When you have gone 19 long years without winning a championship that was once yours as if by divine right, the temptation to clutch at omens is strong. So it was that the hospitalization of Rafael Benitez to have kidney stones removed had Liverpool devotees declaring that the portents were promising for today's visit to Arsenal – and for their prospects of finally winning the Premier League.
In 1992, Graeme Souness emerged from open-heart surgery to guide Liverpool to FA Cup success against Sunderland at Wembley. Nine years later, Gerard Houllier returned after six months way, having gone under the knife for similar reasons, to oversee an emotional victory against Roma. Benitez's recovery will have been hastened by the thought of a Champions League clash with Real Madrid, but there are pressing parochial matters to deal with during the European break and he will be back at the heart of things at the Emirates.
The first meeting of Arsenal and Liverpool since the Spaniard got the better of Arsene Wenger in the Champions League quarter-finals last spring is of potentially seismic significance for Benitez's team. As the campaign approaches the halfway stage, they stand a point clear of Chelsea, whose game at Goodison Park tomorrow will find Liverpool fans for once craving an Everton win. Manchester United, who are moonlighting in Japan, lie six points adrift with a game in hand. Arsenal, squeezed out of the top four by Aston Villa, are eight points off the pace.
Superficially, Arsenal and Liverpool have had similar seasons. Both have beaten Manchester United at home and Chelsea away, only to falter against Fulham, Stoke and Hull. But while Kopites bemoaned a succession of home draws against the latter trio, noting that they would have been seven points ahead had they won (and nine clear had they beaten West Ham at home), Gunners supporters had to stomach defeats by each of them.
There is no shortage of resilience – an attribute occasionally absent from Arsenal's gifted young team – in the Liverpool ranks. As well as having a Celtic-like capacity for important late goals, they have turned losing positions into victories on six occasions and lost only three league fixtures, all away, during the calendar year.
Curiously, though, there is a lack of conviction among the Anfield faithful, almost tangible at times, about recapturing the championship. It is as if they are waiting for results to tail off and for the thoroughbreds from Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge to overtake them. After so long without the prize, the indomitable belief that sent them into overdrive during the reigns of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish is no longer in Liverpool's DNA.
While Benitez twice took La Liga as Valencia coach, none of his charges has won the Premier League. Steven Gerrard possesses the requisite mentality; likewise Fernando Torres. And its spread through the team has been sufficient to defeat their principal rivals even when their world-class duo were injured. But there are still weaknesses, players who cannot perform consistently to the highest standard or, apparently, handle the pressure of playing for Liverpool.
Robbie Keane, who has scored just twice since a £20.3m transfer from Tottenham, may fit into both categories. His was a peculiar signing, and not simply because the price seemed inflated. Keane had tended to flourish as the secondary striker in a 4-4-2 system, whereas Benitez favours a 4-2-3-1 in which Torres, when fit, will invariably be the spearhead.
Yet it may not only be an ill-suited formation that militates against the Irishman. The list of front players who appeared cowed by the magnitude of representing Liverpool includes Fernando Morientes, Craig Bellamy and Emile Heskey. Benitez did find one who scored frequently and did not appear psychologically fazed by the burden of history. In the restless pursuit of perfection, Peter Crouch was sold on.
Keane's dearth of goals, like Dirk Kuyt's modest input, has exposed Liverpool's over-reliance on Torres and Gerrard in the scoring stakes. Even against lowly visitors, Benitez uses two holding midfielders, Javier Mascherano and one-time Arsenal target Xabi Alonso. As well as being an over-cautious strategy for a team with title ambitions, the options for goals from midfield are inevitably reduced, with the Basque's fearsome shooting too rarely seen.
Torres' indisposition has highlighted the need for another top-class finisher. Michael Owen would probably be available from Newcastle, but unless Benitez is bluffing, he has no interest in a player who is no better equipped to play in Liverpool's system than Keane.
In an ideal world, rather than one of financial uncertainty compounded by the mutual antipathy of their American owners, Liverpool might also be looking to replace Andre Dossena, a wing-back ill at ease with the defensive duties of a left-back. The right side of the attacking midfield unit, where Yossi Benayoun or Kuyt feature, is another area requiring attention, although Albert Riera, the August recruit from Espanyol, has made the left-wing berth his own.
Arsenal have a score to settle with Liverpool, whose 4-2 win at Anfield, sealed by two goals in the last four minutes, ended their hopes in Europe eight months ago. Last season, Wenger's team still led the table nearly three months on from where we are now. They played dazzling football, a claim not even Benitez would make for his side, and finished third.
