Arsenal stuns Liverpool to reignite their Premier League title bid

Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli left, scores his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Emirates Stadium in London,, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal secured a well-deserved 3-1 victory against Liverpool this evening, rekindling their aspirations for the Premier League title. Mikel Arteta’s team confronted the formidable in-form Liverpool, in what was anticipated to be a challenging match.

Traditionally, Liverpool has often held dominance in clashes between these two clubs; however, Arsenal’s prowess has noticeably developed. In the four league encounters to date, Arsenal has triumphed over Liverpool twice, suffering no defeats following today’s significant outcome.

Bukayo Saka provided the opening goal, only for a rare defensive lapse from William Saliba to concede an equaliser for Liverpool. Despite the Reds beginning the second half as the more formidable side, errors from Virgil van Dijk and Allison Becker allowed Gabriel Martinelli to secure Arsenal’s second goal. Subsequently, Liverpool found it arduous to mount a comeback, leading to a late red card for Ibrahima Konate, leaving the frustrated visitors a man down.

Leandro Trossard, coming on as a substitute, sealed the victory for Arsenal, elevating them to the second position on the league table. A mere two points now separate the two clubs.

This performance from Arsenal aligns with the expectations of their fanbase and arguably represents their best display of the season. The hope is that this triumph will serve as a catalyst, propelling the players towards a winning streak and genuine contention for the league title.


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Tags Arsenal v Liverpool match report

73 Comments

      1. PJ-SA
        Telling indeed when you consider this is a team that had over 22 shots in each of their last eleven games.

        But the law of average dictates this result was always coming, the premier league needs this result to restore some sort of responsibility in the sport.

    1. Its so surprising how have we just collected 49 points on table this season. Despite playing well much of the season we gave away cheap points to villa, hammers, fulham n Newcastle. All those points were very much in our grasp by the way we played those games. It feels regretful that we are not sitting 10 points clear at the top. It may be just that to be champions only being best is not enough, you also need luck in each game, luck with injuries and much more. Now time will tell if we can be riding that luck till the end.

  1. I thought we were losing. But lady luck smiled for our second goal, then Havertz did his job to get Konate sent away despite being a bit pushover in the game

    Trossard scored a beautiful solo goal, thanks to Alisson’s bad performance tonight. I don’t think we’ll win anything with that type of nervousness in the back, but at least the game was entertaining

    1. You can’t say we were lucky for a goal and then bemoan Liverpool’s lucky goal that came off Gabriel’s hand. Be consistent. Luck for once evened out in a game (it rarely evens out in a season never mind a game contrary to some opinions.)

      That said I don’t get why Trossard doesn’t/hasn’t started more he’s so clinical especially when Martinelli was off-form, but a bit different now Martinelli has started firing.

      1. Trossard has started many game but its quite obvious by now he doesn’t play the same when he starts. He the real example of so called impacter that Arteta talk about.

      2. Liverpool were also lucky. But they could bypass our high-press easily, whereas we struggled to escape from theirs

        1. They had zero shots on target in the first half. It means our press was working. If they could easily bypass our press they would have created lots of clear cut chances-I can’t remember any.

          1. They were just not creative in the final-third. They won the ball possession, but they lacked the ideas to break our defense and we gave them too many chances for long shots

        2. They had 1 nothing shot on target from Diaz all game. They didn’t touch the ball in our box after the 70th minute. Their goal was an own-goal handball.

            1. Fair, I see that but suspect the tactic was to allow Liverpool certain possession that wasn’t dangerous. Much like Mourinho used to do to Wenger many moons ago.

        3. They bypassed our press easily yet they had a single shot on target but we couldn’t by pass theirs yet we had numerous shorts on target and also scored three goals ….come on mate

    2. @,Gai cut the guys some slack, The Boys did very well and deserved their win. Sometimes in your analysis you forget some great team have conceded unbelievable goals.
      All great defenders have a few errors in them because they are humans. Saliba & Gabriel tried their best Epl isn’t easy. BBC Sports stats Liverpool had only one shot on target. And what of Liverpool error at the back? It’s a tin nagins that makes a team to win or lose.
      In 3 Marches since coming from Dubai they have scored 10 goals and conceded 2 that’s a good efforts from any defence.

