Arsenal v Liverpool: Memorable moments from a classic English rivalry

Ahead of the highly anticipated encounter, we take a look at five of the most memorable moments and talking points between the two English giants, both on and off the pitch.

Four for Arshavin

Starting off with one of the most iconic Premier League quadruples, Russian winger Andrey Arshavin scored four times for the Gunners in an incredible 4-4 draw at Anfield back in 2009.

The Reds had the chance to move two points clear of Manchester United at the top of the table but squandered it when a weakened Arsenal side arrived on Merseyside.

Arshavin had actually put his side ahead on three separate occasions, netting the opener before Fernando Torres cancelled it out shortly after.

He then equalised after Yossi Benayoun put the Reds in front, before going on to score another two goals and complete a fine quadruple, with his last strike coming in the final minute of normal time to make it 4-3.

Despite his fine performance, the last laugh went to Benayoun, who netted in the dying moments of the game to ensure the points were shared in another Anfield classic.

£40,000,000 + £1

Luis Suarez (35) will go down as a Liverpool legend, netting 82 goals during his time with the Reds before moving on to Barcelona in the summer of 2014.

It all could have been so different, though, had Arsenal's infamous £40,000,000 +£1 transfer bid gone through.

Reports stated that the Uruguayan striker had a release clause in his contract that would allow him to speak to other clubs if it was met, prompting the Gunners to bid one pound extra than the contracted clause.

When the story broke, it was widely reported that Liverpool were angered by the bid and that Suarez wanted to leave.

However, former Gunners negotiator Dick Law revealed the truth about the negotiations to Goal in 2019.

“We got information that showed us what was negotiated between Liverpool and the player, and in our internal conversations decided that the clause was meaningless, that it was not a buy-out and it didn’t obligate Liverpool to do anything apart from having a conversation," Law said.

“Now, we didn’t know if Liverpool received an offer of £40m whether they would say, 'that’s not more than £40m'. We could have gone with £45m, but the point is we knew there was never a buy-out.

“So, it was never going to be a bid of £40m + £1, it was always going to be the start of a negotiation.”

Fowler's fastest hat-trick

Former Liverpool player Sadio Mane (30) has since broken the record, but Robbie Fowler claimed the Premier League's fastest-ever hat-trick against Arsenal back in 1994.

The Englishman netted three goals in just four minutes and 33 seconds on the second weekend of the 1994/95 season.

More remarkably, he did it against one of the best defences the league has ever seen, putting three past David Seaman, Martin Keown, Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn and Lee Dixon.

Two goals with his left foot and one with his right, it was the day the then-19-year-old wrote his name in the Premier League history books.

Drawing 5-5 in the Cup

One entry from more recent years - and away from the Premier League - was the thrilling 5-5 draw between the two sides in the fourth round of the EFL Cup in 2019/20.

The ten-goal thriller ended with Liverpool advancing to the quarter-finals, winning 5-4 on penalties.

A Shkodran Mustafi (30) own goal started the scoring before the Gunners went 3-1 up through Lucas Torreira (26) and a Gabriel Martinelli (21) brace.

James Milner (36) got a goal back at the start of the second half, but Ainsley Maitland-Niles (25) made it 4-2 with less than 30 minutes left to play.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (29) netted against his former club to make it 4-3, with Divock Origi (27) then equalising for the Reds.

A late strike from Joe Willock (23) left the score at 5-4, but Origi popped up with another crucial goal for the Reds with a scissor kick in the 94th minute, taking the game to penalties where the home side would ultimately come out as the victors.

Final day title victory

The final entry on the list comes with the biggest implications, a 2-0 Arsenal victory on the final day of the 1989 season securing the Gunners the First Division title, at the expense of Liverpool.

Going into the final day, three points separated Arsenal in second and Liverpool in first, with the two sides going head-to-head at Anfield on a specially televised Friday night fixture.

The visitors needed to win by two goals to claim the title, with a seemingly impossible scenario being set up for the last match of the season.

Earlier in the year, the Hillsborough disaster caused the original game between the two teams to be postponed out of respect, resulting in this special end-of-season fixture.

Alan Smith put Arsenal ahead after 53 minutes, but one more goal was required if they were to win the title.

In the 91st minute, with virtually the last kick of the season, Michael Thomas netted for the Gunners as they claimed one of the most dramatic top-flight title wins of all time.

Thomas would actually go on to sign for Liverpool two years later, playing 163 times.