As if this cup tie at the Emirates didn't need any more spice, it was announced that either Arsenal or Liverpool would face Everton in the quarter final, who beat Swansea 3-1 earlier in the day. A potential Merseyside Derby was on the cards as Liverpool faced a Gunners side looking for revenge after their 5-1 defeat to the Reds 8 days earlier. There were 3 changes to the Reds side that beat Fulham 2-3 on Wednesday. Kolo Toure dropped out in place of Daniel Agger, who returned from injury. Meanwhile Brad Jones and Joe Allen came in as replacements for Simon Mignolet and Jordan Henderson, respectively.
Liverpool started the game better in North London today than they did in West London on Wednesday, as Daniel Sturridge had a couple of chances to give his side an early lead. The England striker's failure to score was a frequent topic throughout the whole match as the away side failed to be clinical in the last third. But there was a similarity to the game in midweek however as Liverpool conceded first again, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain putting Arsenal 1-0 up after Yaya Sanogo's shot was blocked. This was caused by a Jon Flanagan foul that lead to a free kick in a dangerous area that eventually Liverpool and their full back Aly Cissokho couldn't deal with. The frustration of watching reds fans grew evermore as Phillipe Coutinho picked up a yellow card, following in the footsteps of Flanagan and later on Steven Gerrard, after his challenge. Even with the rising star in Raheem Sterling causing the home side's defence problems on one occasion, Liverpool failed to capitalise.
For the most part so far this season, Brendan Rodgers' men have performed well and had managed to be successful in the first half of their games. However, they have been poor in the second halves of their matches for the most part too, but they didn't want to replicate this form against an Arsenal side looking strong with their 1-0 scoreline. A couple of positive movements may have got Liverpool fans of their feet, but their hopes took in the end what was a huge blow. Arsenal haven't won a trophy since their FA Cup final victory nine years ago, but Lukas Podolski getting good contact on the end of a low-hit cross from the Man of the Match in Oxlade-Chamberlain, may give the North Londoners big hope as they made it 2-0. This was though to be the last good spell of football from Arsene Wenger's side as Liverpool tried to force a response.
What I think was key prior to this encounter was the involvement of Jordan Henderson. The England Under-21 midfielder had been in terrific form, but wasn't included in the Starting XI as he was still in recovery after his wrist operation he underwent in the week. Henderson is a player that can cover a lot of ground and split defences in two, and has proved this all season. However, the covering of so much ground forced the Northern Irish manager to rest the Liverpool midfielder for the majority of this one. But the pitch at the Emirates Stadium is the largest in the Premier League, and Arsenal always make it an intimidating place to play for all teams that visit. For the most part, Liverpool haven't enjoyed success here, but the inclusion of Henderson from the start, with all his creativity, and at the same time defensive ability, could have meant more opportunities to score and the prevention of more Arsenal breakthroughs. He did however eventually come on to replace Aly Cissokho in the 61st minute. Daniel Agger's return from injury had been a welcome return, as they, probably sarcastically, waved goodbye to an out-of-form and rather sloppy centre back in Kolo Toure. The Danish international risked all to get on the end of a Gerrard free kick before keeper Fabianski, as he headed just wide of the target, ending up on the ground, clattered by the Polish shot stopper.
In the end, Liverpool just didn't convert and take their chances, with Sturridge probably to blame for the most part because on any other day, he would have scored at least one of his opportunities. Despite the frustration, blaming the referee Howard Webb won't help the Reds in any way as they try to recover from their loss this evening. They can only be thankful that, unlike Arsenal, don't have any European matches to distract them from their match against Swansea next Sunday. The only trophy Liverpool can look to win now is the Premier League, and they were in my opinion the better side over 90 minutes, which leads me to believe that this is still possible. However, the Reds may have to settle for a still impressive Champions League spot with Manchester City responding in impressive style after their revenge against title rivals Chelsea on Saturday night.
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