Liverpool 1 - Arsenal 2: Arshavin is a super Sniper.

Back in business, well the result means we are, not so sure about the first half. On a weekend where Man Utd and Chelsea dropped points, anything less than 3 points today would have been a failure, and know what, it seems Wenger was able to transmit this to his players who came back for a change, more of the same please.

During World War II, there were many snipers aka designated marksmen to kill the Axis soldiers, one has been shown in English media with Jude Law in Enemy At The Gates, as Vasiliy Zaytzev. The one least known but very deadly was Ivan Sidorenko who had a confirmed 500 kills. Arshavin is following in this rich tradition, Liverpool can't handle his accuracy, his goal was so precise, no goal keeper would have had a chance, not Banks, not Zoff, not Kahn, not Buffon, and surely not Reina.

The first half really sucked and had me cursing the television at the under performance of the whole team. Liverpool had more desire to win, and knowing we needed 3 points, this for me was unacceptable, and with stories of Wenger losing his cool, he must have thought so too. We need to stop such silly performances, I don't care who the opposition is, because there is no footballing talent reason for our players to not do well in every game, at the very least, they should run and show determination and not look feeble and accept mediocrity.

Even though the team as a unit won, there are still major problems that need to be fixed immediately. Almunia is struggling, and may need to be put out of his misery soon, he is costing us goals and points, what the hell was he thinking of yesterday? There was another thing that made me angry, he threw the ball straight at Liverpool when he had Vermaelen as a short option but he went long, ridiculous.

Sagna crosses, if there is no one in the box, even if it is a nice cross, it is a bad cross because it is giving the ball away. Do you really expect Arshavin to get a header vs Agger? Get real, don't cross if there is no real chance of a conversion. Walcott sucked again, even if he was there for the Johnson goal, he added no value at all. He needs to work harder and add more to his game, not just his speed is good enough, we need a real footballer, not a sprinter.

Player Ratings:

Almunia 2: Cost us a goal, gave the ball away cheaply as well. Routine Save from Torres though.

Sagna 5: Solid in defence again, but crosses still leave a lot to be desired.

Gallas 3: Horror show, he needs a breather. Caught cold in midfield when Torres shot at Almunia, gave away a potential penalty, poor set piece marking, oh boy.

Vermaelen 4: Better than Gallas, but still not the rock we need, how many chances did Liverpool have in the first half, waaaaay too many.

Traore 5: Johnson never got much action, neither did Kuyt, so he did a decent job.

Song 6: This guy is a thoroughbred when the play is in front of him, his ball manipulation skills are on point, player of the season I think. Needs to work on gaining more speed though.

Fabregas 4: Bad passing, not much defensive work, not what we expect from him.

Denilson 5: Not visible, but effective, was the extra barrier required, especially in the second half.

Walcott N/A: That bad I won't grade him, won't waste any more words on him either.

Nasri 4: Cross for the Johnson goal, apart from that, he is no winger, he needs to be in midfield, not wide, please change it Wenger, this guy is the future of France and we are killing him.

Arshavin 6.5: Quiet first half, stunning goal, and done more than Eduardo and Vela have all season as a striker. One of the teams potential game changers.

Diaby 4: Not on long.


Trainer Rating

Wenger 5: He gets points for the half time rollicking, apart from that, he needs to read the game better, had Liverpool had luck and their shooting boots on, they would have been 3-0 at half time for sure. The continued deployment of Arshavin is good, but Walcott has no effect, he shouldn't be starting, I'd rather have Eduardo than Walcott, at least he has some vision, Walcott is just fast.

Liverpool vs Arsenal: Time To Test The Will of The Team

Simply put, this game is a MUST WIN. Man City have done Arsenal a very big favour in beating Chelsea, and to fully profit from that, we need to take 3 points from Anfield, something we haven't done for a very long time. Should Chelsea win against Everton today, that gap will be 11 points with us having 2 games in hand, I won't take us winning those matches for granted, the only thing that counts is the points on the board, not the points that may or may not come.

I do worry though, Liverpool are supposed to be having an awful season, but they are only 4 points behind us, a loss and draw and them winning, and we are where they are right now, so Liverpool are not as bad as people think.

What is impressive about them is they will have already devised a tactical plan for Arsenal, with or without Gerrard-Torres-Aquilani, they will know what they want to do and how to do it. I suspect they will isolate Fabregas from who ever our point striker is and that could be enough to shut us down unless we adjust things, as if the space between Fabregas and the striker is big, we have no one else who can step up.

This is also a big test for our mentality, we need to play our lives out for 98mins, we need to realise we need to WIN, 3 points is absolutely required and anything less is a failure. I hope Wenger transmits this to the players and he also ensures he reacts for a change, and not by throwing on Walcott and Vela to run around aimlessly, but for them to take shots from any range, or long balls so we can strike off those second balls they head out, passing will get us nowhere if we are behind.

Up the Arsenal.