This past Sunday, Arsenal had difficulties to beat Liverpool as visitors, but at the end they won with a score of 2-1 at Anfield. With this win, Arsenal has moved Liverpool away from the battle of the crown in the English Premier League, as they are now in seventh place of the standings with 24 points; 13 points away from the leader, Chelsea. Arsenal, on the other hand, has climbed to third place with 31 points and is currently 6 points away from Chelsea and three points away from second place, Manchester United.

Arsenal did not play well in the first half and found itself trailing by a goal of Dutchman Dirk Kuyt at minute 41. Kuyt picked up a rebound in the middle of the area of goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and scored. After that, the advantage of Liverpool could have increased since Fernando Torres missed a good attempt with a couple of short passes with Steven Gerrard. Then, Liverpool’s captain was part of a controversial play that seemed like a penalty after of French defender William Gallas fouled a player but was not penalized. With these failed attempts the first half ended 1-0 in favor of Liverpool.

In the second half, Arsenal entered the field with a completely different attitude and this promptly translated into a goal. The Liverpool defender Glen Johnson scored an own goal after he tried to divert a center of Samir Nasri to give the visitors the draw at minute 50.

Then eight minutes later, the Russian striker Andrei Arshavin took a pass on the left side of the area, dribbled to the inside and unleashed a powerful shot that hit the right post and entered the arch, leaving Liverpool’s goalkeeper Jose Manuel Reina stunned. With this goal, Arsenal obtained the triumph and the third place of the Premier League standings. Whereas Liverpool sums its second game without a win as they draw with Blackburn Rovers 0-0 in the previous game.

This result leaves Liverpool in a complicated situation. They are now five points away from qualifying to the Champions League, as they have already been eliminated from the main continental club competition.

Liverpool has won only three of its last fifteen games, taking into account all the competitions, while a well-balanced Arsenal seem willing to interfere in the traditional showdown between Chelsea and Manchester United.

At the end of the match, Liverpool’s Coach Rafa Benitez said he was happy with the way his players were performing in the first half, but stated that the problem came in the second half when Arsenal pick up its confidence and his team lost it all during the second half.

“The first half was really good and we were very pleased. The second changed and they were playing with more confidence and we played with less.I think that the players are disappointed and we have to start working with them and trying to do things in the right way.”

“We were talking before with some players and we knew that the only way to reduce the gap was to win our games so if you cannot win your games, you cannot see the other teams. We have to keep going, try to improve and if we can play at the level we played in the first half, we will win more games,” expressed Coach Benitez.

About the Author

Ally White is a top senior copy writer for the English Premier League games as well as the sports betting industry.
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