Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has blamed last season’s 5-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool for his side’s poor display against the Reds at Anfield yesterday.
The Gunners were dominated in the first half, going in on level terms at half time almost exclusively due to a defensive error from Brendan Rodgers’ side.
That goal from Mathieu Debuchy gave the north London side a lift going into the second half, having initially fallen behind through a goal from Brazilian midfielder Phillipe Coutinho.
French international striker Olivier Giroud scored after half time to give Wenger’s side the lead, but they were eventually pegged back by Martin Skrtel in the dying moments of the match.
Ten man Liverpool held on for a 2-2 draw, having seen Fabio Borini receive a red card shortly after his arrival on the pitch as a substitute.
While it was nowhere near as devastating a loss as the 5-1 the year prior, Wenger still thought that result was on his player’s minds.
He said: “Maybe the bad memories from last year played a part. Some players were not at their best in this game.
“I’m not sure if February was on mind. We played with the handbrake on, especially in the first half.
“Overall, it was a fair result over the 90 minutes but frustrating because they came back in a moment of the game when we had plenty of defenders on the pitch and didn’t defend the set piece well.
“We didn’t come out enough to get a third goal and as long as you don’t do that, you’re under threat of conceding a second.”