      1. The difference between how we dealt with Liverpool’s high-press and how they dealt with ours was jarring

        Liverpool shouldn’t have that amount of ball-possession at the Emirates, if we could play from the back and control the game

    3. I personally don’t believe in luck/bad luck,just cause-effect. But even if I believed in luck,I’d find GAI’s comments ridiculous because I’ve been following and that word luck has been used by GAI in virtually all our wins this season.15 wins and counting;can’t be luck surely-that would be statistically absurd.Alisson didn’t make blunders out of nowhere. Our players forced/caused the errors out of him,goals were scored and a win was the effect-simple.

      1. I rarely consider our win lucky. We couldn’t play from the back at home, whereas Liverpool did that easily

        If we can’t fix the problem, we wouldn’t win anything this season

        1. I know what you’re saying about their press, and we hardly pressed them at all in their half in the half, however we did press more in the 2nd half, and they tired a lot from their press in the first half, and they needed to make subs for less experienced players to compensate.

    4. It was an uncharacteristic mixup between Raya and Saliba that led to Liverpool’s goal. Even then Liverpool were lucky that the ball came off Gabriel.
      Apart from that Liverpool only had half chances; one of the most dangerous attacking teams in the PL. Our defence is good enough.
      Arsenal’s greatest issue is our efficiency in attack. We need to put teams away. Our Xg was over 3 against Liverpool. We need to be more ruthless, that’s the issue.

  2. Ignoring some of the poor movement in the box and striker instinct missing, I’d say this is easily Havertz best game for us so far. Now he needs to replicate that in the midfield when he plays there, hopefully we see much more of this.

    Glaringly obvious we are still missing very very good chances still which is still a concern despite the win, something needs to be done about it.

    We are great when teams come out to play, looking forward(which many fans wont do), we still need to work on tactics against a low block!

    Quite a few errors in the game leading to goals, Allison had a terrible evening which im thrilled about! I see Trossards goal actually was a small deflection.

    Havertz or Martinelli MOTM. Jorginho also had a cracker, Liverpool missed a trick by not putting him under pressure.

    Hopefully we can keep the momentum! COYG

    1. @ PJ-SA
      Agree with you on the MOTM: Havertz or Martinelli.
      The next game is going to be interesting against West Ham. I think we need Trossard to start this as it is bound to be a mid-low block against us.

    2. Jorginho or Martinelli for MOTM, Havertz did alright but wasn’t clinical or strong enough when needed to be – he was lucky his tame effort fell to Saka for the opener, he was easily outmuscled by Mac Allister when looked clear on goal, took a needless risk on a tackle a ref (given our luck) could’ve penalised, and didn’t give our wingers/crossers anything to aim for, not even sure he managed a shot on target. Again, not saying he was bad but certainly not a stand-out performer.

      Although Saliba should’ve done better for the goal I think Raya was at fault for sliding out, that meant Saliba couldn’t touch it for fear of a back pass. A GK as experienced as him should know when to rush. His distribution was good and seemed solid catching though which was nice to see. Definitely feel like Ramsdale deserves a little run of games now though.

      1. Yet no one mentions Saka was average, should have scored that header, his crossing isn’t that good, I have yet to see him have a great game, with opposition putting two players on him, he hasn’t worked out on what to do. Trossard beat two players to score his goal, the man has great skill. I would play Nelson a bit more and give Saka rest. Yes he is our top scorer, but he has been guilty of misses this season

    3. Yeah, this was his best game in Arsenal shirt. Perhaps the midfield played well today because we played proper CM dictating the game. You can see fluidity and quickness and I think that would have not be possible of KH was in the midfield.

    4. Thought Havertz had just a decent game, especially in the second half.
      I think Jorginho’s a better shout at MoTM as he did just everything right – really good passing, defending and most importantly organizing and ‘leading’.

      Even against the teams who attack, we need to be more clinical and ruthless in front of goals. Glad we had things go our way today, but many times you always just think good CF runs and play are missing. Again, for all of the so-called “work rate”, Jesus is no quality CF in my books, but i think we could still do with him.
      Our play generally in the final third needs more work, as well as the (C)AM positions in releasing quality first time forward passes and setting up forwards.

  3. There are no complaints. 3 points is all that matters. No negatives. We are still in the title race. We move

  4. Interesting to see all the negative comments regarding the selection of Jorginho in the team selection article when he’s never let us down, but not for the first time man of the match, and in this game by a country mile. Declan Rice was a very close second and I thought we dominated the game.

