Not yet a crisis but Rodgers will be worried

Liverpool 0 Arsenal 2

One point from the opening three games may not yet be the stuff of crisis, but goals from Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla, the latter aided by some dreadful goalkeeping from Pepe Reina suggest that there is at least a state of high alert around the club.

The situation has not been aided by a bizarre transfer deadline day in which, according to reports, Rodgers fully expected to sign Clint Dempsey as replacement for the out-going Andy Carroll only to see the Liverpool hierarchy fail to complete the signing.

Without Carroll, or a similar source of goals, Liverpool looked every bit as toothless as Arsenal had over the opening two and a half games of the new campaign, Podolski ending a run of 210 minutes without a goal by his team on the half hour.

The German started the move inside his own half, taking a pass from his back line, and moving the ball on to Cazorla before starting a sprint into the Liverpool area. The German timed his run to perfection, arriving on the end of Cazorla’s equally well-timed and angled pass to beat Reina from 12 yards.

That was also the first real chance of a drab opening between two clubs long considered among the true giants of the English, if not European, game but currently struggling to maintain their status among the English elite.

Liverpool appear to be in the greater predicament and might have been in further trouble before the interval from another Arsenal break that ended with a superb pass from Abou Diaby to Olivier Giroud which the Frenchman shot woefully wide from eight yards.

In the 10 minutes between the two Arsenal chances, Liverpool had at least started to show signs of life with promising teenager Raheem Sterling striking the post on the turn after connecting with Steven Gerrard’s header.

Suitably anxious about the situation, Liverpool showed more ambition upon the restart, a fact which also allowed the Gunners to play on the counter-attack even more and Reina was soon required to save well, parrying a shot from Kieran Gibbs at his near post after Podolski played him in.

Liverpool were also dangerous, Luis Suarez being found by Stewart Downing’s clever back heel and unleashing a drive from the edge of the area which Vito Mannone tipped over handily.

Reina was forced into action as Arsenal responded, via Carl Jenkinson’s ambitious long-range shot, with the Spanish goalkeeper reacting sharply to keep out the attempt. Cazorla also came close, depositing Podolski’s lay-off just the wrong side of Reina’s left-hand post.

These were warning signs which Liverpool failed to heed and the same pair of Arsenal players combined to carve out their second goal after 67 minutes, Carzorla playing a short, sharp pass to Podolski before taking the return and scoring with a shot which passed straight through the body of Reina.

Downing saw an attempt deflected over and Jonjo Shelvey had two shots saved by Mannone while Gerrard’s pass ended with Suarez lifting a shot narrowly over as Liverpool sought a consolation.

But Arsenal, too, could easily have scored before the final whistle. Jose Enrique battled hard with Giroud to deny him a shooting opportunity and the French forward headed over, unmarked, from the ensuing corner.

LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Reina 5; Johnson 6, Skrtel 6, Agger 6, Enrique 7; Gerrard 5, Allen 7; Borini 5 (Downing 54, 7), Sahin 5 (Shelvey 66, 7), Sterling 8; Suarez 6.

ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Mannone 7; Jenkinson 6, Mertesacker 7, Vermaelen 7 (Koscielny 90), Gibbs 6; Diaby 8, Arteta 7; Oxlade-Chamberlain 7 (Ramsey 72), Cazorla 8, Podolski 9 (Santos 81); Giroud 7.

Referee: Howard Webb 7