The good, the bad and the 90th minute equaliser

Liverpool 3-3 Arsenal

There are no two ways about it: letting a win slip in the 90th minute is always the kind of result that gnaws away at you. Two points, up in a puff of smoke.

Sadly, it had been coming for a good 15 minutes. We slowly relinquished possession as the clock wound down and in the end we paid for it. Our defence, which looked like it was weathering the storm, could in the end only bale so much water out. “We have to look at ourselves”, said Wenger of the 90th minute goal, “that should not happen”.

It was a crazy game though; open beyond belief and it could quite easily have ended 5-5. Is this the way to mount a title challenge? Rapier, darting forward movement but a bit leaky at the back? Who knows – but we are still joint top.

Such a shame for Giroud, who put in the most majestic stint holding the line, scoring two and coming oh-so-bafflingly close to a hat-trick. And gutting for Joel Campbell, who worked himself into the ground and came up with the assist of the game for Ramsey’s equaliser.

I maintain it’s a good point, though plenty disagree now. Liverpool has never been an easy place to go for Arsenal and we have had far worse results there. Whether we end up regretting it is one for the future. If that’s the case we will regret losing badly at Southampton and West Brom too, and probably more.

Absent friends, as it turns out, are a point of regret too. Would this have been different if we’d had Coquelin? We might have had more bite in midfield and shielded the defence better. Alexis, too, with his dynamism and capacity for the extraordinary, will be welcomed back with open arms.

Rosicky, Cazorla, Wilshere, Coquelin, Alexis, Welbeck? Look, I’m not sure whether we can last the distance, but given the injuries we’ve had and still have, we’re having a decent crack at it.

Jim

Arsenal since about 1979. Thick, thin and all that.

This Post Has 11 Comments

  1. Arsenalred

    Thought Ramsey was poor gave the ball away time and time again
    What is the point of chamberlain?

    1. Jim

      Chamberlain did nothing, but wasn’t on long. He’s an odd player at the moment. On the bench for a reason.

  2. Igburu samuel

    With the way we played against Southampton Newcastle now Liverpool it suggest either epl teams are getting stronger,or fatigue and stress have started creeping in.it also shows we are missing Sanchez and coquelin probably cazorla.with the intensity of the game left for me either Gabriel or chambers not arteta should have come in

  3. PDDD

    It’s tiring saying it but if Arsene had bothered his arse getting another DM in the summer, we’d be champions elect now. At least 10 points clear. We’re still in it only cos the league is so weak.

    1. Jim

      It’s the weakest part of the team alright. Without Coquelin.

  4. Dennis

    Another middling performance from Walcott who hasn’t quite been the same post-injury. Don’t know where Ox stands at the moment. His cause isn’t helped by lack of playing time, but his regression into arch-loser of possession (harsh, yes) is rather worrying.

    1. Jim

      Agree on both. With Walcott, part of it is playing left. No idea what has happened to the Ox. Some serious questions to ask in the summer if it continues.

  5. Dennis

    In his defense, I don’t think the continual shift from winger to midfielder has done his progression any favours. Think with being a wide man you can survive periods of going in and out of the team; not so with midfielders, who need to play week in, week out to keep their level.

    1. Jim

      He feels like a central midfielder to me. Seems to play best there.

  6. Dennis

    It’s really frustrating when he plays there and loses the ball. Either we get picked off and countered against (a la Everton at home) or he runs himself into a cul-de-sac and the attack breaks down. There was a brilliant counterattacking chance yesterday just after he’d come on when we had men over on the right but he couldn’t get his head up and tried to dribble past four defenders.

  7. PDDD

    At least Elneny is confirmed. Hopefully this means we’ll never see Arteta on the pitch again in an Arsenal shirt.

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