It’s been a while since Arsenal last won a title and unfortunately for them they aren’t having this one either!
The North London league leaders were completely outplayed at Anfield on Saturday afternoon by an in-form, free scoring Liverpool side who were 4 – 0 up by the 19th minute mark.
This season we’ve been accustomed to seeing Liverpool being part of matches with large scorelines, but there’s not been many where Luis Suarez hasn’t been on the scoresheet, proving even further that this Liverpool team does not simply rely on their talismanic striker’s goals.
The action started within the first minute when a Steven Gerrard set piece was volleyed into the back of the net by Martin Skrtel of all people. A clearly rattled Arsenal side were left in further disbelief when the centre-back secured his brace on the 10th minute mark in the form of a well-taken header, this time supplied by Gerrard’s corner.
Raheem Sterling took his opportunity to rub salt into an already fresh wound when he met Luis Suarez’s through ball for a standard finish from a few yards out. Things couldn’t get much worse for Arsenal though, right? Wrong, Daniel Sturridge seized on an opportunity presented to him by a sublime through ball supplied by Brazilian Philippe Coutinho. This was all within 20 minutes and Wenger was looking extremely sullen on the sidelines (I mean, more than usual).
The ‘Gunners’ managed to keep the first half score at 4 – 0 after a rocket of a strike from Luis Suarez met the mercy of the post, saving Arsenal further embarrassment and Suarez what could have been an early shout for Goal of the Season. Although it’s fair to say Arsenal may not have been playing at their best, all credit must go to Liverpool, they simply outplayed the ‘Gunners’ in every area of the pitch, never letting the visitors settle on the ball in the first half and attacking without reserve.
The second half saw Arsenal coming out with more intent; we assume a very angry Frenchman had something to do with that. However, their slight improvement appeared to have no effect as Raheem Sterling bagged his second just seven minutes into the second half, a little luck this time as his initial shot deflected back into his path off goalkeeper Szczesny giving him a second chance. Consolation came in the form of a penalty for Arsenal after skipper Steven Gerrard, who had thus far had an outstanding game brought down Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain inside the box, which was duly converted by Mikel Arteta.
Throughout the match Liverpool were tenacity personified, not letting up or losing focus even when they were four goals to the good. Strong on all areas of the pitch, the Merseyside team defended ferociously when called upon to do so despite a weakened back four and looked a threat in attack each time they went up the pitch (which was often). In short, Arsenal were not allowed to play their game and were shown no fear from the Liverpool team who currently reside in fourth place. The loss has since resulted in Arsenal losing their top spot as Chelsea pounced on an opportunity to usurp the Premier League throne.