Arsenal fringe have edge

SOCCER/ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP/Arsenal 2 Liverpool 1:THE SHEER zest of these players flooded a fourth-round League Cup tie with consequence. Arsenal were more incisive over the course of the night and deserved the victory. If there was any consolation for the Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez, it lay in seeing the midfielder Alberto Aquilani, a €22 million signing who has been sidelined with an ankle injury, at last make his debut as a substitute.

With 13 minutes left, the Italian stepped into an animated game and he might have had a penalty in stoppage time when his attempt hit the arms of Philippe Senderos.

Despite the dismissiveness with which this tournament tends to be treated, it has great appeal on occasions such as this when teams are not burdened by anxiety.

Two goals from distance had the score level before half an hour had passed. The action went on confounding any assumption that the clubs might not have been eager about the occasion.

Of the players on the field at kick-off only the Liverpool pair of Emiliano Insua and Dirk Kuyt had started for their clubs at the weekend. Nonetheless the team sheet did not really double as a stiff test of supporters’ knowledge.

The home fans needed no introduction to Samir Nasri, who was making his return after fracturing a fibula in pre-season.

Arsene Wenger is convinced Arsenal will win a trophy this season. It would be only human nature for him to have one of the more coveted prizes in mind but a person cannot be too fussy when his fallow period stretches back to the 2005 FA Cup.

His side were hungry for victory, with the fringe players eager to make the manager appreciate their readiness for all challenges. The opener did have a frantic tone to it as Andriy Voronin misplaced a simple pass to Damien Plessis near his own penalty area in the 19th minute. Craig Eastmond, on his Arsenal debut, then set up Fran Merida to score his first goal for the club with a powerful drive.

There was a maverick quality to the occasion and there will have been minor reservations about Lukasz Fabianski’s work when Insua opened his account with Liverpool. The left-back’s effort after 26 minutes certainly moved but it also went straight over the Pole on its way to the middle of the net.

On occasion there was an absurdity to the night. After 17 minutes, for instance, Nicklas Bendtner went clear after a one-two with Eduardo but neither attempted a shot or laid a pass off to Aaron Ramsey. The Liverpool goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri was left simply to pick up the ball.

It was the sort of helter-skelter tie in which there are always likely to be opportunities for atonement.

Bendtner put Arsenal ahead for good in the 50th minute. Merida played the ball in from the left and, when Ramsey touched it off, the Dane’s finish was emphatic.

Before long Voronin was putting a low attempt a fraction wide of the post. When line-ups have an improvised appearance about them it seems only natural the lack of rapport will allow gaps to open up in defences. Fabianski had even caused gasps when he was so near his 18-yard-line that he had risked handling the ball outside the area. All the same the goalkeeper looked as if he was gradually being provided with better protection. When Ryan Babel hit a low drive following a free-kick Fabianski’s handling was clean.

Belatedly it did look as if there was a semblance of order. That was not in Liverpool’s interest as they struggled to recover some of the impact that came so readily before the interval. A hard-fought match gave the appearance of falling under Arsenal’s control.

ARSENAL: Fabianski, Gilbert, Senderos, Silvestre, Gibbs, Eastmond (Randall 75), Bendtner (Watt 76), Nasri, Ramsey, Merida (Coquelin 87), Eduardo. Subs not used: Szczesny, Bartley, Frimpong, Sunu.

LIVERPOOL: Cavalieri, Degen (Eccleston 88), Skrtel, Kyrgiakos, Insua, Kuyt, Spearing, Plessis (Aquilani 76), Babel, Voronin, Ngog (Benayoun 74). Subs not used: Reina, Darby, Dossena, Ayala.

Referee: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).