Arsenal end poor show at Emirates

Arsenal vs Liverpool (10 Feb 2010)

Luck was not favouring Arsenal football club of late. With a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa and consecutive defeats at the hands of Manchester United and Chelsea, the mood at Arsenal football club was morose. On top of that they had their mid week fixture with back in form Liverpool squad. The stakes were high and both clubs needed the three points.

Arsenal kicked off the first half and displayed some brisk football with deft one touch passing. They had a couple of chances to score and surge ahead but didn't convert any of them. The first one came from a Fabregas freekick, which was headed over the bar by Gallas. Arshavin managed to squeeze the ball to Nicklas Bendtnar who stroked the ball with vengeance but only to find it rising above the woodwork. Liverpool was playing Nogog upfront because Torres has not fully recovered. Liverpool did not get as many chances in the first half as Arsenal did but displayed some quality in their style. At the stroke of half time it was 0-0 at 'The Emirates'.

The second half had more action in it with Liverpool threatening to score on a break exposing Arsenal's vulnerability but some timely defending from Gallas saved Arsenal's day. Nogog had to do a better job upfront and this was a brilliant chance missed. Minutes after Liverpool's break Rosicky missed an easy chance at the other end. This time the fault was with Rosicky as had taken the ball far too ahead for the Liverpool goalkeeper to grasp it.

But Arsenal was not settling for a draw and scored the only goal of the match. A superb cross from Rosicky and a brilliant header into the goal from Diaby sealed Liverpool's fate. The lack of firepower upfront for Liverpool was evident. Babel tried his best but the ball rattled the post, denying Liverpool of any points from the game. Liverpool's final chance came in injury time when they got a freekick 30 yards outside the box. Steve Gee stepped up to take it but only to find the ball bounce off the Arsenal wall. Television footages showed that Fabregas had intentionally put up his hand to block the ball but bad luck for Liverpool that the referee didn't notice it. Liverpool sure should have got that penalty for the foul done by Fabregas.

Arsenal now sit at position 3 in the table, just 6 points behind league leaders Chelsea. Who might know Arsenal might walk away with the glory after all the hardwork done by Chelsea and ManU to claim the number one spot and the Barclays Premier League Title