Premier League
Sunday 2nd September 2012
Anfield
Anfield
Liverpool VS Arsenal
Barely a month into the new season and already Liverpool Football Club stands at a crossroads. The events that transpired over the closing of the transfer window and not being able to bring in a replacement for Andy Carroll as well as our all around lack of depth in forward areas has left a sour taste in the mouths of many. This has certainly dented the optimism of how far Brendan Rodgers can take the team long term - because of financial restraints - will at least temporarily put a smile back on everyone's face.
In what was a rather unusual move from the manager, both Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez played all ninety minutes against Hearts and as such you can't help but wonder if it will affect his selection for the game today. I would imagine, unless anybody is showing signs of tiredness following Thursday's Europa League game we'll see the majority of the side that started against City last week, only with Agger coming instead of Coates. This will also be the first opportunity for Nuri Sahin to show Anfield what he's capable of, and to make it an even more dramatic, he'll be making his debut against the other team that was challenging us for his signature.
If Liverpool are a team in transition, then Arsenal are awaiting a revolution. Arsene Wenger enjoyed a multitude of success early on as the man in charge of the Gunners but it's now been a well documented long wait for a trophy. Robin Van Persie's departure to Manchester United only appears to further the idea that Arsenal are going backward as a club but having said that they remain an ever present in the Champions League and on their are a threat to any team in the Premier League and in Santi Cazorla they have a player who would grace the wishlist pretty much every manager in Europe.
Everybody knew when the fixture list came out that we were going to be up against it at the beginning of the season and defeat against West Brom only compounded that. Of the three difficult fixtures we face home, this one was the one you would have said was most winnable and what with our opponents own stuttering start to the season I would hope we are able to take advantage of that. Certainly if we set at a tempo and have as much of the play as we did at times against Man City, Arsenal will do very well indeed to only escape with a point. If that is to happen however, the the individual errors we've seen in both league games so far will simply have to disappear.
Brendan Rodgers will know that the eyes of the wider world are upon him right now. Defeat today will only compound the idea that the club is stuttered and that things - both on and off the pitch - might not be as rosy as they once seemed. From top to bottom, this football team is crying out for stability and the easiest way to placate everyone is with a decent start. This isn't to say that Rodgers isn't capable of coming from behind - Spurs did something similar last year and still had time to collapse into fourth - but that he already has a monumental task on his hands that doesn't need to get any harder.
Everybody knew when the fixture list came out that we were going to be up against it at the beginning of the season and defeat against West Brom only compounded that. Of the three difficult fixtures we face home, this one was the one you would have said was most winnable and what with our opponents own stuttering start to the season I would hope we are able to take advantage of that. Certainly if we set at a tempo and have as much of the play as we did at times against Man City, Arsenal will do very well indeed to only escape with a point. If that is to happen however, the the individual errors we've seen in both league games so far will simply have to disappear.
Brendan Rodgers will know that the eyes of the wider world are upon him right now. Defeat today will only compound the idea that the club is stuttered and that things - both on and off the pitch - might not be as rosy as they once seemed. From top to bottom, this football team is crying out for stability and the easiest way to placate everyone is with a decent start. This isn't to say that Rodgers isn't capable of coming from behind - Spurs did something similar last year and still had time to collapse into fourth - but that he already has a monumental task on his hands that doesn't need to get any harder.
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