Arsenal 1 Liverpool 0
Finally , Wenger started Bendtner in frontline , while Diaby partnered with Song n Fabregas in midfield , Nasri's head injury came at the right time as obviously Rosicky had a bigger impact for the remainder of the game.
Arshavin still performed below his level and obviously his injuried leg was the main factor , now he got his hamstring so don't expect he will start in next midweek against Porto.
First half was a lackluster as no one could ｃ ｒｅａｔｅ many chances but in 2nd half the tempo was higher and speed was quicker so the game became more eyewatching until 71st mins when Fabregas played the ball to Bendtner in the box ,who like to play one-two and back to Cesc but the ball was blocked and back to Bendtner , who passed the ball neatly to Rosicky , who ran to the right flank and crossed the ball at the right speed and height , Diaby was unmarked in the 6 yard box and headed in the net .. I have seen him who headed the similar goal but last time was his own goal against Almunia when played away at Old Trafford , undoubtedly he was excited for this goal and everybody including the bench , the manager and the players on the field were relieved ..
It's a bit mess during the last minute of injury time but referee Webb did not notice the handball of Cesc or actually he did not think it's a deliberate handball so 1-0 to Arsenal !!!
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/31668/tv-online-arsenal-v-liverpool-highlights
Arsenal 1 Liverpool 0
Diaby 71
Maybe Wenger’s not bonkers.
Maybe it could develop into a title race.
Suddenly, Chelsea and Man United look a bit vulnerable.
Six games last night, involving eight of the top ten clubs, produced some interesting results.
Manchester United could only draw 1-1 at Aston Villa after having Nani sent off in 30 minutes.
Malouda scored the first goal at Goodison but Everton beat Chelsea 2-1. That was David Moyes’s first win over Chelsea as a manager and Everton’s first win over a Big Four team in 24 attempts in the Premier League.
Louis Saha took John Terry apart, scoring twice from balls JT would normally head away. Saha also missed a penalty and another chance from a Terry error on a high ball down the middle.
The most imaginative signing of the transfer window was Moyes’s capture of Landon Donovan, an experienced player who hit the ground running. Donovan provide the corner from which Saha score the first goal, and won penalty by swerving inside Carvalho.
Rafa should have attacked Arsenal when they were wobbly in the first half hour. But he doesn’t know how to attack. A master of attrition, he has created a very, very average Liverpool side. He blew it by looking to nullify Arsenal and maybe nick a goal late on, so the game was very scrappy, lacking rhythm and goalmouth action.
Arsenal's first half hour contained high anxiety and bad memories, signalling their defeats by Manchester United and Chelsea.
If they lost this game it would have been one point from four games. Wenger knew he had a free week to prepare for Porto but that’s no good if you have lost three games in a row.
Liverpool were organised but created very little and, as usual, David Ngog was powderpuff, easily contained.
Fabregas had a poor game but Bendtner was half-decent game, feeling his way back into competitive action. It was his reverse pass to Rosicky that set up the goal in 71 minutes.
The first 15 minutes, Arsenal were poor, Reina was unemployed, and I couldn’t see Liverpool conceding a goal. After 21, I was watching a different kind of mediocrity to the mediocrity on offer lately.
Then Bendtner blasted a chance over the bar and Nasri had a shot blocked after a Reina punch, Arshavin hit a 22-yarder over the bar, Rosicky replaced Nasri, who went off with a head injury. Fabregas had a bold dribble run and a low shot saved. I figured it would be 0-0 at half-time because that was what Rafa had planned. Lucas went into the box and fired over the bar. He is not a goalscorer, no real scare there. When Ngog broke into the box, Gallas made a textbook tackle. Then Rosicky darted onto a super little pass from Arshavin but miscontrolled in a shooting position on the left.
After 58, with right back Carragher having gone off and Degen having come on, I thought, for the first time, that Arsenal could get a goal.
Bendnter got a yellow card for a dive as Agger seemed to tread on his toe when NB was looking to go over.
Walcott came on for Arshavin, whose hamstring had gone.
Then Bendtner played a ball wide, Rosicky crossed from the right. He could have crossed behind Diaby, or beyond him, but he hit the ball hard and flat to the far post and Diaby scored with a diving header from five yards. It was the first Liverpool had conceded in five Premier league matches. An old-fashioned way of scoring a goal and not one Arsenal use often enough. Sagna for Bendtner seemed to surrender the initiative and then sub Ryan Babel hit a rocket shot which Almunia tipped onto the bar and over.
Another good save came from Fabregas when he handled a free-kick by Gerrard. Fabregas was on the end of the wall, defending a soft free-kick when after Kuyt fell over, and he put his arms up.The ball, which was going in, hit his left arm above his head. Good goalkeeping!
Cesc said the ball would have hit his head if it hadn’t hit his arm. No, it wouldn’t. It would have gone into the net. Pro players in a wall should be prepared to head free-kicks like that.
A massive win by Arsenal.
A good header by a Frenchman, two good saves by the two Spaniards.
Feb 11, 2010
hi persie, i watched the game under such cold weather at night and just went back to sleep w/out further emotion after the game...I really have no clue how come such errors can be happened in such CL game and it's ridiculous ... and I fed up and don't want to say any more...
Once Rosicky was substituted then I know they couldn't level anyway.. As Rosicky and Diaby were the only two who can play properly after 2-1 down , even Cesc is below par.
chanreborn, I really could not believe my eyes when I saw that goal. Should the ref allow a quick freekick under that circumstances? When I see other such freekicks, normally there are 15 players in the box! Why didn't Fabianski just kick the ball out far far away, even if the Ref decides to give him a yellow card? It doesn’t matter, better than conceding a goal!!! The Porto coach said, I’ve seen Thierry Henry did the same when he played for Arsenal. !! The first goal was a schoolboy error, as Fabianski always does.
The Gunners did not ｃ ｒｅａｔｅ enough chances too. Yes we can lose at the back, but we have to be able to score at the front! This is a terrible result which could cost us big time, and I am gutted.
Hi chanreborn
Gong Xi Fa Cai to you too! Wishing you and your family good health and good luck!
Ashley Cole out of three months and Giggs out for a month too, maybe we really have some luck! However, we have to work hard ourselves and try to win 3 points in every game. That’s most important of all!
祝虎年身體健康，財源滾滾來，Arsenal行運行到腳指尾!
hi persie ,
kung hei fat choi and wish you and your family have a healthy year of Tiger !!!...
秋後算賬 ? not for yellow card .. don't worry
this weekend for FA cup so i can take a rest mentally , anyway if Arsenal can win 10 out of remaining 12 games and draw 2 more then total points will be 84 , then we will see what happen.. of course the margin of further errors is very small.. so lets hope no more injury to those regular players.. Arshavin need to come back in good form asap , and keep winning as a habit from now on until the end of this season.. !!
Hi chanreborn
You know what, I really loved Diaby’s goal. I think we really need more of such goals, supply on the flanks and a simple head in or tap in. Neat and sweet!
I don’t know what’s on Cesc mind in that dying second. Why didn’t he just jump up and head the ball? Why used his hand? He could have received a second yellow card and got sent off. Luckily Webb did not see it. Will there be秋後算賬架？
I watched Everton/Chelsea re-run and found it quite an interesting game. John Terry made a few crucial mistakes in the game and he and his team both got punished. Our game was quite boring in the first half because both teams kept making mistakes and passed the ball to each other, but fortunately the second half was much improved.