Despite such caveats, playing with the handbrake on has served Liverpool well, and Chelsea and United have both shown fallibility. Meanwhile, the state of Torres' hamstring, rather than Benitez's lower back, will go a long way towards determining whether they can turn their best Premier League start into a first title without recourse to major surgery.
In 1992, Graeme Souness emerged from open-heart surgery to guide Liverpool to FA Cup success against Sunderland at Wembley. Nine years later, Gerard Houllier returned after six months way, having gone under the knife for similar reasons, to oversee an emotional victory against Roma. Benitez's recovery will have been hastened by the thought of a Champions League clash with Real Madrid, but there are pressing parochial matters to deal with during the European break and he will be back at the heart of things at the Emirates.
The first meeting of Arsenal and Liverpool since the Spaniard got the better of Arsene Wenger in the Champions League quarter-finals last spring is of potentially seismic significance for Benitez's team. As the campaign approaches the halfway stage, they stand a point clear of Chelsea, whose game at Goodison Park tomorrow will find Liverpool fans for once craving an Everton win. Manchester United, who are moonlighting in Japan, lie six points adrift with a game in hand. Arsenal, squeezed out of the top four by Aston Villa, are eight points off the pace.
Superficially, Arsenal and Liverpool have had similar seasons. Both have beaten Manchester United at home and Chelsea away, only to falter against Fulham, Stoke and Hull. But while Kopites bemoaned a succession of home draws against the latter trio, noting that they would have been seven points ahead had they won (and nine clear had they beaten West Ham at home), Gunners supporters had to stomach defeats by each of them.
There is no shortage of resilience – an attribute occasionally absent from Arsenal's gifted young team – in the Liverpool ranks. As well as having a Celtic-like capacity for important late goals, they have turned losing positions into victories on six occasions and lost only three league fixtures, all away, during the calendar year.
Curiously, though, there is a lack of conviction among the Anfield faithful, almost tangible at times, about recapturing the championship. It is as if they are waiting for results to tail off and for the thoroughbreds from Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge to overtake them. After so long without the prize, the indomitable belief that sent them into overdrive during the reigns of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish is no longer in Liverpool's DNA.
While Benitez twice took La Liga as Valencia coach, none of his charges has won the Premier League. Steven Gerrard possesses the requisite mentality; likewise Fernando Torres. And its spread through the team has been sufficient to defeat their principal rivals even when their world-class duo were injured. But there are still weaknesses, players who cannot perform consistently to the highest standard or, apparently, handle the pressure of playing for Liverpool.
Robbie Keane, who has scored just twice since a £20.3m transfer from Tottenham, may fit into both categories. His was a peculiar signing, and not simply because the price seemed inflated. Keane had tended to flourish as the secondary striker in a 4-4-2 system, whereas Benitez favours a 4-2-3-1 in which Torres, when fit, will invariably be the spearhead.
Yet it may not only be an ill-suited formation that militates against the Irishman. The list of front players who appeared cowed by the magnitude of representing Liverpool includes Fernando Morientes, Craig Bellamy and Emile Heskey. Benitez did find one who scored frequently and did not appear psychologically fazed by the burden of history. In the restless pursuit of perfection, Peter Crouch was sold on.
Keane's dearth of goals, like Dirk Kuyt's modest input, has exposed Liverpool's over-reliance on Torres and Gerrard in the scoring stakes. Even against lowly visitors, Benitez uses two holding midfielders, Javier Mascherano and one-time Arsenal target Xabi Alonso. As well as being an over-cautious strategy for a team with title ambitions, the options for goals from midfield are inevitably reduced, with the Basque's fearsome shooting too rarely seen.
Torres' indisposition has highlighted the need for another top-class finisher. Michael Owen would probably be available from Newcastle, but unless Benitez is bluffing, he has no interest in a player who is no better equipped to play in Liverpool's system than Keane.
In an ideal world, rather than one of financial uncertainty compounded by the mutual antipathy of their American owners, Liverpool might also be looking to replace Andre Dossena, a wing-back ill at ease with the defensive duties of a left-back. The right side of the attacking midfield unit, where Yossi Benayoun or Kuyt feature, is another area requiring attention, although Albert Riera, the August recruit from Espanyol, has made the left-wing berth his own.
Arsenal have a score to settle with Liverpool, whose 4-2 win at Anfield, sealed by two goals in the last four minutes, ended their hopes in Europe eight months ago. Last season, Wenger's team still led the table nearly three months on from where we are now. They played dazzling football, a claim not even Benitez would make for his side, and finished third.
Despite such caveats, playing with the handbrake on has served Liverpool well, and Chelsea and United have both shown fallibility. Meanwhile, the state of Torres' hamstring, rather than Benitez's lower back, will go a long way towards determining whether they can turn their best Premier League start into a first title without recourse to major surgery.
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