    1. Well said GB
      The minute Liverpool got their goal the doom and gloom merchants were looking to blame someone.
      Apparently Ramsdale wouldn’t have allowed the cock up that Liverpool benefited from

      It was a game of football that Arsenal dominated AND not by tippy tappy football and sideways passing either

      Well done to the lads – they fought tooth and nail and stuffed it right up ‘em

    2. Tbh, I’m a big fan of his but you could understand the complaints earlier considering how he hasn’t been a regular, been shaky defensively a few times in the past and was being tasked with the job at Liverpool.
      But he was superb all evening and could easily be MoTM. Really happy for/with him.

    3. He certainly played well today and I think Rice will be the better.player for having him next to.him….more for the calmness and communication/ experience than his play

      Augurs well for the future. …listen to Rice Post match interview. Great head on his shoulders and character.

      Wouldn’t be surprised if he took the Captains armband in a couple of years and that spurs him to an even higher level.

  5. Aside from his finishing, Kai Hevertz was immense today and could be regarded as of his best game in gunners shirt. Also, the midfield was crisp with quick passing and movement and that could be attributed to having proper CM dictating the game.

  6. The title race is on, City are favourites like last year but we are in the mix again. It’s what we all wanted let’s enjoy it! Still in the CL a big blot on our copybook. Let’s go!

  7. Big big win. Well done to Arteta and the team. Some strange goals and circumstances but overall, we outplayed Liverpool. The mistake for them was massive and turned it around for us. I thought Martinelli played well but Odergaard was absolutely fantastic and for me MOM. Still 3rd favourites but the win has brought us back into the mix. We still make naive mistakes and they need ironing out but the win is so massive.

    1. Reggie, agree 100%; Mikel Arteta was spot on with his selections and substitutions; the midfield of Jorginho, Odegaard and Rice were superb in midfield.

  8. Jon, it is now my turn to bask in the glory of what I predicted! Do you recall when I told you that even though I don’t bet on football as a principle, I felt that we would beat Liverpool? I further pledged that I would remind you of this after the game. Do you still recall that? In case you don’t remember you can retrieve it from Admn. Anyway, that was a really good performance. Congratulations to us all!

  9. Hope to see more of Jorginho impact in the midfield. He thrives well not as the deep lying man but when accompanied with a DM just like today it seems. Sore more movement angle creativity in the midfield today than in recent weeks.

  10. Our success was instigated by having a more balanced central midfield with Jorjinho working in tandem with Rice.In the absence of Partey Arteta should continue with this double pivot and use Havertz and for that matter, SET in the front three.A good performance and a deserved win.

    1. Yes Grandad. You can see our passing and ball movement was so smooth and on point and I don’t think it would have been posible had KH played as a CM.

  11. Great team win, timely subs, created chances and got the goals needed.

    Long may it continue.

    Onwards and upwards!

  12. The man of the match could have easily gone to Martinelli or the big German.

    But you can see why the gaffer trys signing a younger version of Jorginho as opposed to the Onana’s.

    1. Shaking my head in disbelief, the big German m.o.m! What did he do above others to get your admiration?

  13. fair play to Jorginho and Havertz

    both were excellent

    perhaps the big games like this, the do or die, and you see Havertz and Jorginho rise to the occassion

    if taking up the option to extend Jorginho contract is not the easiest decision of all time

    Arteta et al what are you doing

    Partey is finished, wasted wages and planning on someone who never plays, and even if does his best days are behind him, Elneny same

    so why risk losing all three in the summer, Jorginho surely has enough about him to cushion the inevitable midfield rebuild

    Partey is the past, well gone, not the future

  14. Minus the mistakes, you wouldn’t doubt what they were trying to do from the way they played. You could see they wanted to win and they were hungry for it.

    How could this approach be consistent all through the 90 mins and that it becomes a regular feature of their game….?

  15. Overall it was a well deserved win driven by perseverance as much as brilliant play. The mistakes balanced themselves out and Harvertz should have had a penalty. Harvertz is poor. People will say he worked hard etc etc, but he was a starting player so what else could he have done. I’m certain Nketian would have been just as effective or ineffective. Also I don’t see why Kiwior has so many admirers. The guy gives away far too many corners and brings nothing to the attack. Still there is a lot to celebrate and hope for. I’m still waiting for Odegard to click and possibly some vital contributions from Partey and ESR. Also , Jorghino’s passing playing further forward gives Martinelli and Saka more breathing space. Revenge against West Ham next.

    1. Joe S, why do you apply double standards? You castigate Havertz and Kiwior but you are lenient to Odegaard for not performing as expected! Learn to give credit where it is due. Havertz is a player for the big games because of his size. Besides, he gives it his all even though he doesn’t score frequently. His energy and interceptions were very crucial in the game. He and Jorginho were very good.

