FULLTIME: Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool
It was a night of two goalkeepers, as Petr Cech and Simon Mignolet ensured Arsenal and Liverpool could not be separated at the Emirates, with the game finishing 0-0.
Changes were made for both teams, with the home side having to shuffle their defensive pack, with the absence of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny meaning starts for Calum Chambers and Gabriel. Liverpool made three changes from their win against Bournemouth, with Jordon Ibe, Adam Lallana and the injured captain Jordan Henderson making way for Emre Can, Lucas and a first start for £29million signing Roberto Firmino.
Liverpool started brightly, as Coutinho unleashed a shot early that rattled against the crossbar, before Arsenal got their motor purring. The critical moment of the first half was an offside call against Aaron Ramsay that denied what looked a legitimate goal after Santi Cazorla found the Welshman with a superb diagonal centre-field pass.
That misfortune aside, the better moments of the opening half belonged to the visitors, and that was courtesy of some wayward Arsenal passing. Yet they had new goalkeeper Petr Cech to thank for not allowing a halftime Liverpool lead, with the former Chelsea champion pulling off two outstanding saves, first to palm away what looked a certain Christian Benteke goal following Firmino’s pinpoint cross that should have been tapped in by the Belgian. Cech’s second golden moment came in the dying stages of the half, when Coutinho dribbled infield inside the penalty area before curling in a shot that looked destined for the top left of Cech’s net, but for an outstretched fingertip save that meant Arsenal could go to the sheds level.
The halftime talk served Arsenal well, as they came out with greater purpose in the second stanza, ensuring Liverpool was firmly on the defensive. That nearly came to fruition before the hour, as Alexis Sanchez missed a wonderful chance to give Arsenal the lead following a good one-two with Olivier Giroud that rattled Simon Mignolet’s right upright.
Arsenal’s dominance continued as Aaron Ramsey placed a lovely cross that Giroud could not reach to tap in, with Liverpool’s defence firmly stretched midway through the second half. As both teams rang in the changes, including a Premier League debut for Liverpool teenager Jordan Rossiter.
Yet the changes could not abate Arsenal’s momentum, with Martin Skrtel nearly conceding a horror own goal following an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cross that the Slovakian nearly deflected into his own net. As the match entered its climax, Arsenal’s dominance did not crack the Liverpool back four, who ensured they kept a third successive clean-sheet.
In all, Arsenal would rue the poor linesman call in the first half that robbed Ramsey, while both sides had plenty to thank from their goalkeepers for numerous wonderful saves.
MATCH PREVIEW
Arsenal will look to recover from an opening day home loss when they face Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium. Join The Roar for all the action from 5am (AEST).
After the waves of confidence gained from the Community Shield victory over Chelsea, the Gunners came crashing down to earth courtesy of West Ham’s 2-0 win on the opening day.
Arsenal recovered last weekend, defeating Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park – no easy feat – but the possibility of losing two home games on the bounce should ensure there is no complacency against Liverpool.
If Arsene Wenger is after a blueprint to negate the attacking threat of Liverpool’s Christian Benteke, he need only to think back to April when a rampant Arsenal dismantled Liverpool 4-0 through some high quality defensive pressing, followed by relentless counterattack.
Arsenal’s personnel remain largely the same from that game, with the brilliant Alexis Sanchez the apex of the Gunners’ offensive play. Surrounding him are the likes of Santi Cazorla, Mesut Oezil, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey, and the mercurial Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
With Francis Coquelin shielding the defence, Arsenal have the means to challenge for the title this season, but deception has been their specialty since the days of the Invincibles.
Meanwhile, the ladder reads six points out of six for Liverpool, but there is still doubt surrounding Brendan Rodgers’ side. Saved by Philippe Coutinho’s brilliance at Stoke, the Reds followed up with a fortunate winner from Benteke against Bournemouth last week. Aside from those two winners, there has been little to suggest that Liverpool have regained the threat lost a year on from Luis Suarez’s departure.
The bright spot has been the defensive structure that Rodgers has obviously put emphasis to – Dejan Lovren is starting to assert himself like a £20 million signing should, and new fullbacks Nathaniel Clyne and Joe Gomez fit in immediately.
In the midfield, Liverpool have the dual engines of Jordan Henderson and James Milner working well in tandem, although the captain’s involvement is in doubt due to a foot strain.
While plenty have lamented Liverpool’s play in the opening two rounds, few would begrudge them a third 1-0 victory – and the last time the Reds achieved that was two seasons ago, when they nearly won the title.
Given the size of victory last April, and the motivation of the last-up loss at the Emirates, Arsenal should be on deck to take the three points and reassert their title credentials. Still, another Liverpool win, and another team may yet have a say in this year’s race.
The Roar will provide a full match wrap-up following the conclusion of this game at around 7:30am (AEST).
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