This Week In Football History: Gerrard's most beautiful assist

Steven Gerrard - one of the best long passers in the world

Steven Gerrard has created quite a few goals in his time. Today Adrian North takes us back to 2002, and his most beautiful pass of the lot...

January 13, 2002 - Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool, Highbury: Gerrard's brilliant pass to Riise

*Skip to 1:20 for Gerrard's assist

Last season Daniel Sturridge scored a goal against Fulham after receiving arguably the pass of the season from Steven Gerrard. (The video for that goal is below this paragraph). 40-yard pass, outside of the boot, spinning perfectly into Sturridge's path. On the face of it an utterly unique assist. But 12 years earlier Gerrard pulled off a strikingly similar but arguably better assist for John Arne Riise against Arsenal at Highbury on January 13, 2002 (at 1:20 of the video above).

Steven Gerrard doesn't hold a candle to Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fabregas or Paul Scholes when debating the best passer of the Premier League era. Regardless, this is not to say Gerrard isn't a great passer.

Last season, helped by the runs of Luis Suarez and Sturridge, Gerrard destroyed teams with his distribution. But at the beginning of his career Gerrard was a far more erratic passer than he is today. Indeed, in his early years Gerrard was obsessed with the Hollywood pass, an issue he talks at length about in his autobiography.

Over the course of his career he refined his decision making to such a point where now if you see Gerrard winding up for a 60-yard ping you almost expect it to lead to a chance.

But back in the early 2000's, during the period of his 'Hollywood pass' difficulties Gerrard would often launch passes straight out of play or to the opposition. But when he got it right, he produced anything as good as the Premier League has ever seen. And above all else, it is Gerrard's ability to see the bigger picture that sets him on the same plane as the three of Alonso, Fabregas and Scholes.

And there are four assists of his I can remember that sum up almost instantaneous reading of his teammates' runs. The one linked above to Sturridge, this pass to Danny Murphy at Old Trafford in 2002, and this one to Michael Owen against Arsenal in 2004. His best was the assist to Riise however.

Seeing the run of the Norwegian who doesn't come into the picture until he's 30-yards from goal, Gerrard stabbed an incredible 70-yard pass through to Liverpool's ever charging left back. After a weird standoff between Riise and Arsenal's keeper Stuart Taylor Riise slotted into the near post.

This pass, and the other three linked, all fulfil that golden rule of a through ball - Eliminate the defence, but not involve the goalkeeper. And when Gerrard got this right, he was, and still is, as good at anyone in the world at it.