Boro throws us a lifeline after another draw with Liverpool

By: travis | April 6th, 2008

After another petty performance by Arsenal over the weekend, I decided to wait until the match between Middlesborough and Man United had ended before posting. That match would determine the season, as a Man United win would see Arsenal’s goose cooked, while a draw or a shock loss would throw us a glimpse of hope. And sure enough, a brace by Afonso Alves helped Boro earn the 2-2 draw. So that keeps the league title, while still a longshot, not completely out of reach.

Back to the topic at hand. Saturday’s 1-1 draw was mediocre at best. The lineup Arsene sent out there signaled that his intent, while claiming that Arsenal still had a chance at the league title, was for the upcoming Champions League fixture on Tuesday. Justin Hoyte and Armand Traore both got starts, and considering how big a fixture this was, it surprised me.

However, that judgment aside, Arsenal hardly looked like a team challenging for the title as Liverpool enjoyed a much better run of play during the first half. It culminated with a cool finish by Peter Crouch off of a goal kick from Pepe Reina. It was nothing too spectacular, simply poor defending and a good shot. A sharp contrast occurred a bit earlier when Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner was free on goal and on managed nothing more than a timid pass right to the keeper. To me, that’s an example of the inexperience of Arsenal that will ultimately cost the League and the CL. The jury is still out on Bendtner, who had a much better run of play in the second half.

The entire team picked it up a bit after halftime, and drew level off a set piece as Bendtner made a superbly-timed run coupled with a nice finish. However, Liverpool always looked more likely to grab the winner, and might have if not for Andrei Voronin falling down comicly in the box on more than one occasion, along with hitting a couple shots horribly wide. Gerrard and Torres were both brought on in the second half, but neither mustered much. Arsenal’s best chance came in the closing minutes when a Bendtner header (did I say he played better in the second half? Because he did) should have put Alexander Hleb through on goal, but his touch betrayed him and the chance was for naught.

I think that maybe it on the league. Now six points behind United, anything less than winning the rest of our matches. Arsenal may not be all the way out, but next weekend I don’t think they can beat United, and anything less than that will mean curtains on a shot at the EPL title. And of course, the squad faces quite the uphill battle at Anfield on Tuesday. I would love to be optimistic about our changes, but recent form suggests otherwise. Nevertheless, I’m not giving up quite yet.