How nice was it to see Carragher playing so well after so long out of the team? He was tidy in possession too.
Yes, but I thought MOTM was a stretch. He did well but was visibly the deepest defender on several occasions, which didn't help with...
Wisdom looked a little lost tonight. Is the return of Enrique timely, or would you persevere with the young man?
He has had a decent run but was at sea now and again tonight. Arsenal have good attackers, though and he wasn't at fault for either goal. Having said that, Johnson hasn't been exactly reassuring under pressure recently. After getting outjumped by a smaller man against Oldham, he did it again with Walcott just before their second, with credit to Walcott for getting a good run on him.
Our problems all came down our left side in the second half, which is presumably why Enrique was brought on. First half, Suarez was everywhere, often too deep for our own good, but he dropped off a bit after the break. Walcott's goal came because he beat Suarez to a header out wide and Luis let him off and started backing up the pitch, banking on us winning it back. However, that left us two v three and Walcott had enough space to work it off his mates and finish well.
Henderson scored a wonderful goal tonight and chased his heart out, however I feel as though he is lacking that little bit of composure and quality. Am I being harsh on him, and if not, can the composure be taught over time?
Hmm. I was screaming at him for the first half. Ramsey is not a defensive mid and he was there for the taking. Three times, Henderson got possession in dangerous areas with the Arsenal back four exposed, and he fluffed it each time. He is invaluable off the ball but sometimes wasteful on it. For his goal, he gets an A for effort and sheer bloodymindedness but the Arsenal back four must have had Steve Bould's cranium becoming ever more veined and visible. It was a moment to replay in jerky black and white with a jaunty piano accompaniment. First, Mertesacker graciously showed our Jordan the inside right berth and ushered him through, and then when his shot was weak and bobbly, Santos kindly and accurately returned it to him, all while their keeper skittered around like a newborn foal.
Suarez played very deep for most of the game and played well (one of the passes of the season first half) - was Rodgers right to play him from the left, or would you have liked to see him more advanced and central?
Play him anywhere across the front three and we're laughing, but if you're asking him to put in a shift, like we did tonight, you have to allow for the fact that he is not a defensive minded player. Too often, he was asked to cover his full back, and that's not really his forte. Still probably our best player, though, and provided the moment of the game with his outside of the right boot, on the fly, inch perfect pearler pass for Sturridge, who couldn't adorn it with a finish.
The midfield three were bogged down for a lot of the game, is Lucas showing signs of getting back to his best or is he still looking rusty?
He is not the force he was before his injury, not quite the same snap, but he is getting there. Also, I think he is learning the Rodgers game as we go along, often occupying a Busquets, between the two centre halves position when in possession. There were some moments when he was up at the Arsenal back four, I think Rodgers likes that sort of defence where players boing out from their defensive line to press and harry. He was unlucky to give away a couple of frees in the second half that weren't frees, too.
The Arsenal set up had Ramsey at the base of a three with Wilshere and Cazorla, all superb passers and movers, so it was understandable that we might have trouble dominating possession but when we got the ball in the first half, they looked like they would rather be anywhere else.
How concerning is our inability to close out a game, and how can it be solved?
I thought we should have gone in two or three up, but the Henderson goal was a bonus in a half where we suffered. That game was never ours for the closing, I don't think you can ever say that against a good Arsenal side at two up, but certainly not a lucky two up. Wilshere and Cazorla are gems of players, while Giroud and Walcott are in very good form, with the former beating Agger all ends up for their first.