Liverpool have everything to do in their quest for the top four…
Arsenal 4-1 Liverpool – Jordan Henderson’s late penalty was the only scrap of consolation on a disappointing day for the Reds, which also saw Emre Can sent-off for two bookable offences.
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Hector Bellerin, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez all scored first-half goals for the Gunners, while Olivier Giroud completed the scoring in second-half stoppage time, after Henderson had pulled one back.
Read the full Liverpool player ratings below:
GK) Simon Mignolet – 8/10
Arguably at fault for Ozil’s free-kick but could do little about the other goals. Far more prominent were his three wonderful saves – most notably to deny Aaron Ramsey after Toure’s error had allowed the Welshman in on goal.
RCB) Emre Can – 5/10
Struggled to help contain the Gunners free-flowing attacking football in the first-half. Pushed into a more advanced position in the second period and looked better, prior to his unfortunate red card late in the game.
CB) Kolo Toure – 4/10
This was his first Premier League starts in three months… and it showed. It’s hard not to feel sorry for Toure, who was thrown in the deep end in the absence of Martin Skrtel, but he was simply exposed by the Gunners in this one.
LCB) Mamadou Sakho – 6/10
The pick of Liverpool’s defensive trio. Still looked uncomfortable in position but was not exposed in the same way as Toure. The Frenchman will have a lot of work on his plate in the coming weeks, as suspensions mount up.
DM) Joe Allen – 5/10
Wasteful. Lost his battle in midfield, even with Lucas in there to help him. Arsenal’s versatile and ever-moving forward quartet looked to have given the Welshman something of a headache by the end of the game.
CM) Lucas Leiva – 5/10
Like Toure, the Brazilian looked out of practice. His inclusion was intended to add some additional grit and determination to the starting line-up but he struggled to produce. He was simply overrun by Coquelin and co.
RM) Jordan Henderson – 6/10
Scored the penalty – if only just – and produced his usual high work-rate. Like Sterling in previous weeks, he looked wasted out on the right-hand side. Did better once he was tucked inside in the second-half.
LM) Alberto Moreno – 5/10
At fault for the first goal, when he allowed Bellerin to cut inside of him. Improved after the break but the damage was already done. Another disappointing day for the Spaniard in a big-match.
AM) Lazar Markovic – 5/10 (Sturridge – 46′)
Had a couple of decent moments but lived to regret that miss-hit pass meant for Raheem Sterling, which would have put us ahead. The Serbian was then hauled off, not for the first-time, at half-time in place of Sturridge.
AM) Philippe Coutinho – 5/10
Isolated and frustrated, he made little impact on the game in truth. The Brazilian is usually our stand-out player in these big matches, but even his magical feet were unable to produce anything during today’s game.
ST) Raheem Sterling – 7/10
Silenced his doubters, at least to an extent. Worked extremely hard, deserved a goal in the first-half when Markovic let him down and won the penalty for Henderson to score. He wants to be here for the time being.
Subs:
1) Daniel Sturridge – 6/10 – Looked dangerous after coming on at the break, crowded out on more than one occasion when he tried to work himself space to shoot.
