The ESPN FC crew discuss Arsenal's match against Liverpool and comment that Arsenal did not make the best of their chances.
Offside, Arsenal. Santiago Cazorla tries a through ball, but Aaron Ramsey is caught offside.
English Premier League: Petr Cech saves a quick strike from James Milner just in time (25'). Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool
English Premier League: Petr Cech comes through again for Arsenal, getting just a fingertip on what would have been Liverpool's first goal. Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool
English Premier League: Alexis Sánchez hits the post, narrowly missing out on scoring Arsenal's first goal of the game (60') Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool.
English Premier League: last ditch attempt by Olivier Giroud blocked at the last minute by Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet (68')
Arsenal's home match against Liverpool adhered to the classic cliché of a game of two halves on Monday. In the first 45 minutes, Arsenal were a mess, and were only kept in the game by a heroic performance from Petr Cech. However, they responded after the interval to finally offer Liverpool a credible threat. Given that topsy-turvy 90 minutes, a draw was probably a fair result.
Robbed of starting centre-backs Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, manager Arsene Wenger was forced to throw Calum Chambers and Gabriel Paulista together in an unfamiliar partnership at the heat of the Arsenal defence. It led to an uneasy start, with the likes of Coutinho and Christian Benteke forcing Cech into action on numerous occasions.
However, Wenger's half-time team talk appeared to bring some calm to the Gunners' display. If there was going to be a winner late in the game, it seemed as if it would be the home side. In the end, the two teams were forced to settle for a point apiece.
Arsenal
Liverpool
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Game Details
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GameCast
Lineups and Stats
Player Ratings (1-10; 10=best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating):
GK Petr Cech, 9 -- The £10 million man performed heroics to keep Liverpool at bay in the first half. There were two saves that stood out in particular: first, he parried away a close-range Christian Benteke effort, before clawing a curled Coutinho shot onto the post.
After a tricky start to his Arsenal career, this was the Cech that Arsenal hoped to see when they prised him away from rivals Chelsea.
Petr Cech was brilliant against Liverpool, making eight saves to keep a clean sheet for the Gunners.
DF Hector Bellerin, 5 -- Without Per Mertesacker providing instruction alongside him, Bellerin looked less assured than usual. Perhaps Wenger would have been better served by fielding the more experienced Mathieu Debuchy to break up the youthful axis of Bellerin and Chambers.
DF Calum Chambers, 4 -- This was a huge chance for Chambers to reassert his credentials as a centre-half but he struggled to cope with the power of Benteke and tricky feet of Coutinho. A series of errors appeared to damage his confidence, and he was giving the ball away with troubling frequency. To his credit, he improved in the second half and regained some composure.
DF Gabriel Paulista, 6 -- Since signing for Arsenal from Villarreal in January, Gabriel has looked comfortable alongside both Mertesacker and Koscielny. However, installed alongside a less experienced partner, he was all at sea. There's undoubtedly a good player in there, but it seems his acclimatisation to English football still has some way to go.
DF Nacho Monreal, 6 -- Dragged infield too often by Liverpool's dynamic movement, Monreal did not enjoy his best performance. He's still comfortably Arsenal's first-choiceleft-back, but this was not a night to remember for the Spaniard.
MF Francis Coquelin, 8 -- Along with Cech, it was Coquelin who helped keep Arsenal in the game. With Gabriel and Chambers in chaos behind him, Coquelin had to be at his very best to snuff out danger on several occasions and he produced a series of remarkable last-ditch challenges.
MF Santi Cazorla, 7 -- Cazorla produced one of the passes of the game to set Aaron Ramsey free for what looked like the opening goal, before the assistant referee made a dubious offside call.
MF Mesut Ozil, 6 -- If there is one justifiable criticism of Arsenal's record signing, it's that he doesn't always show up in big games. That proved to be the case again against Liverpool, although he did produce one outstanding drag-back midway through the second half to leave his marker behind.
FW Aaron Ramsey, 8 -- The Welshman worked incredibly hard as ever, tracking back to support Bellerin when required. He ought to have had a first-half goal but it was incorrectly chalked off for offside. If anyone looked likely to break the deadlock, it was Ramsey.
FW Alexis Sanchez, 7 -- Even when Arsenal's team play doesn't click, Alexis has the capacity to produce something out of nothing. He certainly tried to make things happen against the Liverpool defence, but he is yet rediscover his shooting boots after a summer's exertions at the Copa America.
FW Olivier Giroud, 5 -- In a game where Arsenal were struggling for a foothold, they needed their centre-forward to offer an outlet. However, Giroud seemed to stroll through long periods of the game with barely kick.
Supply was undoubtedly an issue, but there was never a sense he could generate an opportunity for himself. Starved of service, he faded out of the game. When he did eventually a turn a shot towards goal midway through the second half, he was denied by an excellent Simon Mignolet save.
Substitutes:
FW Theo Walcott, NR -- Came on for Giroud (73) and offered Arsenal a much-needed threat in-behind.
MF Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, NR -- Came off the bench for Coquelin (82) as Arsenal went all-out for the win. Came close with a late shot which Mignolet pawed away.
James McNicholas is a football writer and the man behind Arsenal blog Gunnerblog.com. You can follow him on Twitter @gunnerblog.