Liverpool 5 - 1 Arsenal: Omnishambles

Grim. Brutal and grim... and bollocks. So what went wrong? Well everything really...

As Michael Owen gleefully reminded us four or five hundred times, Liverpool were quick out of the blocks against Everton and they repeated the trick against Arsenal and we were completely unable to contain them. There were some alarming individual errors that culminated in us shipping 4 goals in the first 20 minutes. The first of which was by the usually error-free Per Mertesacker - he let the ball bounce past him, seemingly unaware of Suarez behind him and then brought him down. It was as poor as it was uncharacteristic and from the resulting free kick, Mrtn Skrtl scrd hs frst gl f th gm #nvwlbantz.

Whilst no Arsenal player covered them self in glory or anything other than horsesh*t for that matter, Mesut Özil had a particularly nightmareish game, twice conceding possession poorly in the build up to a Liverpool goal. He is a great player and I really hope he shows that on Wednesday, and for the rest of the season for that matter. These individual errors/lapses in concentration were so disappointing but they were far from the only differences between the teams... The Liverpool players were just so much more determined and hungry for the win; they looked so much quicker. The ease in which they managed to get in behind us was alarming and not something that we ourselves can really threaten to do without Walcott in the side. At times it felt that the only thing that could save us would be some poor finishing, early runs and offside flags but there was no saving us on Saturday - we were well and truly (and deservedly) battered.

Before the game I was of the opinion that we were considerably stronger than Liverpool in defence and midfield and if we could control the game in the middle and cut the supply to the forwards (as we did at home) we could win the game. Pffff, not even close.

We did score a goal, but I can't remember taking so little pleasure in an Arsenal goal. It was a consolation akin to being given a toaster after getting sacked from your job, evicted from your home and left by your wife.

I found the best way to deal with the pain unbearable agony of the game was to hurl abuse at Daniel Sturridge (that f*cking dance) and Michael Owen, who was just insufferably smug, barely containing his laughter. Honestly, from the level of joy he was expressing you would have thought someone was tickling his balls with a feather duster for 90 minutes.

The manager and the players are making the right noises: "f*cking embarassing" according to Szczesney; "Was a really poor performance today from me" admitted a worryingly sluggish Giroud; "We won't let that happen again" said Mertesacker; Areta told us that “the manager was really upset at half-time, but that’s normal because it wasn't good enough for this football club. It was the angriest I have seen him.” Indeed Arsène was so angry that he fell over.

However... we aren't suddenly a terrible team. Using the examples of Mertesacker and Özil who both made errors leading to Liverpool goals; Mertesacker is not suddenly completely unaware of what's happening around him and Özil isn't now a sloppy passer who often gets caught in possession. This does need to be a wake-up call to them and the rest of the team as they fell well below the very high standards they have set themselves this season.

Next up are three home games against United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich and a reaction is needed. United, as everybody knows have been utterly shambolic this season; their match against Fulham yesterday was as bizarre as it was hilarious - they were so very dominant with 31 shots, 649 passes and 81 crosses yet drew 2-2. Whilst their lack of success from those crosses is staggering, we will need to defend any crosses a lot better than we did against Liverpool.  Liverpool's visit next weekend is of course all the more important now as the FA Cup remains our best chance of silverware and now there is a mental barrier to break down; we need to show that the last game was an anomaly and that we can better Liverpool.

As Arsène said in his post-match press conference: "People will raise questions. We only have one way to respond and answer to that - which is on Wednesday night." For the love of all that is holy, please let us do just that...