Liverpool vs Arsenal LIVE: Result and reaction after Roberto Firmino late equaliser in dramatic game
Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal: The Gunners squandered a 2-0 lead even though Mo Salah missed a penalty in a thriller at Anfield
Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino scored a late goal to rescue a 2-2 draw with Arsenal, which robbed the Premier League leaders of their eighth consecutive victory and what would have been their first win at Anfield since 2012.
Mikel Arteta’s side appeared poised to stretch their gap over second-place Manchester City before Firmino scored in the 87th minute, when Trent Alexander-Arnold dinked a cross to the back post that the forward headed past Aaron Ramsdale.
Arsenal had taken the lead through forward Gabriel Martinelli in the eighth minute and the Brazilian then set up compatriot Gabriel Jesus in the 28th.
Mo Salah pulled one back for Jurgen Klopp’s team shortly before half time, but missed a penalty in a game of numerous narrow misses. His blushes were spared by Firmino’s late header in one of the games of the season
Relive all the action from Anfield with our live blog, below:
KICK-OFF! Liverpool vs Arsenal
Underway at Anfield. Liverpool in red and Arsenal playing in black
A reminder of the Liverpool vs Arsenal team news
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Jones, Fabinho; Salah, Gakpo, Jota
Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Gabriel, Holding, Zinchenko; Partey, Odegaard, Xhaka; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
Liverpool vs Arsenal
Kick-off is imminent at Anfield. Can Arsenal overturn an appalling recent record at the ground? They haven’t won there in the Premier League since 2012/13
Liverpool vs Arsenal: Pre-match stats
- Liverpool have won their last six home Premier League matches against Arsenal, scoring at least three times in each game (22 goals in total).
- Arsenal are looking to complete their first league double over Liverpool since the 2009-10 campaign, while the Gunners last won consecutive league games against the Reds back in September 2012.
- Arsenal have kept a clean sheet in just 20% of their Premier League games against Liverpool (12/61), their lowest ratio in the competition. The Gunners have also failed to score in more different Premier League games against Liverpool than they have against any other opponent (20).
Signing players with Premier League experience ‘right decision’ – Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta has praised Arsenal’s Premier League-ready signings for their immediate impact at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners head to Liverpool on Sunday knowing that, even if they slip to defeat, they will remain top of the Premier League as they go in search of a first title in 19 years.
Arteta has so far guided Arsenal to consecutive eighth-placed finishes before ending last season in fifth.
This campaign, however, has seen a stark turnaround in form and fortune after some savvy signings added to the quality already at the club.
Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko won four Premier League titles apiece at Manchester City before leaving for north London last summer, following on from the earlier additions of Aaron Ramsdale and Ben White.
Signing players with Premier League experience ‘right decision’ – Mikel Arteta
Arsenal signed the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Leandro Trossard from top-flight rivals.
Liverpool have to go through tough time for renewal, insists Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp refused to contemplate the benefits of a season without European football as he remains determined to keep his side pushing until the end of the current campaign.
With hopes of a top-four finish fading by the week – they head into today’s clash at home to Premier League leaders Arsenal 10 points adrift of Manchester United – the consolation would likely be the Europa League or even Europa Conference League.
Given the midweek rigours of any UEFA competition, a year without European football could prove beneficial to the Reds and their rebuilding process, but Klopp will not think about that until Liverpool’s fate is decided.
“It is not about what I could consider, it is about what we get. I don’t know where we will end up,” he said.
“What I know is that we have to go through this. That’s it, that’s what I know, and then there will be a new start naturally because it’s a new season.”
Liverpool have to go through tough time for renewal, insists Klopp
The Reds head into Sunday’s clash at home to Premier League leaders Arsenal 10 points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United.
Will Jurgen Klopp move on from the untouchables in Liverpool line-up?
Jurgen Klopp surrounded himself with three of the faces of his Liverpool. They were success stories who defined the style of a team with flying full-backs and goalscoring wingers. They are Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson, statistically the two most creative defenders in Premier League history, and Mohamed Salah, the man who has rewritten many a Liverpool scoring record. Klopp kept them close to him, because they were all on the bench at Chelsea on Tuesday.
They have started cup finals against Chelsea. They have started Champions League finals. They have been automatic choices for the marquee matches and almost every match. Between them, they have made 816 appearances for Klopp: only 56 were as substitutes, including the left-back and the right winger’s cameos at Stamford Bridge.
Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, remained an unused replacement. Liverpool had only begun one league game – at Southampton last year, three days after a 120-minute FA Cup final and when Salah was injured – without all three since 2018. Until this week.
It is why there will be particular scrutiny on the teamsheet on Sunday. In the heyday of this Liverpool team, at least nine names could be stencilled onto it for the major occasions – the other decisions related to the third member of the midfield and Virgil van Dijk’s centre-back partner.
Had the Dutchman not been ill, it would have been intriguing if he, too, would have been culled from the side that capitulated in the second half against Manchester City.
Will Jurgen Klopp move on from the untouchables in Liverpool line-up?
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s poor form saw him left out of the midweek draw at Chelsea along with Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson – but Klopp could recall his star names for the home match against Arsenal
Liverpool vs Arsenal team news
Jurgen Klopp clearly feels his point has been made after dropping a number of his ‘untouchables’ in the midweek draw with Chelsea. The likes of Mo Salah, Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk are all recalled to start today.
For Arsenal, Bukayo Saka is completely over the illness that saw him only used from the bench last weekend, so he comes into the starting XI for Leandro Trossard
Liverpool vs Arsenal team news
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Jones, Fabinho; Salah, Gakpo, Jota
Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Gabriel, Holding, Zinchenko; Partey, Odegaard, Xhaka; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
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