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Stalemate between Gunners and Reds

Stalemate between Gunners and Reds


Stalemate between Gunners and Reds

Arsenal's title hopes have suffered another blow after a 1-1 draw with Liverpool. It seemed to ruin any chance Arsenal had of securing the Premiership title, as they somehow drew their fifth consecutive game at the Emirates.

Part two of the trilogy played out similarly to part one and the match had all fans glued to the action again. This time it was Liverpool who struck first thanks to a fantastic strike from Peter Crouch. Pepe Reina launched the ball long from a goal kick and after a brilliant touch from the Israeli international Yossi Benayoun, Crouch struck from outside the box to stun the home crowd giving Liverpool a 1 – 0 lead after forty two minutes. In all fairness Liverpool deserved their goal after carving out several opportunities and controlling the match for large periods of the first half.

After half time though it was a completely different story, Arsenal found a new gear and Nicklas Bendtner headed home a superb goal completely unmarked from a Cesc Fabregas free kick. Bendtner ghosted in from outside the box and did not have to break stride as he headed the ball home past a hapless Reina. Arsenal’s dominance continued throughout the second half and both sides brought on their star players as they searched for that elusive second goal. Andriy Voronin for Liverpool had a spectacular chance inside the box unmarked but could only manage to blaze it over the top. In the end it was probably a just result that Arsenal will be more disappointed with than Liverpool.

It was a game where both managers clearly demonstrated their priority lies with the champions league match still to come. Rafael Benitez handed the Frenchman Damien Plessis his debut and the starting eleven did not include Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres. Arsene Wenger chose not to include Emmanuel Adebayor or Alexander Hleb in his starting line up. While Gerrard, Torres, Adebayor and Hleb all featured eventually in the game their impact was limited and they will be fresh and raring to go on Tuesday night.