Reuters Soccer Blog

Another 4-4 draw for Liverpool, another trophy chance gone?

4-4 is the sort of scoreline that delights neutrals, TV companies and marketing executives but it‘s not one that Liverpool fans will remember with any fondness.

A point from Tuesday night’s draw with Arsenal at Anfield was enough to take Liverpool top of the Premier League table on goal difference from Manchester United, but seeing as Alex Ferguson’s side have two games in hand it’s hard to see the title ending up anywhere but at Old Trafford.

There could still be room for a twist or two, of course, but United seem to have regained their defensive stability, just as Liverpool have lost their poise at the back.

As for Arsenal, the result was not as costly — they’re all but guaranteed fourth spot — and Andrei Arshavin’s four-goal performance was spectacular but their own defensive failings would have made very interesting viewing for United looking ahead to the Champions League semi-finals.

Altogether, a very satisfying night for Ferguson, I should say…

PHOTO: Liverpool’s Yossi Benayoun reacts after the final whistle against Arsenal at Anfield, April 21, 2009. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Arshavin: the last man through the window may be slow to adapt

Arsenal’s signing of Russia’s most talented player Andrei Arshavin on the final day of the transfer window (just about) brought an end to months of speculation, but will he or any of the other January transfers make an impact in what is left of the Premier League season?

If Arsene Wenger’s previous transfers are anything to go by Arshavin, like Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Mathieu Flamini before him, will need a settling-in period to adapt to Arsenal’s distinctive patient style. Unfortunately for the Gunners, who are five points off the Champions League places, time is running out.

After letting Hleb and Flamini go in the summer, Arsene Wenger’s side was always going to look short of depth in midfield and fans were screaming out for the signing of Arsharvin in the summer. Has this deal come four months too late?

The other big January story came from Tottenham Hotspur, who bizarrely bought back Pascal Chimbonda, Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe. Good business by Harry Redknapp? Hopeless optimism? We’ll see about that.

Man City also spent a lot of money, if not quite as much as they would have liked, but I wonder if the cleverest deal might turn out to be Aston Villa’s purchase of Emile Heskey from Wigan for £3.5million. If Villa make it into the Champions League, that may well come to seem the bargain of the year.

Liverpool need a lot more crazy

Liverpool are short of goals, short of composure, short, perhaps, of a bit of luck but crazy is in plentiful supply.

Here’s how Benitez described the 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic that left Liverpool two points behind Manchester United, who have a game in hand:

“I was talking with my players about what to do on the pitch, but there are always things you cannot control in a game like this,” Benitez said. “The players were not nervous – they were working hard and played well in the first half. But things changed in the second half. It was a crazy game in the second half, and when it’s a crazy game you cannot control things.”

It’s not been a great start to the year for Benitez’s Liverpool.

The only team they have beaten in 2009 are Preston North End, the coach’s optimistic attempt to get inside the head of Sir Alex Ferguson has not been a notable success and that first league title since 1990 is starting to look as unattainable as ever.

So is that it from Liverpool? Is their challenge just going to peter out in a haze of missed chances, as Xabi Alonso looks on from the bench?