Would have been nice if this fixture had actually mattered to anyone, wouldn’t it?
Aside from the distant but hilarious prosect of Arsenal sliding down the table and out of the top five over the final few games of the season, there was no particular intrigue to be found here, which rather took the edge off what would have been an entertaining game.
Liverpool win? Course it was, they’re already champions. Arsenal win? Doesn’t matter a bit, and doesn’t tell us anything; Liverpool have had their foot off the gas for weeks. Draw? Shruggiest of shrugs.
You could have framed one moment in the 15th minute and hung it next to a sign reading ‘Liverpool and Arsenal, May 2025’. Curtis Jones gave the ball away to Thomas Partey on the edge of the Liverpool box with Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard also on the hunt – only for all three Gunners players to leave the ball for one another and allow Liverpool to clear.
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Shortly after came the reminder of why Liverpool are champions. Andy Robertson’s brilliant long ball for Cody Gakpo ended with the Dutchman allowing sleepy Arsenal to clear it out for a throw, only for Liverpool to take it quickly and give the same two players the chance to combine for the simplest cross and header move.
Just a minute later, it was 2-0, again off a great ball over the top of a napping Arsenal defence. This time that came from Mohamed Salah; Dominik Szoboszlai received it, got halfway through rounding David Raya, then wrong-footed the goalkeeper with a disguised stab across the face of goal that Luis Diaz slid in to finish off.
And then – job probably done. isn’t it? – Liverpool returned to coasting. Aside from ‘afternoon stroll’, there is no better way to describe the way Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk wandered around their penalty box as Arsenal prepared to cross, completely ignoring Mikel Merino as he got into position to head home Leandro Trossard’s cross.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s introduction as a substitute was then met with a proportion of boos from those sections of the crowd who are yet to address their childhood abandonment issues. You should probably speak to a professional about your dad leaving home, lads.
Credit to the right-back, then for providing a fabulous gag soon after coming on, inadvertently playing Merino onside as he dove in to head home the rebound after Martin Odegaard’s fierce strike was tipped onto the post by Alisson. 2-2.
Merino did not get a full opportunity to complete his hat-trick, however; the midfielder was dismissed for a second yellow card following a rash challenge ten minutes from time, shifting the momentum back Liverpool’s way.
They made nothing of it, missing two or three presentable chances to win the game before allowing Odegaard to push forward deep into stoppage time and shoot ever so narrowly wide. Seconds later, Robertson had the ball in the net at the other end off a last-ditch corner, only for it to be chalked off for a Konate foul in the build-up (or possibly offside, it was hard to tell).
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Those misses and near-misses should have mattered. This should have been a momentous match. The top two going blow for blow with just two games to go! A big comeback from two goals down at Anfield! Another Arsenal dismissal for our bingo cards! A last-second winner disallowed!
But instead, it all just felt like a flat, meaningless reminder that football is only really great when there’s stakes involved.
The fact that there weren’t should hurt Arsenal, frankly, far more than the silly media pretence that guards of honour are in any way a controversial or interesting talking point.
For a third year in a row, Mikel Arteta faces the task of making sure Arsenal aren’t in the same position next time. And for the first time, Arne Slot needs to make sure his Liverpool side don’t come back from their summer holidays looking quite so satisfied with having got the job done early this time around.