Cazorla leaves the Reds red-faced

Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield today, with Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski scoring their debut goals for Arsenal. In a game where Liverpool were better for large parts, Arsenal’s excellent, pacy counter-attacking style left the Reds reeling for answers.

Santi Cazorla already looks to be one the signings of the season, with his excellent lung-bursting run through the heart of the Liverpool defence ended with a sumptuous ball to Podolski, who finished with a nice low shot past Pepe Reina, who in all fairness should’ve done better.

Joe Allen, yet again proved to be the best player for the hosts, with an incredible passing range, and was extremely proficient in picking out his passes. Arsenal seemingly could not get him off the ball at all, and had an astounding 100% pass completion rate in the first half, with the little Welshman completing 39 out of 39 passes according to Opta. A real gem of a player!

Raheem Sterling wasn’t far behind, with the 17-year old proving to be Liverpool’s only real threat throughout the game. Sterling constantly went past Carl Jenkinson, and got himself into threatening areas, only to be frustrated by the total apathy of his team-mates. Luis Suarez again frustrated for the Merseysiders, with the likes of Mertesacker and captain Thomas Vermaelen easily combating the threat of the usually live-wire Uruguayan. At least Suarez tried something, as Fabio Borini looked to be dead-weight with the ball at his feet, both being overshadowed by the brilliance of the boy wonder, Sterling.

Steven Gerrard will go down as one of the club’s greatest ever players, but that didn’t hide the fact that Cazorla and Mikel Arteta ran circles around him. Easily Liverpool’s worst player, his usual forward drives were ominous through their absence, and his failure to link-up well with Suarez was evident. Arteta and Abou Diaby were excellent, and easily subdued Liverpool’s captain. He was at fault for Arsenal’s opener, lazily losing possession to an opportunistic Arsenal midfield, who immediately gave the ball on a silver platter to Cazorla, allowing the Spanish genius to work his magic. He’s the type of player they’ve been crying out for ever since Fabregas left, and his budding partnership with Podolski looks to be the foundation on which Arsenal’s season will be built.

Nuri Sahin had a disappointing debut, with the former Dortmund man clearly not match-fit as yet, and was unable to completely impose his authority on the game. Liverpool should’ve started with Jonjo Shelvey, who was extremely impressive against Manchester City. Shelvey was an improvement when he came on, providing Liverpool with a shooting threat. Even Downing played some intelligent football at times, but was barely able to provide the required cutting-edge.

What worried me most was the lack of fighting spirit, with the Reds almost completely giving up after Arsenal scored their second. The players seemed to be disinterested in general, and it spoke volumes when the unflappable Allen tried going toe-to-toe in the box with goalie Vito Mannone in the closing stages. The defence played well for the most part, only to be broken by Cazorla’s magic. Pepe Reina was definitely at fault for Arsenal’s latter goal, despite the unplayable Spaniard belting the shot. Reina needs to improve his all-round performance, having already leaked in seven goals this season!

The lack of fighting spirit and the lack of a cutting edge eventually brought down the Merseysiders. No matter how good Allen and Sterling can play, it’s useless if Liverpool lack the finishing product, with no recognised striker on the bench. The failure to sign Clint Dempsey might weigh down on Rodgers. Olivier Giroud also proved to be a bit of a disappointment for the Gunners, as Agger, Skrtel and Enrique easily dealt with him.

It’s hard to foresee Champions League football returning to Merseyside next season, if the current trend continues. However the season is still young, and let’s not forget Arsenal’s own horrible start last season.

Michael Owen is still available, and Rodgers would be wise to try and sign him, as he at least knows what the back of the net looks like.