Liverpool v Arsenal Player Ratings

I don't even know what to say. I would still be worried if I were an Arsenal fan as they clearly were not in control of the match. It does give great hope that Rodgers' experiment will come to fruition. It is a little early to hit the panic button and last year's Arsenal squad is the perfect example of that.

With the lack of depth at striker, it is a bit delusional to think we will finish top 4 this year. Also, take into consideration that this was Liverpool's third game in 7 days, two of them against likely top 4 squads. I'm not necessarily trying to make excuses from some impotent finishing, but before we all get extremely irrational and irate, take this into consideration.

On to the ratings:

STARTERS:

Reina - 5 - Quite a mixed bag. He made a couple of very smart saves in the beginning of the second half, but again could have done better with the second. I won't fault him on the first, although I'm sure he could have done better on that one too.

Johnson - 6 - Got caught out on the first goal, although he was pressing as required by this system so I won't fault him too much. Showed a lot of heart trying to run down Podolski and nearly got the block in. He was lively in attack.

Agger - 5 - Whiffed on an absolute sitter of a header early in the game. It might have been a much different day if he connected. Stuggled with his back mates to deal with the counterattacks, but then again so would most players.

Skrtel - 6 - Did well enough to keep Giroud fairly quiet. Still, this back line needs to figure out how to play better when one man breaks forward to support the attack.

Enrique - 5 - Wasteful a couple of times in possession and didn't get forward as well as he usually does. However, he did defend pretty well for the most part other than two careless giveaways.

Sahin - 6 - While he looked calm on the ball, he also struggled to find himself in the game. It seemed like it was his first game with this team or something (that was sarcasm). Now with one under his belt, hopefully we can see what he is really capable of next game.

Allen - 8 - Absolutely immense. He again is getting in on tackles and his passing is the best in the EPL. So much so, that he didn't miss a single pass the entire first half. The kid is more accurate than a Mayan calendar (well a Mayan calendar before 2012). One thing I did learn about him is he is not fast at all. Those counters passed by him and he struggled to match the pace of the dribbler.

Sterling - 7 - He was probably the most dangerous Liverpool player on the pitch for most of the game. Beyond that though, he actually tracked back and defended including one fantastic tackle on Chamberlain that I remember. He really shut down the kid that everyone in England is looking to as the future. Perhaps they should be looking a bit more at Raheem.

Gerrard - 4 - Awful. His passing looks more like me in my Sunday pub league that the Liverpool legend we've grown accustom to. It was a nearly identical situation to the errant pass that led to a goal for WBA in the opener. Johnson sprung forward, Gerrard missed the pass badly, everyone else is out of position. He appears to be suffering from a summer hangover.

Borini - 5 - He still looks inept. While young, he is going to start getting the same criticism Carroll got early if he can't get some form. Many of his crosses hit the defender or are just completely inaccurate. He needs to be shifted central and put Suarez out wide because what he is doing now isn't working and we don't have any other options.

Suarez - 5 - Is it possible for someone to teach him how to hit the goal? Sure, he should have drawn at least one penalty when he was manhandled by Mertesacker, but he has to start taking responsibility for his inaccuracy. This might be the signs of a burnout. Unfortunately, he won't get any rest until we get cover or he gets injured. By the way, it is likely Mertesacker would have picked up a second yellow for his haul down of Suarez in the box that Howard Webb let go.

SUBS:

Downing - 6 - Initially injected some life into the right hand side, but then faded quickly after that.

Shelvey - 7 - A very impressive cameo. While he was, of course, good for a few token hard fouls, he injected some pace and urgency in the side. In addition, he probably had Liverpool's best shots at goal, one beauty required a decent save from Arsenal's third choice keeper.