is that our U18’s, U19’s and U21 teams all have some very inventive corner routines, lots of variety and the coaches have admitted that a lot of work has gone into it, as has with their free kick set play. The first teams needs improve our set plays big time. The amazing thing is that Alexis and Cazorla clearly have great dead ball skills, but for some unknown reason they get corners so badly wrong.
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finsbury – do you expect wenger to rotate much v qpr
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To be clear Eddy I was happy to share my thoughts that Chambers was putting pressure on the BFG for his starting berth, when Kozza was fit earlier on in the season.
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Eddy I don’t think there’s any choice but to rotate as much as possible, which bearing in mind the missing is less then would be desired!
But I’m not complaining about injuries. Nope!
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I do hope we make a few changes v QPR
I see many of the Cult of Wenger out are a bit confused as to why Debuchy played CB and Chambers RB, this despite many of them complaining game after game that Per and Chambers were not a good partnership
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