The points were shared between Liverpool and Arsenal in a 2-2 draw at Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
The match got off to a very fast-paced start, and there were two huge chances in the opening 10 minutes of the match, with one for each side. The first chance of the match fell to Bukayo Saka, who hit his left-footed shot just wide of the post, then just five minutes later, Liverpool broke into the Arsenal penalty area and Luis Diaz forced a superb save out of David Raya. Diaz probably should've buried his chance, but it was still a very good save from Raya.
In the 20th minute, the deadlock was broken and Liverpool took the lead. The ball had gone out of play after the hosts broke through the pitch, and Arsenal were caught sleeping. The ball came back in play, and Andrew Robertson put a simple but good cross into the box, and it was met with a great header from Cody Gakpo, who put his side in the lead.
Just one minute after breaking the deadlock, Liverpool doubled their lead, and once again, the Arsenal defence was caught sleeping. It all came from a simple long pass from Mohamed Salah from a deep area, and the Egyptian's pass perfectly found Dominik Szoboszlai, who laid the ball off perfectly for Diaz, who had an open net to shoot into, and the Colombian made no mistake, making it 2-0 to Liverpool after just over 20 minutes played
Aside from the quick start to the match from both sides and Liverpool's early goals, not much happened for the rest of the first half. Although Arsenal were in full control of possession, in the final third, they couldn't really create anything significant, and they struggled to make life difficult for Liverpool's centre backs, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, who were having a routine day at the office. The first half came to a close with Liverpool leading 2-0 and in full control of the match.
Just two minutes into the second half, Arsenal got a goal back. Just like Liverpool's opening two goals, the move was simple. Leandro Trossard put in a good cross to Gabriel Martinelli, and the Brazilian just glanced the ball off his head and guided it into the bottom corner, leaving Alisson Becker no chance at saving it. Arsenal may have been very much second best in the first half, but they started the second half as good as they could've hoped for.
In the 70th minute, Arsenal completed their comeback and scored to make it 2-2. Martin Odegaard unleashed a powerful shot from distance, which fired off the post after Alisson got a hand to it, and the ball perfectly rebounded off the woodwork into the path of Mikel Merino, who headed it into an open goal. As mentioned, even though Liverpool dominated the first half, Arsenal came out swinging in the second half.
Just short of 10 minutes after Arsenal completed their comeback, they were dealt a blow as the man who scored their second goal, Merino, was sent off. The Spaniard was given a second yellow card for a pretty reckless challenge and although he got his side back into the match, he hindered them as they had to play the last 10 minutes or to with a man disadvantage.
Liverpool thought they had the match won in the 96th minute thanks to Robertson, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul in the box. The disallowed goal was the last action of the match, and the points were shared at Anfield.
Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal - Match Statistics
Liverpool
44
14
5
3
4
1
0
Match Highlights
To follow soon...
Liverpool Player Ratings
Liverpool players celebrating after scoring against Arsenal
GK: Alisson Becker - 6/10
Made a few routine saves and was very unlucky not to save Odegaard's long-range effort, which led to Merino's goal.
RB: Conor Bradley - 7/10
Made a terrific, potentially goal-saving tackle just prior to being taken off. Bradley was defensively solid and played with a lot of energy.
CB: Ibrahima Konate - 6.5/10
Didn't really put a foot wrong defensively, but he did look shaky, particularly in the second half when Arsenal came into the match.
CB: Virgil van Dijk - 7/10
Made some good clearances to keep his side out of danger. The big Dutchman was also good when playing the ball out from defence.
LB: Andrew Robertson - 7.5/10
Put in a pinpoint accurate cross for Liverpool's opening goal and didn't have that much to do defensively as Saka didn't see as much of the ball as he typically does.
CM: Ryan Gravenberch - 6/10
Had some sloppy moments in possession of the ball and seemed off the pace of the match at times.
CM: Curtis Jones - 6.5/10
Went close to scoring with a shot in the first half, but other than that, Jones didn't have too much significant involvement on the match.
AM: Dominik Szoboszlai - 7.5/10
Provided a really good, smart assist for Diaz's goal. The Hungarian was tidy with the ball at his feet and also worked very hard and got into several good attacking positions across the Liverpool front three.
RW: Mohamed Salah - 7/10
Caused the Arsenal defence a lot of problems with his passing, particularly from deep areas. Salah was unselfish throughout the match and seemed to be looking for assists rather than goals for himself.
ST: Luis Diaz - 8/10
Worked hard and pressed from the front. To add to his hard work and pressing, Diaz also managed to get a goal, albeit it was into an open goal.
LW: Cody Gakpo - 8/10
Took his headed goal very well and threatened Arsenal's backline several times with his good runs in behind.
SUB: Alexis Mac Allister - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Darwin Nunez - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Trent Alexander-Arnold - 6.5/10
Went close to scoring with a free kick, but other than that, he didn't do much during his time on the pitch.
SUB: Diogo Jota - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Harvey Elliott - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
Arsenal Player Ratings
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya
GK: David Raya - 7/10
Made some pretty good saves in the first half when Liverpool were dominating the match, but other than that, the Spaniard didn't have too much to do.
RB: Ben White - 6/10
Was caught out several times with long balls over the top, particularly in the build-up to Liverpool's opening goal.
CB: William Saliba - 7/10
Really good with the ball at his feet, but just like White, Saliba was caught out a few times, particularly in the first half, with dangerous balls over the top of his defence.
CB: Jakub Kiwior - 7/10
Just like Saliba, Kiwior was decent on the ball and didn't really have anything significant to do defensively.
LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly - 7/10
Managed to keep Salah somewhat quiet. The youngster was good in possession of the ball and solid defensively.
CM: Thomas Partey - 7.5/10
Protected the Arsenal defence very well and worked hard in the midfield.
CM: Mikel Merino - 7.5/10
Had a really good performance up until his sending off. Merino worked hard in midfield and also managed to get on the scoresheet.
CM: Martin Odegaard - 7.5/10
Went close to scoring an absolute screamer, which hit the post and was followed in by Merino. Odegaard kept his game simple but remained a threat in the final third.
RW: Bukayo Saka - 8/10
Saka was quiet in the first half, but in the second half, he came alive. The Englishman created more chances for his side than any other player and was a thorn in the side of the Arsenal defence.
ST: Leandro Trossard - 7.5/10
Worked hard and was awkward for the Liverpool defenders to deal with as he constantly ran at defenders and put several good crosses into the box. The Belgian provided a good assist for Martinelli's headed goal.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli - 8/10 (Man of the Match)
Performed a lot better in the second half when he was moved from out wide through to the middle. Martinelli scored a great header which started the Arsenal comeback.
SUB: Kieran Tierney - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Riccardo Calafiori - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Oleksandr Zinchenko - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.