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Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool LIVE REACTION: Diaz and Kiwior own goal punishes wasteless Gunners after Saka and ‘shy’ Havertz waste huge chances
Full time: Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool
A hugely entertaining stalemate looked to be heading for a replay before a late flurry of goals saw the Reds emerge victorious.
Mikel Arteta‘s side came into the contest off the back of two defeats but were the sharper side in the opening stages
Arsenal were completely undone by their wastefulness in the final third, especially in the first half. Kai Havertz was one of the main culprits, often taking an extra touch or choosing the wrong option when in a promising position, as well as heading a corner wide from close range when he really should’ve scored. Bukayo Saka was lively in the opening period but was also guilty after half time, wildly volleying a couple of efforts over from inside the box.
Given the hosts’ profligacy, there was something of an inevitability they would be made to pay by their in-form opponents, who had been poor, by their own high standards, in the first half.
There was no way Liverpool could be as passive in the second period and they weren’t, with Darwin Nuñez and Luis Díaz much livelier after half time. The game ebbed and flowed until the final 15 minutes or so, when The Reds got a grip of things.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s superb free-kick delivery forced Jakub Kiwior to head into his own net with 10 minutes to go and, with Arsenal chasing the game in injury time, Díaz rounded off a counterattack with almost the last kick off the ball.
The Gunners are left wondering what might have been, while Jürgen Klopp’s side are in the hunt in four different competitions.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp “super proud” of team
Speaking to British broadcaster the BBC, Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp has spoken of his delight at today’s result:
“I’m super proud. It’s a super difficult draw. Maybe the most difficult we could have got. With all the things we had to consider coming here, Arsenal lined up slightly different, that was smart. We changed a bit at half-time. We were really in the game in the second half. We scored the goals and brought the kids on. We fought for 95 minutes.
“Wednesday is the next game and then a few days off. We have to make steps if you want to be where we are and around that area then we have to make steps all of the time. It wasn’t an easy game to enjoy in the first half.“