After sprinting into an early two-goal lead, with goals from Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz, Liverpool could only manage a draw against ten-man Arsenal. A truly woeful second-half display, denied Arne Slot’s men the opportunity to show the visitors just why his team are champions.
After last week’s defeat at Chelsea, Liverpool had the chance to emphasise to all those watching, not just their opponents, why they’re top of the pile. In the first half, with some breathtaking counter-attacking, they did just that. First Gakpo got his head to what could be a last assist by Andy Robertson, as Arsenal switched off from a quick throw in. Then just a minute later, Dominik Szoboszlai, after running on to a forward pass, squared it to Diaz. Arsenal were in disarray, and their benevolence in giving Liverpool a guard of honour seemed to have affected their lacklustre first-half display. As Mikel Arteta said post-match, Liverpool could have scored three or four but, despite the champions continuing to carve out chances, it was just 2-0 at the break.
Anfield had been in celebratory mood from the first whistle, but Arsenal soon dampened the party atmosphere in the second half, Martinelli rising unchallenged to head home barely two minutes into the second period. Arsenal had their tales up, and Liverpool were second best all over the pitch. Curtis Jones, who’d so nearly cost Liverpool in the first half due to his propensity to be loose in possession, was particularly guilty of simply not closing down, of not passing forward, and of not playing with enough intensity. He though, wasn’t the only one in a red shirt who was at fault. The whole team seemed to have been infected with lethargy. Yet, it took a clearly dominant Arsenal until the 70th minute to restore parity.
It was part-time striker Merino who got his side’s second. Alisson Becker was able to do no more than parry a shot on to the apex of bar and post, before the forward prodded in the rebound. The Brazilian was rightfully furious with those in front of him. Their lack of commitment in closing down the space, in going the extra yard to deny Arsenal the time to play, finally costing Liverpool the lead. It had been coming though, throughout the second half and, until Merino saw red for recklessly lunging in on the edge of his own box, Arsenal looked the likely victors.
In the meantime, Trent Alexander-Arnold, disgracefully booed by a section of supporters every time he touched the ball, had replaced Conor Bradley. Alexis Mac Alister had replaced Jones, and Darwin Nunez predictably caught offside within minutes, had been introduced for Gakpo. Liverpool, now up against ten men, began to dominate the closing minutes, but even Mo Salah, strangely reluctant to shoot at goal all afternoon, couldn’t find the winner. A disallowed effort by Robertson in injury time, was as close as the hosts came to claiming all three points.
The draw leaves Liverpool 15 points clear of Arsenal. A significant gap, especially when considering that many had this fixture down as a potential title-decider. Along with Arsenal’s inability to win more than three consecutive league games all season, Liverpool have been superior throughout. More goals, more wins, fewer defeats, all adding up to more points. They may have somewhat unsurprisingly tailed off after clinching their 20th top flight title, but with a trophy presentation next in line at Anfield, when Crystal Palace are the visitors, who’d bet against Slot’s men ending the league campaign with a handsome victory in two weeks time?
