Our Carling Cup campaign rolled on last night as Liverpool came to the Grove. The game opened at a nice pace with some good end to end action as both teams fielded a mix of youth and experience. The opening 20 minutes saw some slick play from Arsenal which was capped by a fantastic first goal for the club by Fran Merida, a great shot from just outside the box went in off the post. Liverpool however piled on pressure and scored a great goal of their own which put the tie back on an even keel. We had our chances in the first half to go ahead, the best of which fell to Nicklas Bendtner however he shot straight at the keeper. The half finished level but both teams had the capability of winning the game, worryingly Liverpool had a far more experienced bench than we did.
Our second goal came from Bendtner, a cross from Merida was met by Ramsey and Bendtner, once they worked out what to do with the ball the Dane was clear and lashed the ball into the roof of the net. A good goal, but it did not make up for his play on the night. I hate to pick on one player but he looked so disinterested at times, much like Arshavin can but Andrey has the skill to make up for that whereas Nicklas doesn’t. I struggle sometimes to see what Arsène does in him, he can look very lazy and wasteful. This really works against him and the crowd start to jump on his back, which in turn probably compounds his attitude to certain games.
Late into the game I was almost overjoyed to see the ball being held in the corner with a few minutes to go, very much like our previous number 14 would do. Perhaps something has been learnt afterall? The players held out well despite tiring legs and some chances for Liverpool.
My stand-out players of the night were;
Aaron Ramsey – played excellently. Some sublime passing and he can really work the ball when surrounded by a number of players. Much much improved from last year and some of the central midfield players should be very worried.
Craig Eastwood – a good debut. Shows a lot of promise. I think one for the future.
Samir Nasri – was good to see his return, another skilled midfield player who gives us another attacking dimension.
A mention must also goto our back 4; Gibbs, Senderos, Sylvestre, Gilbert, they played very well as a defensive unit and Senderos in particular looked much more composed than he had when he was previously in an Arsenal shirt. I hope he gets to be our third choice at centre back.
News today came that Fabianski injured his thigh and is out for three weeks, more on the keepers in the next few days….
So we are into the quarter finals of the Carling Cup, I hope Arsène keeps with this sort of squad mix for the rest of the competition. I would like to win a trophy, and if this is the first we win this season then I for one will be happy.
