Another fun night of Carling Cup action at the Grove saw Arsenal go through to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Liverpool.
As expected the team was a mix of youth and experience. Nicklas Bendtner, Eduardo and Samir Nasri got minutes under their belt to get themselves fit, at the back Senderos and Sylvester provided a solid foundation while Lukasz Fabianski returned in goal.
The surprise inclusion of the night was that of Craig Eastmond in the holding role in midfield. I haven’t ever seen much of him before and from what I can gather he’s only just moved into midfield in the reserve/youth set up having played most of his time as a right back. Ahead of him Aaron Ramsey and Fran Merida provided the craft in the centre of the park and after last night the more established first team players will know they’ve got some serious competition on their hands.
The first half provided two outstanding goals. We took the lead when good work from Eastmond made Vornin’s pass look very sloppy, it broke to Merida on the edge of their box and he cracked it home off the inside of the post to make it 1-0 to the Arsenal. His first goal for the club and what a strike it was.
Having had most of the play ourselves Liverpool came back into it. They had experience in their team too. Kuyt, Voronin and Babel began to get involved more and they equalised with a terrific goal from left back Insua. A dipping volley from outside the area which left Fabianski with no chance.
Honours even at the break but five minutes into the second half we scored what turned out to be the winner. Nicklas Bendnter, who appeared the rest of the time to be playing in wellies, got the ball in their box, shifted it past Skrtel and lashed it home from close range with his left foot.
As the game went on we suffered a bit in terms of tiredness/fitness and Liverpool pressed to try and take advantage. They probably should have scored when Kuyt fizzed one across goal but Babel didn’t even get near it. They might have had a penalty on another night too when a shot hit Senderos on the arm but I think it would have been a fairly generous decision.
In the end we took the ball into the corner, this team perhaps conscious of closing out a game, and victory was secured. Arsenalist has highlights.
I believe overall it was a game of top quality with two teams who really went for it. You had the quality of the passing, sometimes the ball was played through a very short space but at a high pace and overall you can say tonight we gave the people what they paid for and I’m very happy to say that and we had top quality in every position I must say.
The stand-out performers on the night for me came from Arsenal’s midfield. Debutant Eastmond can feel very pleased with his night’s work, Fran Merida showed why Arsene so wanted to keep him. He’s clever on the ball, works hard and his goal was first class. But top of the pile for me was Aaron Ramsey. I said yesterday there might be a player or two worried about his progress and if I were Abou Diaby I’d be very worried indeed.
Ramsey was at the heart of everything we did. He worked hard, his passing was excellent (although he did get a bit tired in the last quarter of the game), and some of the stuff he did when surrounded by Liverpool players was fantastic. There was one move in particular in the first half when we went from our right back position to create a half chance in the Liverpool box which resulted in a corner and Ramsey’s ability to find a pass in crowded midfield areas was just brilliant. He’s still got a bit to learn obviously, he’s still only 18, but it’s clear to see why the manager says he’s ‘pushing hard’ for a first team place. If he continues to progress like this then it won’t be long before he’s appearing regularly.
Samir Nasri’s return was great to see also. He got 90 minutes under his belt, which clearly cost him towards the end of the game, but it’ll be vital to get that kind of match fitness. His quality on the ball gives our midfield/front three another option so fingers crossed he stays fit and doesn’t pick up any residual niggles from his broken leg.
At the back I thought the full backs were solid, Gibbs in particular had a good game, credit to Sylvester and Senderos whose experience at the back was crucial and Lukasz Fabianski had a solid return in goal. Despite the manager saying he would have no worries bringing Almunia back I expect the Pole to keep his place in nets for the North London derby on Saturday.
The draw for the quarter-finals takes place at the weekend and there are potentially some tough opponents. Ourselves aside the other teams in the draw are Man United, Man City, Chelsea, Sp*rs, Blackburn, Portsmouth and Aston Villa. Obviously it’d be nice to avoid to the first four and probably Villa in the next round but whoever we get it’s going to be another good challenge and learning experience for the lads. Onwards and upwards.
Now with the Carling Cup out of the way, so to speak, we can begin to think about this weekend. None of the players who started against West Ham played last night, although I do wonder if some of those who played against Liverpool will have done enough to force themselves into the reckoning for the Sp*rs game. Plenty on that fixture to come in the next couple of days.
Your final reminder then to win tickets to the game with thanks to Emirates Airline. You must get your entry in to the competition by midnight tonight and tomorrow the Randon Number Generator will do it’s thing and choose the three lucky winners of pairs of Club Level tickets.
Until then.
