Reaching For The Medication

Whoosh! What a roller coaster of a game of football that was!!! And was it two points dropped, or a point gained? I guess that only time will tell.

Now, I do try to write my thoughts based on my own personal opinion and not listen to others whose thoughts may inform mine. But the momentousness of this game does mean that I have both listened to The Arsenal Opinion and read Arseblog this morning. They've echoed many of my thoughts, but I'll be putting my own twist on them. So without further ado...

Now, we've all watched the game. But I wanted to share my feelings - and how they changed - from when the game started and then as it wore on. Mainly based on my heart rate, I have to say.

So, kick-off, and nerves because it's Anfield. Heart beating slightly quicker than normal, and unusually for me sitting on the edge of my seat and not back in the armchair. But soon settling down in the early stages as Arsenal essentially took the game to Liverpool, culminating in Martinelli's early goal.

Liverpool at Sixes and Sevens. Relax. Settle back. Start to enjoy. And at 2-0 - and what an embarrassingly easy goal that was - I was as comfortable in my chair as I could possibly have hoped to be. Poignant, as Jesus rose on Easter Sunday to head the ball home. Quite what the Liverpool defence were doing, I do not know. Not their job; that's for sure. Pipe lit. Slippers on...

Now, people might say that the Xhaka/TAA incident changed the game, but I don't see it as cut and dried as that. Although it got the old ticker going a bit. Firstly, Xhaka was on the receiving end of one of a number of - how shall I describe it? - 'robust' challenges from the brute Konate, but received nothing for it - and then reacted by getting involved with TAA. 

It was all a load of nothing/handbags, so I'm taking with a massive pinch of salt all that 'Don't poke the bear' nonsense coming out of Sky. What made the difference to the mood in the ground was the Liverpool goal just before half time. A goal that involved two annoying slices of bad fortune for Arsenal - the first the intervention by Henderson that sent the ball off at a weird angle, and secondly the almost simultaneous contact from Salah and Gabriel that sent the ball into the net. Unfortunate, and heart rate immediately up of course.

Interesting that Roy Keane suggested that on big days Anfield has a unworldly feel to it. As if it takes on a life of its own. That, from one of the bluntest, most cynical of pundits. It's clearly one of the most atmospheric grounds in the world, and it must be really difficult to defend that Kop End with a red tide swarming at you, and those fans behind you. The huge discrepancy between Liverpool's home and away form this season appears to prove the point. Lest we forget that both City and United lost there, and whilst Real Madrid ultimately came away with an astonishing 5-2 win, they could easily have been 4 down after 15 minutes.

As the second half wore on, and the pressure on the Arsenal goal was ramped up with seemingly no means of escape, my heart rate continued to rise. From my own personal point of view, it felt like Arteta needed to try something to stem the red tide, but he waited far beyond what I would have called an acceptable point to make changes.

But why was this? For me, there were a number of factors. And the first one was the loss of both Saliba and Tomiyasu from the squad. Arsenal are weakened by this, obviously, and there isn't quite the depth at this stage in the squad's development to allow him to make changes with which he's comfortable. This game was an ideal scenario, in different circumstances, for Rob Holding to come on late as third centre half to see the game out. Not to have been on from the start.

But this doesn't excuse the late introduction of Tierney. I had been concerned all week about quite what The Zinchenko Inversion might mean in the context of the double threat of Salah and TAA down Arsenal's left, and by the time the equaliser came (late; so late - but with loads more to come of course!) both the Ukrainian and Ben White on the other side were out on their feet. The arrival of Firmino had suggested an inevitability about the equaliser, but better/calmer/earlier action from Arteta might have prevented it.

There are two ways of looking at this. 

