One thing that was consistent throughout the game was the solidarity of our defence. Arsenal could not break through our defence, Carragher and Skrtel were immense and so was Agger. I was glad to see Gerrard, Masch and others throwing their bodies into tackles just to defend the goal.
It was tough with 10 men. The players worked doubly hard, hats off to them for the effort put in and results aside, it was a very positive performance. I am now glowing with enthusiasm for the coming challenges and season. That said though, I am disappointed in the manner in which we conceded the goal. It was really misfortunate for Reina but he's a strong character, he'll bounce back from it.
I think it was a change from what we saw last season. Last season we were disinterested in playing, there was suspicion and mistrust among the players and the manager. Yesterday was a very different performance, everyone had the hunger of wanting to impress Roy, everyone wanted to recorrect the wrongs last season and get 3 points. Unfortunately it was not to be.
David Ngog had an outstanding game, he capped it off with a fine finish that Torres would be proud of. That goal reminded me of the 2-0 victory where Torres beat Ferdinand to smash the ball past Van der Sar!! It would be extremely unwise for us to send him out on loan, at 21 this is the time where he is experiencing rapid development to his game and we should be the ones pushing and improving him to achieve his maximum capability.
I was unimpressed with Johnson in his defensive aspect of the game. He was brillant going forward but put unnecessary pressure on our defence. He was hesitant in clearing the ball, had a poor first touch at times especially deep on our half which was very disappointing to say the least. Johnson needs to step his performances up, he needs to stop being so preoccupied with moving forward such that he neglects his defensive duties.
I would like to point out that it was Johnson's carelessness which played a huge contributing factor to the goal. Instead of just clearing the ball out, he decided to poke it towards Kuyt which went out for an Arsenal throw in. Arsenal scored from the resultant attack.
I would actually consider converting Johnson to a right winger and start playing Martin Kelly at rightback. As a defender your main priority should be defending instead of placing pressure on your own defence, which is ironical.
All in all, a very spirited performance, resilient all round but very unfortunate at the end. A spectacle for any football neutral and it kept me on the edge of my seat