This game was crucial for the team. Not winning might well have finally damaged our title hopes. On the other hand, it was surely one of those moments that pulls a team together

Arsenal played Liverpool at home yesterday and the talking points this morning have centred on the performance of Howard Webb. The result has left many of us wondering if we should be glad or sad. Arsenal needed the three points, and those points were certainly there for the taking. Instead we got yet another 1-1 draw with Liverpool at the Emirates.

Focus will be on Arsenal conceding from a long ball hoofed through the middle. It certainly wasn’t great to see Johann Djourou & William Gallas outrun by a rather unpacy Robbie Keane.

On the other hand, it was certainly heartening to see the team refuse to cave in.

THE BATTLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PARK

We were overrun in midfield. Pardon the cliche-and as you know, one never knows exactly what cliches mean.

In this case, the stats would suggest that we were outplayed in midfield. Liverpool dominated possesion, created more chances, passed more, passed more accurately, and dictated play for large tracts of the game.

On the other hand, we tackled much better than they did. And our midfield was in many ways more effective. We simply looked more dangerous than they did.

FLASHPOINTS

1. Robin Van Persie pulls another wonder goal out of thin air: The perfect reading of a difficult pass coming over his shoulder, the leg strength and determination to get back on top of the ball after his chest took it wide, and then the shooting brilliance to get it in from a very difficult angle. Magic!

2. Djourou makes his second positional mistake in three games: JD20 has perhaps been our best defender so far. Make no mistake about it, his presence in the first team is on merit. He’s hardly made any mistake all season. And then suddenly he’s made two of the same kind in 3 games. His positioning was off for Porto’s second goal at Oporto. At home against Liverpool, despite his awareness of the large space between himself and Gallas, he left way too much distance between himself and Robbie Keane. In a way he was unlucky since he’d taken the position to offer a defensive counterpart to the team’s push along the throwing line. The problem was that he’d forgotten that his biggest worry has to be the striker. The position he’d taken meant he’d certainly have problems seeing any long balls before the striker. A bit of blame will go to Gallas for failing to read the ball since he was well positioned.

3. Howard Webb has another shocker: It just says everything about the state of our refereeing that Howard Webb is considered the best referee in the country. It’s just unacceptable that the referee’s performance in a big game like this continually becomes the biggest issue after a game. There was a period just after Adebayor’s sending off when the referee had lost control of the game. Gerrard’s dive and slagging of the referee was ignored. He ignored an obvious foul on Denilson, a foul that made Sagna have to foul to prevent Liverpool from taking undue advantage. He allowed persistent fouler Lucas a couple more fouls before the booking. Both sides had lost respect for him. He was lucky that Arsenal focused on the task at hand and thus the game didn’t get out of hand. I’ve always seen Webb as anti-Arsenal as seen in his sending-off of Adebayor last March for an inexistent punch and several other nonsensical decisions. But today it was not a question of being anti- but one of competence. He simply wasn’t on top of his duty.

4. Cesc hobbles off: The captain is so important to the way Arsenal play. His ability to take 2,3 touches in midfield allows the team shift quickly from a defensive to an attacking shape. And while a lot of play does go through him, it is this quality of his that’s hardest to replace within the squad. It was therefore no surprise that we had problems breaking out of defence in the early part of the second half. It was a blow.

5. Song steps up to the plate: Alex was immense. His running and his ball winning was amazing, and his passing was clean and decent. The hugeness of his performance was underlined by one incidence in the second half, with us down to ten men, in which he hounded the Liverpool player back to the Liverpool box. It was heartening to see.

TACTICAL NOTES

What worked yesterday was great wing play on the right. The combination of Sagna, Denilson and Adebayor gave Liverpool problems and might well have yielded a goal.

Beyond this it’s hard to remember anything of note tactically. The high line was criticised and can be criticised. However, it is sometimes necessary as it simplifies the life of the defence. Of course they have to have the pace and nous to handle the inevitable one-on-ones that will ensue. But Liverpool had no pace in attack and it was therefore a reasonable tactic.

LAST THOUGHTS

This game was crucial for the team. Not winning might well have finally damaged our title hopes. On the other hand, it was surely one of those moments that pulls a team together, strengthens their beliefs, and unites fans with players.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Villa on Boxing Day at Villa Park will be a huge game. It’s amazing how every Arsenal game since early November has taken on the feel of a Cup Final. This one will certainly be one. We won’t have Messrs Fabregas, Rosicky, Adebayor, Toure & Walcott but I have no fear. Villa are a very very overrated team. They’re effectively England’s under-21 team. I just laugh at how the people who push Villa ahead of Arsenal say Arsenal lack experience while trumping up Villa. Our Carling Cup team will give Aston Villa a run for their money over a season.

What Aston Villa do have is a lot of pace in attack. That’s always difficult to deal with. When you play Villa and you don’t breach their packed bus early, your risk of being caught at the back grows. As a team that has to attack in any way, they’re sometimes quite poor. But in counterattack they are dangerous as a brood of vipers.