Starting Lineups:
Arsenal: Manuel Almunia, Gael Clichy, Toure, Philippe Senderos, Emmanuel Eboue, Tomas Rosicky, Gilberto, Mathieu Flamini, Hleb, Van Persie, Henry
Liverpool : Dudek, Riise, Agger, Carragher, Finnan, Luis Garcia, Alonso, Gerrard, Pennant, Dirk Kuyt, Peter Crouch
This game saw the return of Polish keeper Jerzy Dudek in goal. His last appearance in the FA Cup was 2 years ago, when an inexperienced Liverpool team lost to Burnleyiin the third round thanks to a Djimi Traore own goal. Traore has long left Anfield, and with a first choice Liverpool squad, Dudek still ended on the losing side. All the three goals which were conceded were due to defensive errors, although you can credit Rosicky’s first goal to pure genius rather than a defensive error.
Anfield has been a fortress and Liverpool have an enviable record there. Visiting teams have to put up with a vocal, partisan crowd and that makes their task all the more difficult. Both the teams did not have too many opportunities when the game started. Gerrard and Xabi Alonso tried their hand at long range shots without any success. Alonso got an booking ( unfair IMO) for supposedly diving in the box when he thought that he should have been given a penalty for being brough down by Gilberto. Arsenal had the first major chance of the game when a beautiful pass found Rosicky but Dudek came up to clutch the ball and avert the danger.
Totally against the run of play, in the 37th minute, Rosicky combined with Hleb on the right flank. The Belarussian found Rosicky with a slick pass at the edge of the box and the Czech medio, in his first FA cup game, produced a wonderful curling shot that give Dudek no chance. 1-0 Arsenal. 7 minutes later, some pathetic defending by Liverpool allowed Rosicky to squeeze one more shot in, and Dudek’s outstretched hands could not stop the ball finding the back of the net. 2-0 Arsenal.
Experts wondered whether Liverpool could stage the kind of comeback they have become famous for in recent years. And it did look like Rafa had had something to say to his lads in the lemon break. The Reds came back a changed side, and troubled the young Arsenal. Time and time again, Gilberto had to help his young back four. Jermaine Pennant, who did not do much against Clichy in the first half, suddenly started producing wonderful crosses and Arsenal were forced to defend for their lives.Liverpool won possession often in midfield and went for the ball as if their lives depended on it. That commitment was lacking in the first half, and the Reds would end up paying dearly for it. Rafa brought on Aurelio for Riise, and Liverpool continued to press.
I thought Crouch was a bit static on the pitch. The lad wasted some precious chances and didn’t look like causing Arsenal enormous problems. He was a bit too clumsy with his feet ( Not that I expected great stuff from him, but a couple of slick passes could have rbough about goals Arsenal brought on Hoyte for Eboue, after the latter had been booked for time wasting. Liverpool pressed from both the flanks and Arsenal soaked in the pressure. Wenger brought on Baptista for Van Persie. Four minutes after the subsitution, Liverpool’s persistence paid off. It was only a matter of time before it game, and it eventually came from a Pennant corner. Crouch headed, and Kuyt, right in front of Almunia, added the final touch with his head . 2-1 and Liverpool started earnestly in pursuit of an equaliser.
Then came the moment, which assured victory for Wengers’ side. And that special piece of magic had to come from a special person- yeah Thierry Henry 😀 Henry and Carragher raced towards the ball which was at the sideline and Carragher made a mistake of attempting to keep the ball in. He paid for it, and was dispossessed by the Frenchman. Henry later raced into the box from the left, cut in past Agger and fired a shot past Dudek. That shot could have been saved , I thought, but the goal was just reward for the effort that Henry put in. That sealed the game,and from that moment, Liverpool knew that whatever they did wouldn’t be enough. Kuyt thought he had a penalty when he was brought down in the box by Henry, but the ref didn’t think so.
Things might have been so different had Fabio Aurelio’s angled volley gone in before the Henry goal. Henry was subsituted for Walcott, and Arsenal held on for a famous win. Liverpool are now the first defending champions since Chelsea ( 9 years ago) to get knocked out in the first game of their title defence. And it might not come to you as a surprise that Dudek’s counterpart was the same guy who kept goal when Arsenal handed Liverpool a 3-0 thrashing at the Emirates stadium- Manuel Almunia…..