• There's the positive side: he's a relatively inexperienced Manager. The place is a cauldron. His side hasn't been under this much pressure all season; you'd have to go back to Newcastle away last year for anything remotely comparable. The pressure wasn't just on the players, but on the coaching staff too. There's not been this much at stake for the club for almost 20 years. He will have learned.
• And then the other side of the coin. He took too long to react to Klopp's changes. He wasn't thinking straight. Tierney should have come on at the same time as Trossard did; not Kivior for Odegaard - a change that unbalanced the formation. The Pole is too inexperienced to chuck into such a cauldron in any case. And, tellingly, for all their pressure Liverpool hadn't had a shot at goal for 20+ minutes before Odegaard came off. After that, they had at least half a dozen, and but for Aaron Ramsdale would have won comfortably.

On balance, I'd say that Arteta got it wrong. He hasn't got much wrong this season. But pressure does this to people. The loss of two points can perhaps be put more down to him than to the players. As long as it doesn't happen again...

Looking at the rest of the fixtures it's the two massive away games that could see similar pressure applied to the team and coaching staff. Chelsea and Brighton are both home games. None of West Ham, Southampton, Forest or Wolves should really worry a side going for the title. Newcastle could be almost as difficult an atmosphere as Liverpool. But Manchester City will be different; the opposition are elite, but apart from that the ground shouldn't hold the sort of fears that an Anfield, a St James', an Old Trafford might hold. City let their football do the talking. It's more like death by a thousand cuts/passes than a thousand decibels.

But back to the game. And I certainly felt that the officiating was a bit soft. On one side of the coin Arsenal indulged in more than a spot of time-wasting. And on the other referee Tierney failed to punish Liverpool adequately for a series of meaty challenges. Konate's on Xhaka wasn't his only heavyweight challenge. Both Van Dijk and Fabinho put in nasty challenges, borne of frustration, that were closer to red cards than the yellows they yielded. And yet he couldn't wait to give the penalty for Holding on Jota - soft, so soft... and from the look on his face you'd think that Jota had been shot.

Just to cover the noteworthy incidents in that frantic second half:

• The penalty. As I say; soft - although I'd have wanted it at the other end of course. And whilst I hoped that Salah would miss I didn't expect him to. Laughter - born of relief - when he did.

• The first chance that Martinelli almost laid on for Saka. Desperate from Robertson to prevent Starboy from getting on the end of that. 
• Gabriel from the corner in the 83rd minute. Either side of Allison and that's in; and that's game over. Small margins - but in such a frantic game so important.
• The equaliser; just three minutes after the Gabriel chance. Zinchenko, substituted immediately afterwards, was distraught to have been out-done by TAA. He should have got closer to him; been more aggressive. He certainly shouldn't have allowed himself to be nutmegged. Tierney would have done better, I feel. The cross was exquisitely dug out, and at the other end of it was the inevitablity of Roberto Firmino, towering above a frazzled Ben White.

• The Ramsdale save from Salah, via Gabriel's back. Salah does like to go far post when he shoots. And Ramsdale had been gambling on that all game, so he may, possibly, have got to the shot. But the deflection made it considerably more difficult. A tremendous save. Although as my much-missed father would have said: 'Should've held it...'

• The Ramsdale save from Konate. Something I couldn't quite take in until I'd seen the replay. Great anticipation, and not inconsiderable skill involved in that. 

•  And then... did Gabriel Martinelli get much sleep, thinking about how much better that pass could have been? A little less straight, and Saka would have been clean in on Allison - and this, of course, just 10 seconds after the save from Konate. And all in the very last minute. Wow!

So much to dissect. So much to take in. And I must say that this game got me going more than any other for many years. When  I'm watching at home and it's tense, I'll probably get out of my chair and start pacing about when the injury time board goes up. But I looked at the clock when I felt that I couldn't sit any more - it said 70 minutes and 52 seconds!...

I hope that we don't look back on the season as a whole as we do this game. 2-0, but pulled back to 2-2. And - and I pray not - 8 points clear, but caught near/at the end. If we're gutted about not winning this from such a comfortable position, how are we going to feel if City overhaul us? 

Well, it's in their hands now. But it's also in ours. West Ham away will be a doddle compared to that. COYG!