A Jens Lehmann miscue almost proved costly to Arsenal this after afternoon ; the keeper’s inability to clear a Steven Gerrard long-range blast, easily headed in by Luis Garcia tied this match at 1-1 with about 15 minutes left, and seemed likely to deny the home side 2 points.
Minutes later, however, Gerrard made one of the worst backpasses imaginable, giving Thierry Henry (above) a clear path to the Liverpool goal. This gaffe is likely to feature prominently on blooper reels, annoying year-end DVD’s hosted by fading comedians, etc.
Henry had already scored in the 21st minute ; an exquisite curling shot around Jose Reina, set up by a fine pass between Steve Finnan and Jamie Carragher courtesy of Cesc Faregas.
For Liverpool, their chance to move 9 points clear of Spurs was wasted, while Arsenal have leapfrogged Bolton into 5th place, just 2 points behind Tottenham in the Premiership.