Salah breaks valiant Arsenal resistance to rescue a point for Liverpool
All roads led to the Emirates Stadium for the weekend’s premier clash, and this much-hyped game lived up to expectations inside the opening 10 minutes when a blood and thunder start saw Bukayo Saka fire an effort into the roof of the net after he tied Andy Robertson in knots in the area.
A Mohamed Salah snapshot after a Mikel Merino lapse in concentration was a warning sign for the Gunners, but they didn’t heed that and were pegged back shortly after taking the lead when Luis Diaz’s deft flick-on from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner was headed home from six yards by Virgil van Dijk.
A lull followed after that 100mph start, but Arsenal were left with a burning sense of injustice shortly after the half-hour mark when Gabriel Martinelli hit the deck inside the area, though to the dismay of those in red, a stern-faced Anthony Taylor waved away their appeals.
However, their despair turned to ecstasy shortly before the break when – in almost identical circumstances to 10 minutes prior – Mikel Merino ghosted into the box to get on the end of a Declan Rice delivery, this time making no mistake to head home from inside the area.
The Gunners were in for a huge 45 minutes in their title quest, as they knew they needed to hold on to stay within touching distance of the Reds in the title race, but their hopes were dashed when Gabriel hobbled off injured within 10 minutes of the restart.
After the Brazilian went off, it was largely one-way traffic towards the Arsenal goal, but for all the good areas Liverpool found themselves in, they were struggling to trouble David Raya.
They eventually broke down a makeshift Arsenal backline when a customary Alexander-Arnold ball in behind was latched upon by Darwin Nunez, who retained his composure to lay the ball on a plate for Salah to steer home.
Arsenal did have the ball in the net in the dying moments, but Anthony Taylor had blown up before Gabriel Jesus tucked away, and in spite of seven minutes of added time, neither side could find a winner.
The result maintains Liverpool’s four-point advantage over Arsenal in the title race, although both sides ultimately lose ground on league leaders Manchester City this weekend.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Declan Rice (Arsenal)
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