Liverpool and Arsenal Excite Despite Score

Another Monday matchup for Liverpool.  This time it promised to have a bit more intrigue.  Traveling to the Emirates to face an old rival in Arsenal was poised to be the first real test of undefeated Liverpool.  It would prove to be just that, though the away side came out with a firm belief that they could perhaps take all three points.

Both sides traded chances in the first five minutes.  Benteke continued to be a revelation for the Reds as he strode up the right side and cut it back toward the spot.  Coutinho hit a strong right footer and was unlucky to hit the crossbar.  To counter that, only moments later, Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey was unlucky not to score in the 9th minute as offside was called, unnecessarily.  It would prove to be a rough opening 20 minutes or so for the officials.  They failed to call a foul on Liverpool in the 21st minute, which led to Benteke striding toward the box and then no foul was given on the follow through clip.  Francis Coquelin did get the ball originally, but came through Benteke's legs just a bit.

With the exception of a two or three minute spell in which Arsenal put on a master class of passing, Liverpool really controlled most of the game and had more true chances.  James Milner almost scored in the 25th minute.  Benteke continued to impress with his strength and skill.  The new Liverpool frontman showcased himself in a run through the defense in the 30th minute only to fail to connect on a short pass to Coutinho.  Roberto Firmino, on the other hand has been a bit slower to gel into his new side.  The youngster chose not to shoot in the 37th minute and gave the ball away, perhaps wanting to find favor with teammates instead of taking a chance himself.

Despite all the chances, Liverpool just could not find the back of the net.  Petr Cech made an unbelievable save on Benteke towards the end of the half.  Even the Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers thought it was a sure goal only to have the longtime Chelsea keeper dive at the perfect moment to get a hand on it and keep the Gunners level.  A minute later Cech kicked away a chance off the following corner after Firmino found the loose ball and took a blast.  45th minute, Coutinho had a great bit of skill to fake out the defender and then a fingernail save by Cech and the woodwoork kept the Brazilian off the scoresheet again.

The first 5 minutes of the second half belonged to Liverpool, but Arsenal began to find a bit of possession in 51 min.  Possession and passing culminated with a near goal from Alexis Sanchez as he kissed one off the left post in the 61st minute.  The pendulum continued to swing the other way as Arsenal dominated the chances and possession.  After several buildups with no chances for Arsenal, Simon Mingolet was forced to make a top notch save.  The Belgian dove to his right to stop a diving chance from a sprawled Oliver Giroud in the 70th minute.  Only a minute later, Mingolet was called into action again.

What looked like an innocuous shot when it came off the foot of Ramsey, curled toward the back post and Mingolet stretched to his left and made the grab.  Mingolet made another huge save in the 83rd minute when the shot deflected off Dejan Lovren.  Moments later, good defending on the part of Skrtel almost resulted in an own goal as the ball just skimmed wide.  Arsenal continued to put on the pressure, but Liverpool managed to keep the dam from breaking.  There were cracks and leaks, but no goals conceded for the third game in a row.

Liverpool did manage to create a pulse pounding chance late on as the late sub, Alberto Moreno, used his boatloads of pace to counter the Gunners after a Sanchez turnover.  Unfortunately for the Reds, Moreno tried to go all the way into the box instead of laying it through to Benteke.  A draw was a fair result for both squads when all the variables are considered.  Liverpool dominated the first half and could easily have been up 2-0.  Arsenal dominated the second half and only a big save from Mingolet kept them off the sheet.  The officials messed up another offside call, again benefiting Liverpool, but they also did not call several fouls that could have impacted the match for either side.

Fans of both squads will be disappointed in the lack of goals, but a draw was a fair result for both and a good result for Liverpool.  The defense, while never going to be a strong point for this squad, has looked much improved and been a pleasant surprise so far.  When a win is on the table a draw can be looked at with disdain, but if you told most Liverpool supporters they would leave the Emirates with a point, most would not balk.  The Reds would dearly loved to get all nine points from the first three games, but cannot complain too much when many pundits would probably have predicted only six points at best and more likely to have only four.  In the end, though a win was not to be had on this day, Liverpool has played a little better each game.  If they can continue that trend, good things will be on the table for the rest of the year.

Random Thoughts:
- Lucas may have been exhausted, but putting Jordan Rossiter into such an important game was a bit alarming.  I'm all for giving players a chance, but when three points were still on the line against a team you're competing with for top four it was a gamble.

- As I said at the end of the primary article, Liverpool played much better in my opinion than they did in both wins in prior weeks.  It would have just been nice to poach all three points and perhaps those extra two points may have been deserved given the fact that Liverpool out-chanced Arsenal even with only 1/3 the possession.

- Again, perhaps it has to do with fitness, but despite the fact Moreno almost created a late chance I was surprised to see Coutinho come off in such a tight contest.

- Speaking of Moreno, I have to give credit to Rodgers' choice of Joseph Gomez.  I thought Moreno, while not stellar defensively, got a raw deal last season when he did not play that poorly.  I was hoping he would get a chance to take the left spot in a back four this year, but Gomez has really shined up to this point.

- Skrtel and Lovren will probably never be the first choice center pairing for most Liverpool fans.  They have played very well this year, even with a couple breakdowns here and there.  Their main problem, outside a lack of pace, is they are the same player.  They go hard into challenges, which creates problems with some referees especially when they go over the top.  They get caught flat footed at times and do a lot of tugging and pulling.

- Credit goes to Arsenal for making the adjustments, but it was a bit disappointing that Liverpool created so much havoc but could not take advantage of the poor defending and constant giveaways by Arsenal's patchwork center pairing.

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