After a hectic start, Arsenal started showing their mettle. It was not very nice to see Thierry Henry getting knocked about – how often does that happen?! – but that could have fired the team and fans up.
There were red herrings aplenty in this game: Robin Van Persie’s handball (or was it more like a fingerball?) which earned him a yellow card, an offside goal by Peter Crouch, and one more by his substitute Craig Bellamy.
But perhaps the biggest surprise of all was the Gunners who scored. Flamini? Toure? Gallas? Who would have put money on them! The ‘Pool defenders were too busy knocking Thierry Henry about (one more time), tripping up Toure and Flamini, and finally Stephen Gerrard and John Arne Riise were spotted quarreling with each other.
The commentator noted that Liverpool had more shots off-target than any other Premiership team.
In the second half, Liverpool brought on Jermaine Pennant who was apparently a short-lived Gunner, and if I recall properly he still has a grudge against them for it. He commented that his youth team didn’t last at Arsenal. Well look at the young team that beat them today.
The funniest thing that happened was when the referee jerked his body back to avoid being hit by the ball. Firstly, that didn’t help because the ball hit him anyway. Secondly, he cramped up and ended up on the floor. Thierry Henry tried to give him a massage. The medic looked amused. Everyone did, actually, including the fans. The ref could have been substituted! Minus points for lack of match fitness, eh.
Credit to the other Gunners who set up the goals – Fabregas and Van Persie. Captain Henry was in many places on the field, not just sitting around near the goal. Hleb was everywhere and Clichy held up well.
The Gunners move up to third spot with a game in hand. Yeah.
Comments
you witnessed that sweet game too? loved the way you described that unfit ref. in fact, we were clamouring for the reserve ref to warm up. haha!