  16. Dominant display, fluidity in the midfield-attack link for a change(thanks in no small part to the much maligned Jorginho) & a well deserved 3 points.

    Jorginho MOTM for me, Martinelli 2nd & Declan Rice 3rd.

    Overall a great game & big congratulations to every gooner on JA & beyond.
    Let’s hope we build on this result, moving forward.

    Onwards & Upwards!
    COYG 💪

  17. A great game, and did we play so well because Arteta finally moved Havertz out of the midfield?

    Thought both Jorginho and Rice were excellent!

    I am still amazed with Trossard, I think he scored our best goal, but I think Arteta handles him correctly by bringing him on in the middle of the second half.

    Now, the question is, have we really turned the corner?

    Let’s hope so. and that we can play as well when we meet West Ham, we owe them one.

    Remember, still a long way to go, but this game was a great start to the rest of the season.

  18. The difference between the finishing of Havert vs Trossard is night and day. Havertz could not hit the side of a barn and his dribbling towards the goal is so timid and shaky that McAllister caught up with him. Trossard direct attacking made the difference and closed the game out.
    Btw GAi the reason Liverppol posssed the ball is because MA finally got his tactics right and allowed them some possesion to control critical spaces behind our defenders. Similar approach to the one that won the game vs City

    1. I agree, with most you say. Unlike a few on here, i thought Haverz was OK, but not that great. I think some are desperate for him to succeed but he is just not technically that good. He wasn’t as bad as he has been and contributed but nothing to shout about. I think Liverpool were totally outplayed first half. The second they were on top and we looked shaky but after the Liverpool calamity, we got a bit better. There is no getting away with it, it was a BIG win and deserved. I still think buying Haverz, instead of a strker, will cost us but we are back in it. And yes Trossard is THE best finisher in the team.

  19. Agree with your comments regarding Harvertz Reggie. He put in a good shift but what exactly did he do that was so spectacular? As a starting player wasn’t he there to at least get the basic things right? Loved our win howey I also think this Liverpool is not a great one and their attack nowhere near as dangerous as the Mane, Salah, Firmino combo of old, who used to make us Arsenal fans squirm in shame whenever they punished our slightest errors. Also thought tis time round Klopp got his substitutions wrong. The English kid in particular was terrible. Still all credit to Arsenal for a well deserved win.

  20. When will some people accept the reality that our team is good? What must they do to convince the doubting Thomas? For starters, this season our team has beaten both Man City and Liverpool, and drawn with Tottenham and Chelsea. There is yet more to come. Thus, some negative comments are really uncalled for.

  21. Am not ashamed to say that Harvertz played very very well in the match. He should be MOTM. That’s the kind of performance some of his critics expects from him. Arteta should please never bring him to midfield again.
    Again, the coaching staff should work on the players attitude. They dt have the mentality of killing off games. Each time they scored, they relaxed and play as if nothing was at stake.

  22. Now that we got this win under our belts I’m looking at our last 10 games of the season:

    Chelsea (A)
    City (H)
    Luton (H)
    Brighton (A)
    Villa (H)
    Wolves (A)
    Spurs (A)
    Bournemouth (H)
    ManU (A)
    Everton (H)

    Going to be a tight finish to the season

    1. The Man Utd game looks interesting, I think last time we played them so close to the end of the season, we beat them and won the league and not so long after a Manchester team won the treble. you never know football is a funny old game

  23. A magnificent performance and a great win, one that keeps our title hopes alive. For me, Rice, Jorginho, Martinelli and White all played wonderful although the whole team clicked as one. Odegaard led from the front. I am not a Havertz hater but Havertz is simply not a striker. He missed a open chance which rebounded of the post and luckily Saka was there to finish. Also he gets dispossesed easily. Anyway a very well deserved win and one which really makes Arsenal to be counted amongst the title contenders.

  24. A very good performance from the team and a well deserved victory. I must say I was surprised by the substitution of Martinelli, as I thought he was roasting the Scouse defence, but Arteta got it right, with Trossard scoring a beauty.

  25. Ben White will get sent off for a second yellow at the amount of time he takes to take a throw in, it is so baffling that he can’t take a quick throw in, Martinelli for me was my MOTM in the way he never gave the Liverpool defence any space or time, even though he scored Saka again was average, Nelson looked good when he came on and I would give him more playing time. Raya for me was at fault for the goal as he didn’t read the situation until it was too late. Havertz had a good game, great atmosphere and where I sit it was mental

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