If the jury’s still out on Nic Bendtner, they must be very close to returning a guilty verdict. Apart from his outstanding bit of defending for Liverpool, I’m finding it hard to pinpoint what impact he actually had on the game after coming on

So there it is. Our Champion’s League aspirations are once again wobbling. A chance to really impose ourselves on the competition could once again be lost. I can’t understand why this competition seems to be our Achilles heel. With the obvious exception of 2006, Arsenal on the whole seem to approach European ties with some sort of inferiority complex. Yes, there have been many great wins, Roma, Inter, Madrid and of course, Milan but there has also been a great deal of stuttering over the years. Last night was another one of those occasions.

Arsenal stated as brightly as you would expect; lots of possession and lots of passing but as usual, not real killer instinct in the final third. Liverpool on the other hand, when not chasing shadows, were determined not play football. Everything they did went through Gerrard who in turn would do his best to seek out the dangerous Torres.

Clear cut chances were few and far between early on. Pepe Reina went mental and charged out of his box but unfortunately Adebayor couldn’t capitalise as the Spanish keeper managed to recover.

The best early opportunity fell to Robin Van Persie who might have done better with Flamini’s exquisite ball into the box. The Dutchman went first time with his left and sent the ball over the bar when his right might have been the better option. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy for all the money he’s being paid can you honestly tell me the guy has no ability/confidence with his right foot? Maybe I’m being harsh but I really expected better from a player of his class.

Robin was our most lively player in the first half and almost opened the scoring with a shot from just outside the box that Reina did well to tip away. From the resulting corner, RVP whipped in a ball that Adebayor rose to put the Arsenal 1-0 up! Cue mass hysteria. Having broken the deadlock quite early on at home, you would expect Arsenal to push on and get a couple more. That’s the way Wenger plays the game and against a Liverpool side carrying a hell of a lot of passengers, this was a chance to really show our quality.

Sadly it wasn’t to be. Before kick off, I made the mistake of suggesting that Gerrard has never had a good performance in an away game against Arsenal. Naturally these words would come back to haunt me as just three minutes after taking the lead, the Arsenal defence allowed Stevie G to waltz his way into the box and square the ball for the normally useless Dirk Kuyt to score. Although I’m still convinced it was an own goal.

The ease at which Gerrard was allowed to find his way into the box was ridiculous and reminded me very much of Giggs in 99. Credit to those two players but had a significant tackle been made on both occasions, I would have no need to write this paragraph. Basic defensive errors allowed the scousers back in the match and for a top side like Arsenal that isn’t acceptable. Gerrard should have been stopped outside the box or at the very least Toure should have done better than to let the England man get past him so easily. That said, whenever Toure goes to ground in the box these days it always seems to lead to a penalty. Couple that with Gerrard’s tendancy to go ground in such situations and we may very well have seen the ref point to the spot.

1-all was perfect for Liverpool and they did their very best to not even try and win the game from that point onwards. I’ve never seen a less ambitious side than Liverpool in the second half yesterday. Arsenal camped them on the edge of the penalty area but as is always the case, we lacked penetration.

Every week we seem to have yet another complaint about refereeing decisions. When we rightly point them out, we are labelled moaners, cry-babies and everything else. Hleb was clearly tugged down in the box by Kuyt. For the ugly Dutch fucker to come out today and say otherwise just makes him sound as stupid as he looks! I was gobsmacked when the ref didn’t give it. Admittedly, Hleb didn’t do much to stay on his feet but nevertheless, a foul was committed. In this great debate about diving, people are always quick to point out that a player is entitled to go down when they are fouled. Hleb was certainly fouled and the fact went down should make no difference on the referees decision.

Speaking of going down easily, how much was Torres on the floor during the game? He must really the texture of that Emirates grass. Once again, the sins of Man Utd come back on us. Last week, Torres was kicked all over the place by United players and did his best to stay up. Last night he realised his honesty gets him nowhere and put on one of the best (worst?) displays of gamesmanship I’ve seen. Constantly winning ‘pool free kicks in dangerous positions. Luckily for us, we weren’t really punished by any.

As the game was heading towards its inevitable conclusion, The Arsenal had one huge chance to seize the advantage. Some good work by Ade found the big man in the box whereupon he squared the ball to Fabregas. The young Spaniard stabbed the ball goalwards for what surely would have been the winning goal. Unfortunately, some clumsy play by Bendtner saw the big Dane, in an offside position, actually clear the ball of the line!

The game finished all square with the advantage undoubtedly being with the Scousers. With home advantage and an away goal, even the most ardent gooner couldn’t dispute the fact Arsenal have a very difficult task on their hands next Tuesday.

That said, the overall performance last night told me one thing: Arsenal are by far and away a better football team than Liverpool and the club are currently just riding the coattails of a remarkably talented manager. If we can learn to be more ruthless in the final third, I have no doubts about Arsenal’s chances of going through to the semis. This is the second time this season we’ve outplayed them and not come away with the win. We’re due a win against this lot and another 6-3 spanking in their own backyard would be very much welcome.

A couple of things…

If the jury’s still out on Nic Bendtner, they must be very close to returning a guilty verdict. Apart from his outstanding bit of defending for Liverpool, I’m finding it hard to pinpoint what impact he actually had on the game after coming on. As a central striker, he should have been making life very difficult for Carragher et al but was completely ineffective. One winning goal in a North London derby doth not a player make. While I understand he’s been in and out of the side, his contribution has been minimal. It’s not unfair to say a huge improvement is expected from him from now on. He owes us big against Liverpool as well. Not just from last night but the unforgivable open goal he missed in the dying moments at Anfield in the league game.

The continued scapegoating of Eboue is becoming sickening. It seems that while some players are allowed a dip in form, players like Eboue need to be vilified by his own fans. I personally can’t see what the guy has done to deserve the barrage of criticism he gets. He dives. Pires anyone? He’s indiscipline. Patrick Vieira? Yes, I know these two players were quality and contributed far more than Eboue but it seems unfair to single him out so much. His form has admittedly not been great but whose has recently? Everyone cites his lack of goals and assists. Take away the first couple of months of the season and Hleb stats are very similar. It seems at the moment that there needs to be a fall guy and unfortunately for Eboue, he’s getting it with both barrels. The witchhunt against the man is ridiculous. Some of the things I read and hear and truly spiteful and there seems to be an agenda far beyond what goes on the pitch. Everyone seems to forget that this is first season playing out of position at Right Mid. He’s not a winger and Wenger’s insistence on playing him there is the cause of his poor performances. Would Sagna injured, Eboue should be doing what he does best: playing right back. He wasn’t great last night but was not the worst performer on the pitch by any stretch of the imagination.

finally, if Robin is injured again, I’m going to scream.