By Boris Mellor
January 10 2007

I wonder if Mark Lawrenson remembers his pre match discussion on Five Live. He and his co reporter were discussing Julio’s nickname the Beast. Lawro suggested that the Nanny might be more appropriate, and then made a joke about Baptista’s physique.

I wouldn’t be too hard on Lawro I have heard Baptista called more insulting things by Arsenal fans. Yet this man could have scored 5 goals if his penalty had not been saved by Dud Cheque, and it wasn’t that bad a penalty either. Not since 1930 (Sunderland) has a team scored six at Anfield, and Julio nearly did it on his own.

 

Of course there is a misunderstanding here in England about the Beast’s nickname, it doesn’t refer to his physique or aggression, but his greed for goals. Now after last night’s performance his nickname starts to make sense. What nickname can we give Aliadiere? Who on other nights would have been man of the match, the Butcher’s boy perhaps? He certainly ran a few errands for the Beast, and scored a great goal of his own.

 The whole thing was rather surreal, Arsenal fans chanting we want seven. How many of them had expected victory? When I first heard our squad I thought we would be slaughtered, surely Rafa would play a top team. When he didn’t I still felt that a team that included Fowler, Bellamy, Gerrard, Gonzales, Hyppia, and Warnock should be able to beat a team with six teenagers in the line-up.

 

Indeed on Saturday we were told that if only Rafa had played Hyppia and Bellamy, and Bellamy always gives the Gunners a hard time, Liverpool would have won. I think not. The Gunners would have probably won by more. Bellamy usually gives our defence a hard time, but not on this occasion.

 

It is also easy to make a scapegoat of Dudek, but Liverpool fans should remember how bad their defence was, quite a few times it was torn wide open.

 

I also found Rafa’s explanation of the defeat strange: they attacked four times and scored four times.  Well that’s the idea isn’t it? But it was one of those nights that everything went Arsenal’s way.  Was it luck or just Liverpool incompetence? No doubt Arsenal had some luck, but the speed of the counterattacks and Julio’s composure in front of goal was more a factor. The whole team played well, including Song, Fabregas and Denilson, with Walcott, probably recovering from injury, the quietist.

 

Arsenal also conceded three goals, I did fear that squeaky bum time was upon us, but it was a bridge too far for Liverpool. The more they attacked the more likely the counterpunch would come. At 5-3 they were pressing, left themselves wide open and gave Aliadiere the chance to break down the wing, his pass gave the Beast a simple tap in which he devoured wolf like greedily and efficiently. I don’t think Nannies play like that Lawro.

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