Something Rotten In The State Of Wenger

I have to admit that I didn’t make it to Anfield tonight. Unable to con anyone into coming with me, I couldn’t face the drive on my tod and taking the train, staying overnight and as a result missing a day’s work tomorrow, was going to end up costing me well over 200 quid.

Usually I’d be sitting here feeling a little guilty, unable to escape the totally illogical notion that my absence had something to do with our defeat. However I have to tell you that I am dead relieved, as instead, I’d be feeling a complete fool for wasting so much money to watch this particular Arsenal side.

I don’t know about anyone else, but personally I would’ve much preferred to see the Arsenal lose four or five – nil, knowing I’d seen them at least have a go at the opposition. Instead of which we were forced to endure one of the most tepid performances yet this season (and in a particularly lacklustre season).

On the radio “Do I not like that” Taylor was doing his best to “big up” Liverpool for playing “expansive football”, leaving themselves prone to being hit by the counter attack. Well forgive me if I am mistaken Graham, but I can’t recall the Arsenal producing a box-to-box, counter attack all evening. We hardly got past the halfway line for most of the match.

Personally I can easily forgive players having an off night, but what I simply cannot countenance is almost an entire Arsenal eleven who all appeared to play as if they’d rather be elsewhere. Considering how crucial this result could prove, both in terms of our chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season and perhaps more imminent, the mood in the camp going into the game next week in Madrid, the fact that so many of the Arsenal team appeared so incredibly flat from the kick-off was absolutely unforgiveable.

OK so we were missing a few players and might have fared better if the likes of Van Persie were available. What’s more, some might even suggest that we would’ve escaped with a point, if Flamini hadn’t struggled so much with his duties at full-back and might even have prevented Luis Garcia’s goal if it wasn’t for the lapse that saw him forget to track the Spaniard into the six-yard box. But in all honesty, if we’d come away with anything tonight, I would’ve felt it was floodlight robbery.

Forgetting our inadequacies going forward, think back to Saturday’s game, where for at least the first forty-five, the Bolton players grafted so hard, harrying us on the ball at every opportunity and preventing us from having a moment to conjure up any kind of expansive football. Now compare that to this evening, where as the visitors, we allowed the home side all the time they needed in possession, exerting no pressure, instead strolling around watching the opposition.

To my mind it said it all, that in a game as important as this, the first controversial moment for Graham Poll came when he got a mouthful from Ljungberg. When in the past one would’ve expected a hatful of bookings by then because of tackles flying in all over the pitch, as players demonstrated how much they wanted this match. Instead of which we witnessed an apathetic Arsenal, demonstrating so little desire, it was positively embarrassing.

They looked a side who weren’t expecting to come away with anything from the moment Poll first blew the whistle and what bothered me most was the gung-ho effort for the last few minutes after the goal had gone in, which left us all wondering what they’d been doing for the previous 89 minutes.

To be honest when I looked at the bench, it was hard to pick a sub capable of having an impact on the outcome. Yet surely it should’ve been obvious to Arsène from the lamentable first-half performance that he needed to try something at half-time to make a difference after the break. Instead of which Wenger just sat there hoping (perhaps praying) we might just hang on to a point and only when it became patently apparent that the Pires we saw on Saturday, simply hadn’t turned up at Anfield, did he send on Hleb instead (and a big difference he made!). Poor Kolo Touré and Manny Eboué must be wishing they'd made a detour via Timbuktu!

Surely Wenger cannot honestly believe his team “gave everything tonight” and if he does, then I’m afraid Le Prof is more deluded than I thought! If it wasn’t for Jens Lehmann’s goalkeeping feats it would’ve been a total walkover. Perhaps the players might be able to offer some excuse in that their minds were elsewhere? I only wish I could believe this was our forthcoming trip to the Bernabeu!