Gutted (Trilogy Part III)

Gutted, absolutely gutted. Ecstasy to agony in a matter of seconds. This was the ultimate disappointment. That sense of being robbed and at the same time self contributed. Arsenal are out of the Champion’s League after a pulsating contest with Liverpool.

Wenger paraded practically the same first eleven as the first leg with the exception of Van Persie out for Diaby. And what an inspired lineup it was. From the off, Arsenal were on wave and wave of attacks into the Liverpool goal looking to cancel out the away goal advantage that Liverpool held. A brisk interchange between Fabregas and Hleb saw Diaby being presented with a run at goal and he duly slammed the ball into the net. No more fear of the away goal’s rule. Game on.

The moment Flamini went off, the complexion of the game changed. Liverpool were winning the battles in the middle of park and Alonso and Gerrard were dictating the play. It was off an innocuous cross cum shot into the box which Almunia failed to deal with which resulted in a corner. Hyppia managed to evade the marking of Senderos and plants a firm header past a despairing Fabregas who was guarding the post.

For me Gilberto had another good game defensively but was yet again very slow to release the ball when in possession. Diaby who was initially bought as a central midfielder was not given a chance when Flamini went off. He was stuck out on the left side and eventually substituted by Van Persie. He should have been moved to the centre and allow Walcott to come on instead to give some speed and penetration on the wings.

Second half was a real cracker with 4 goals. Torres again paraded his quality by making space for himself inside the box and hits the top corner. The game then turned with Arsenal looking to equalize and haul back into the game. Adebayor had a glorious oppourtunity to level the score but muffed the chance when he directed the ball out. He could’ve shown more composure and controlling the ball before dispatching it in the net. He will be left to rue his missed chance.

From a Liverpool corner, Theo Walcott benefited from Gerrard’s mis-kick and went a rampaging 60 yards run evading first Aurelio, Mascherano and finally Hyppia before calmly cutting the ball back for Adebayor to score. Had Walcott been given the same gilt edge chance as Adebayor earlier, without doubt he would’ve showed more composure and finesse.

This is where the agony comes in. Celebrations have not died down when immediately Babel earned his team a spot kick from a clumsy Toure tackle. Within a minute, Arsenal have gone from a semifinal spot to a losing quarter finalist. Gerrard was never going to miss from 12 yards. Babel provided the icing on the cake for Scousers alike when he outpaced Fabregas to slot the ball past Almunia in the final minutes.

It begs the question that had the Hleb penalty incident in the first leg been given. There was no need for Arsenal to push forward even when going 3-2 down. There would still be an away goal advantage to defend. To say that Arsenal lost because of a wrong official’s decision would be harsh.

How Arsenal missed the masterclass defending of Tony Adams. Wenger would have plenty on his hands to rejuvenate the boys for Sunday’s clash with Man Utd.