That was the night when the Gunners last played Liverpool in the league at Anfield and we were held to a 2-2 draw. I watched the game at home on Sky and above all, there were two images caught on camera by Sky that have remained etched in my mind to this very day.
The first was that of a Liverpool fan dancing and jigging his way out of the Kop after the game looking like a man that had just seen his team win the league.
The other was that of an Arsenal fan sitting on his own at the other end of the stadium, holding his head in his hands, looking totally disconsolate. Believe me, I knew EXACTLY how this guy felt.The first was that of a Liverpool fan dancing and jigging his way out of the Kop after the game looking like a man that had just seen his team win the league.
What my fellow Gooner saw that night probably mirrored what I saw. The Arsenal had put on a display that was nothing short of brilliant but just when we were on the threshold of a thoroughly deserved win, up popped Emile Heskey to rob us of all three points right at the death.
Don't get me wrong, I would have taken a 2-2 draw before that game given our record up there but, taking into account all the chances we had, not to mention how played, it felt like we had been beaten that night.
The happenings of that night were definitely fresh in my mind on Saturday when we kicked off against the Scousers and I was definitely itching to see us to give them a long overdue pasting.
Watching the first 35-40 minutes however, I remember thinking that I should have been more careful about what I wished for because if anything, it was the Gunners that looked like they were in for a pasting.
In that period, whilst Liverpool were sharper in quicker both in thought and deed, we were bloody awful. Here we go again, I thought – same old sloppy stuff from us just on a different day.
Given the general pattern of the game coming up to half-time I was taken by surprise almost as much as those connected with Liverpool were when we equalised. It was definitely a big, big bonus for us at the time, that's for sure.
I think that goal changed, or at least modified, the tone of the team talk that Wenger had devised for half-time and, fortified by a mixture of a little piece before the break, Wenger's words during the break, the Arsenal improved a little after the break.
And in the end, we did what Liverpool failed to do – score when on top in the game – and how. We have had a few memorable moments at Anfield in the last few years and Robert Pires' brilliant 25-yard curler will stand right up there with the best of them for me, particularly as it won us the game of course. I will be replaying that goal over and over again on my video for quite some time I can tell you.
You know, if there was a moral that came out of Saturday's game, it was, what goes around does indeed come around. When the Scousers snatched a point right at the death against us last January it was by no means the first time that they had pinched something from us when they didn't deserve it. You only have to cast your minds back to a certain cup final that took place in 2001 for starters just to understand exactly what I'm driving at.
Nobody had any sympathy for us that day so why should I have any sympathy for Gerard Houllier or anybody else connected with Liverpool now?
Instead, with a crucial internationals, particularly for England, on the horizon, I am going to wallow in the fact that Arsenal are still where they belong at the top the table thanks, in part, to the shortcomings of Liverpool.
All things considered, justice rarely gets more blissfully poetic than that.
And in the end, we did what Liverpool failed to do – score when on top in the game – and how. We have had a few memorable moments at Anfield in the last few years and Robert Pires' brilliant 25-yard curler will stand right up there with the best of them for me, particularly as it won us the game of course. I will be replaying that goal over and over again on my video for quite some time I can tell you.
You know, if there was a moral that came out of Saturday's game, it was, what goes around does indeed come around. When the Scousers snatched a point right at the death against us last January it was by no means the first time that they had pinched something from us when they didn't deserve it. You only have to cast your minds back to a certain cup final that took place in 2001 for starters just to understand exactly what I'm driving at.
Nobody had any sympathy for us that day so why should I have any sympathy for Gerard Houllier or anybody else connected with Liverpool now?
Instead, with a crucial internationals, particularly for England, on the horizon, I am going to wallow in the fact that Arsenal are still where they belong at the top the table thanks, in part, to the shortcomings of Liverpool.
All things considered, justice rarely gets more blissfully poetic than that.