Liverpool and Arsenal lock horns tomorrow, so we take a look back at one of their classic Premier League encounters. The pair were the dominant forces in English football in the 1980’s and that led to a breathtaking conclusion to the 1988/89 season. That story is for another day, today we are focusing on a Premier League classic. Fixtures between the two tend to produce goals, excitement and thrill. No other fixture averages more goals per game than Liverpool vs Arsenal.
In the 2008/09 season, Liverpool were locked in a thrilling title race with fierce rivals Manchester United. It had been 18 years since the Merseysiders were last Champions. For a club of their stature, such a long drought was inconceivable. Yet that season under Rafa Benítez, equipped with the likes of Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger, Jamie Carragher at the back, Stevie G, Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano in midfield, and Fernando Torres in attack, Liverpool looked good to challenge the team that threatened to “knock them off their f****** perch”.
Their visitors were Arsenal, enduring a mini four-season title drought of their own. They were on a slow but steady decline since Thierry Henry’s departure in 2007. Young players Cesc Fàbregas and Robin van Persie were the stars of an Arsenal team that would fail to sustain a title challenge but manage a top four finish. Andrei Arshavin, our star of this contest, only had 4 months of Premier League experience coming into this. The Russian was signed by Arsenal in January 2009 from Zenit St. Petersburg.
This was matchweek 34 of the season. Liverpool were one point behind SAF’s Manchester United having played one game extra. Arsenal on the other hand, were fourth, with a seven point and a game advantage over fifth-placed Aston Villa.
For the hosts, a win was a must to stay in the title picture. Both Liverpool and Arsenal were without key players Steven Gerrard and Robin van Persie for this one. Let’s see how this unfolded:
Liverpool 0 – [1] Arsenal (Arshavin, 36′)
Liverpool are unable to clear after winning possession in their own defensive third. Fabregas robs Mascherano off possession and after linking with Samir Nasri, tees up Arshavin. The Russian slots it in, and you’ll hear more of that.
Liverpool [1] – 1 Arsenal (Torres, 49′)
Bacary Sagna awkwardly clears a deflected cross straight to Dirk Kuyt. In his second attempt, Kuyt finds Torres with a cross, and the Spaniard buries the header into the corner. 1-1, and there’s more to come.
Liverpool [2] – 1 Arsenal (Benayoun, 56′)
Arsenal once again fail to clear and once again gift it to Kuyt. His cross towards the back post ricochets of Yossi Benayoun and somehow carries over the goal line. Benayoun is down injured, but the goal’s given!
Liverpool 2 – [2] Arsenal (Arshavin, 67′)
Another calamity at the back! It’s Alvaro Arbeloa this time who isn’t aware of his surroundings. Arshavin steals the ball from his wrong side and then powers one past Reina.
Liverpool 2 – [3] Arsenal (Arshavin, 70′)
A bad, bad day for defenders. Nasri’s seemingly harmless cross is cleared straight into the path of Arshavin, who happily accepts the gift to seal his hat-trick. Chaos all around in this game.
Liverpool [3] – 3 Arsenal (Torres, 72′)
Almost immediately, Torres steps up to equalize with a moment of brilliance. He expertly controls a cross from the left, before fizzing one into the net. No blame attached to the defenders, but Fabianski perhaps could have done better.
Liverpool 3 – [4] Arsenal (Arshavin, 90′)
Chasing a winner, Liverpool committed everyone forward for the corner. Theo Walcott uses his pace to start the counter attack before releasing the tireless Russian. He was just having one of those days and of course, he scored. Simply stunning!
Liverpool [4] – 4 Arsenal (Benayoun, 90 + 3′)
Just when you thought you had seen it all, Benayoun pops up with an equalizer. He latched on to a lose ball and forced it home. The goal was a great addition to a catalogue of impressive Liverpool comebacks, but in the bigger picture, it wasn’t enough.
So there you have it! Take a moment to catch your breathe. A match that could have gone either way, went neither way. Eight goals, but only three different goal scorers. An absolute spectacle for the neutrals, but for Liverpool, it was the final nail in the coffin. They went top momentarily, but United won their game 2-0 to go three points clear with a game in hand.
And so despite losing just two games and scoring more goals than anyone, Liverpool finished four points behind Man United. This was United’s 11th Premier League title and more significantly, they had equaled Liverpool’s overall tally of 18 First Division titles. Arsenal meanwhile, finished fourth, 14 points behind Liverpool.