I was a little skeptical going into the game against Liverpool which is always the case when Arsenal play a top team. We have always managed to suffocate in recent seasons when playing against the big teams and although the Anfield club no longer possess the threat that the Manchester Clubs and Chelsea provide but it’s not any easier to beat them, remember the hammering last year.
Arsenal needed a win to leap frog City into second place and keep up the pace with London rivals Chelsea. However all the pre-match nerves vanished very quickly once the game began, as the Gunners started with a bang.
Liverpool started with 5 defenders which gave plenty of space for our midfielders to manufacture their moves. We started with Giroud upfront with Sanchez and Ozil on the wings, however it didn’t take long for Arsenal to change the formation as Ozil moved into his favourable no.9 role with Ramsey moving wide.
The initial possession paid off with Liverpool defenders conceding position in their own on multiple times, one of which presented Ramsey with a one-on-one against Mignolet, who made a diving sav and he was forced to maje another save from a Giroud header. We continued to dominate and it took 20 minutes for the Meryside to manufacture their first real threat on the Arsenal game.
The game settled down after the 20th minute and it was an even game form then on. The Anfield club were starting to dominate and it looked as though that it would be goalless going into the lemon break. However the goal eventually came from an unexpected source, as Bellerin made a brilliant run into the box to eventually curl the ball past the diving keeper to make it 1-0 in the 38th minute.
Minutes later Arsenal were awarded a free kick, fair distance away from the box. Ozil made it 2-0 by beautifully placing the ball into the side netting at the far corner, out of the reach of Mignolet. However that wasn’t it as we made it 3-0 on the stroke of half time, as Giroud found Sanchez just outside the box from a counter attack, which the Chilean buried into the back of the net from a powerful shot.
It was virtually game over and although Liverpool looked dangerous in the first 5 minutes after the restart, we managed to settled down and there was no way back for the Anfield. They managed to get one back from a penalty on the 70th minute, but that was more or less it. Giroud finished the beautiful day with a stunner of a goal to make it 4-1.
It was a classy performance from an Arsenal who often struggle in these big games. Coquelin was outstanding with his interceptions and Ozil silenced his critics with a wonderful performance. It was more or less a satisfying day for Arsenal and we are now second ahead of city who play later on Monday.
We are now 7 points behind Chelsea, who got past Stoke later in the day but our rivals have a game in hand. The title looks a bit far fetched at the moment but if we can keep the run going then second place should be ours.
Were you impressed with Arsenal’s display?
