The Champions show us who they really are…

‘Trust the process’ those are the watchwords. It was a cunning plan all along by Arteta. Play like a team over the Hackney Marshes at Fleetwood, deliberately miss loads of chances to score against the League Two outfit, deliberately lose the penalty shoot-out, lull Liverpool into a false sense of security, get out of the League Cup to conserve energy and beat the Scousers in their own backyard and it worked perfectly…

I jest of course but this Arteta’s Arsenal has a resilience about it and a will to win I haven’t seen since gorgeous George was the gaffer. George Graham teams knew how to deal with the Scousers and simply ignored all the hype and B/S which surrounds that club. Mikel says all the right things at the right time, he’s totally respectful but underneath there is a burning desire and it is a desire shared by our fabulous players.

We are living through amazing times dear readers and never mind the entertainment because it is all about the result…

When I sat down to watch the game and the Liverpool team came up I just thought to myself that they didn’t look that much of a team. No Salah, no Mane, where were all the stars? I just hoped that our boys would play the opponent and not the shirt. Liverpool held a respectful Remembrance Day ceremony which put a cork in a lot of the crowd noise which I thought was very handy.

Both teams were hyped up and the opening exchanges were quite energetic. Now I know this is Anfield and Liverpool new-boy Nyoni is young but if Max Dowman had raked a Liverpool players Achilles as Nyoni did to Odegaard in the opening minutes then I’m sure we would have seen him get a yellow card. Isak then smacked Gabriel in the face before Nyoni did an Odegaard on Havertz but we saw nothing from Mr Madley. ‘Here we go’ thinks I, two-tier officiating.But in fairness Mr Madley was more than fair to us Gunners so no complaints there.

Around 15 minutes Rice took a pot shot from distance but the ball flew well over the bar, then a minute later the champions struck with what turned out to be the decisive blow. Odegaard pushed up towards the edge of the Liverpool penalty area and found Madueke, he showed a sure footedness to control the ball and put Rice clear on the flank. Declan then delivered a perfectly weighted low cross into the area of uncertainty for defenders and at the far post arrived Havertz to steer the ball home. It left the home fans stunned and myself very happy, my tea tasted just a little better than usual.

Liverpool responded as only they can, they never ease up and always give everything until the final whistle, but sod them. Only 20 minutes gone and Barcola showed us what we missed out on by receiving a pass from a Wirtz free-kick before sending a really dangerous cross shot bending inches wide of the far post with Raya scrambling. Arsenal were still looking dangerous on the break with Tzolis, Madueke and Havertz pulling the Scousers all over the place. From one counter on 24 minutes Bruno spun on the edge of the box and sent a dangerous drive just wide of the far post with Havertz missing turning it home by millimetres.

On 26 minutes the dangerous Tzolis got free again and his cross was almost turned home by Bruno, but Noni got in the way and a great chance went begging. Rice fired in from the follow up but it was saved. Arsenal at that stage looked more likely to score a second goal than Liverpool but the Scousers ramped it up. A succession of three corners turned the screw and got the crowd going as Isak looked certain to score but Raya saved the day, the ball was flying around like a pinball. It’s at times like these where we have seen past Arsenal teams fold and a minute after Isak’s chance there were two penalty shouts.

Now we all know that Liverpool penalties at Anfield are as rare as hen’s teeth, but despite my irony VAR didn’t see an offence, yeah it was an otherworldly experience for me too! Funnily enough the VAR missed another incident that looked more of a pen, but you know what, it’s long overdue. Arsenal getting the rub of the green at that dump so eat your heart out Iraola.

On 31 minutes Kirkez got himself into some space but fired wide as the waves of attacks continued to be unrelenting. We really needed that 2nd goal and it was at that point that I turned the volume down on the clearly biased commentary team. On 39 minutes Wirtz hit a pretty good free kick which came off the angle of crossbar and post with Raya well beaten. I saw Rice openly complaining, whether to himself or his team mates, as soft possession kept being turned over. To win at Anfield you really needed to retain possession better and especially in their half in order to reduce the stress levels on your defence.

Temperatures were rising and Liverpool were getting frustrated, MacAllister headed over with Raya stranded on 43, which was a massive let off then Barcola got booked as his influence lessened.

H/T 0-1

Liverpool came out fired up and continued to exert pressure but Arsenal seemed more compact and although that meant less threats from the Gunners it also meant Liverpool were getting caught in Arsenal’s web of defence.

It was irritating to see us still gifting them soft possession but the Arsenal catenazzio was slowly shutting the gate. Despite the pressure cooker of Liverpool attacks not one Liverpool shot was on target as the Gunners squeezed the life out of the game.

My son texted me and said it’s ‘PSG all over again’ but nobody was giving the opposition a soft penalty this time. Iraola played his ace card and on came our bete noir Szoboszlai on 59 minutes but he spent 35 minutes on that pitch and never came close to having a shot with yellow shirts all over him.

Bruno had been working like a maniac but he began to fade and on 62 and Myles came on and the game switched again. MLS gave us some stability and control in midfield and even if he occasionally lost possession, nobody swerves and finds space where there isn’t any quite like our Myles. It led to a period where I thought we might get that invaluable 2nd goal and on 68 minutes Havertz found Tzolis who could have shot but he played in Odegaard who unfortunately miskicked and the chance was gone.

Arsenal were looking dangerous and on 71 minutes a great run and cross by Calafiori was arching towards Havertz but Van Dyke muscled him out of the way. Then on 73 minutes the influential Myles found Noni who did his thing and found Tzolis free on the left. The Greek winger hit a wicked bending low drive that was creeping inside the far post but Allison got down to push it wide and that was that.

Hincapie and Gyokeres came on for Tzolis and Havertz on 84 minutes with Calafiori playing ahead of Hincapie, then Merino came on for Odegaard on 88 minutes. From then on it was Liverpool kitchen sink time with Arsenal getting everyone back behind the ball, as we do. Noni almost fell into the trap when Argentinian MacAllister lured him into a touching foreheads contest that left the Argie on the floor obviously seriously injured, yeah… VAR checked and nothing except yellow cards to Noni and Mac-Simulator, Noni was daft and a very lucky lucky boy. Raya made a crucial save on 90 and we played out the 6 minutes added time with the game in lockdown.

That my friends will probably be one of my most satisfying reports. There’s nothing I enjoy more than winning at Anfield because we go there with the odds stacked against us, with usually a ‘homer’ referee and VAR. We often suffer soft penalties, red cards and never get the 50/50 decisions, even the 60/40 ones, but not this time and it was delicious.

The Arsenal defence and midfield were magnificent, the forwards as good as we can expect…. And, we did it without our best two players, Saliba and Saka. Liverpool meanwhile didn’t have a proper shot on target, nobody does that to them at Anfield, but Arsenal aren’t nobody are we?

We’re the Champions…

We March On.

By Kev