Sport 29-11-2004 Mellor`s Winner Deflates Arsenal who: Arsenal what: Lose 2-1 to Liverpool where: Anfield, LIVERPOOL when: Yesterday snippet: "Neil Mellor was in dreamland last night after scoring the stunning last-gasp winner that plunged Arsenal into despair," says The Mirror. "His spectacular 25-yarder in the final seconds at Anfield gave Liverpool a morale-boosting victory." Xabi Alonso gave Liverpool the lead with a screaming strike from a precision Steve Gerrard pass but Patrick Vieira scrambled the ball into the net in the 57th minute to level the score. A 1-1 draw looked certain until Arsenal were sucker-punched courtesy of a burly, inexperienced 22 year-old striker, whose unlikely hero status is best summed up by The Guardian`s Kevin McCarra, who points out simply that Neil Mellor "had never before scored in the Premiership". "Arsenal, who went into the game with only one win from their last eight games in all competitions, remain five points behind leaders Chelsea as the defence of their Premiership title continues to founder," says the BBC. "Two defeats in 55 matches may not sound like a crisis," says Phil Shaw in The Independent, "but six points from 18 can be regarded as a modest return indeed." The result sets up a particularly tense confrontation with Chelsea at Highbury on Saturday week. [... more]

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