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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Paul Gorst

Arsenal may have just unleashed Jurgen Klopp's new Liverpool on the Premier League

If ever a game showcased the good and the bad of Liverpool's maddening Premier League campaign, it was on full display here in a breathless, angry Anfield draw with Arsenal.

A thrilling advertisement for the top flight had every element that encapsulates what this Reds team is now. Or at least what they have become.

The early concession of a goal; the licking of wounds; the howls of terrace derision at the meekness of it all: it was all there in a 40-minute first-half period where Liverpool looked like they had again cowered when they needed to stand tall.

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AS IT HAPPENED: Liverpool vs Arsenal live score updates and analysis

But, in the interest of balance and fairness, this match also showed how Klopp’s team are still able to mix it with the leading lights of the division this term. That remains a welcome quality.

After a first half that was threatening to follow the same pattern of the worst days of recent months, it all changed. And in a weird sort of way, it was the shenanigans of the Arsenal title hopefuls that opened the door for both the crowd and the players on the pitch to stir and rouse and respond to the dire situation they found themselves in.

Mikel Arteta's men were cruising to a first win here since 2012, comfortably ahead thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus before a disgruntled Granit Xhaka, the supposedly reformed and apparently now mature Arsenal captain, aimed an elbow in the direction of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

It was the catalyst for the roar to go up and for the players to belatedly discover the kind of battling qualities that have epitomised many years of the Klopp era. Suddenly, passes were sharper and tackles were stronger.

Liverpool's whole attitude changed after Xhaka and Alexander-Arnold had been booked by Paul Tierney and finally, they began to rage against it all. Within minutes, Mohamed Salah had reduced the deficit and the home side went into the break with fire in their bellies, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed.

Before then Arsenal had the lead inside 10 minutes when Martinelli poked home after Virgil van Dijk had failed to cut out the attempted pass to the Brazilian. It was a goal almost comical in its build from the home side's perspective.

If the opener was somewhat fortuitous and indicative of the sort of luck a league leader can fashions for themselves, the second was quality as Jesus got himself in between the two men who had started the afternoon cosplaying as Robertson and Van Dijk to head home before the half-hour mark.

Salah snaffled his 24th of the season in a goal that owed so much to the ingenuity of Curtis Jones and the running of Diogo Jota as he pounced from Jordan Henderson's poke goalwards following a cross.

A strong start to the second half saw the home side awarded a first Anfield penalty for over 12 months when Jota was brought down by Rob Holding. Salah stepped up and placed it wide for a second successive miss from 12 yards.

Confronted with another setback, Liverpool refused to yield. Klopp sent on Thiago Alcantara and Darwin Nunez for Jota and Jones before the Great Arsenal Scourge, Roberto Firmino, was summoned.

A frantic finale saw the striker head home his 11th and final goal against the Gunners late on to get Anfield rocking to the sound of Si Senior. No Liverpool player has scored more than the Brazilian against Arsenal. The Londoners will be delighted to see the back of that megawatt smile.

It set up an incredible final few moments as the hosts pushed for a late, deserved winner. Aaron Ramsdale made two wonderful saves to keep out Salah and the excellent Ibrahima Konate before the full-time whistle sadly ended it all.

Of all the elements of Sunday's game that no doubt induced either a scowl or a wince from Klopp, maybe the biggest one was reserved before a ball had even been kicked at Anfield.

With Easter Sunday signalling the run-in for the Premier League campaign, Anfield playing host to a vital game in the title race is something that has become the norm in recent years for Klopp.

But while Arsenal arrived aiming for a statement victory at one of their most feared venues, Liverpool's participation in the wider picture was restricted to the status of 'bit-part'. Klopp's side are an irrelevance as far as title talk goes this time around and how that must rankle for the German.

It's something the Reds boss will not want to get used to and as talk of a giant fixture in the overall picture of the campaign was ramped up across the weekend, Klopp might just have had his steel resolved and his will strengthened to ensure his team's absence from the top of the table is merely a temporary one. It can be fuel for the fire this summer.

Liverpool's top-four hopes might have finally sailed out of the distance here with a barely useful point, but in the wider scheme, Klopp's players have regained something that was arguably needed more: their stomachs for the fight.

Liverpool’s intensity has returned. The big question now is if it is here to stay once more? It will certainly be needed next season.

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