Read Amy Lawrence's match report from the Emirates
Full time: Arsenal 4-1 Liverpool
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeep! It’s all over and Liverpool come away from the Emirates on the end of a good hiding. The three points move Arsenal second in the table, four points Chelsea, who have played two games fewer. Apart from one impressive 15-minute spell in the first half, Liverpool’s performance was diabolical and will prove a source of huge concern for their manager Brendan Rodgers, who has once again come up spectacularly short in a “must win” game. If results elsewhere go against them this weekend, they’ll find themselves eight points adrift of fourth place and the tilt at the Champions League that goes with it with just seven games to go.
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90+3 min: That was a fine goal, with Giroud picking up a nice pass from Alexis Sanchez on the left, then evading two fairly half-hearted challenges before giving Mignolet no chance with his thump from 20 yard.
GOAL! Arsenal 4-1 Liverpool (Giroud 90)
The French striker scores in his sixth consecutive Premier League game with a fine solo effort that sees him roofing the ball from the edge of the area.
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89 min: From the edge of the penalty area, Santi Cazorla hits the foot of the upright after being teed up by Nacho Monreal at the end of a fine one-touch passing move from Arsenal. You can almost feel the desperation for this match to end from assorted Liverpool players whose heads have dropped.
87 min: In the absence of any outstanding candidates, BT Sport pundit Michael Owen awards Alexis Sanchez the man of the match gong. The player responds by going close to extending Arsenal’s lead with after a fine leap at the far post.
85 min: Nifty footwork from Simon Mignolet, whose soft-shoe shuffle under pressure could have ended in high farce. He’s had a strange game - pullking off a couple of remarkable saves but letting in two fairly soft goals.
Red card for Emre Can ...
Liverpool are reduced to 10 men as Emre Can picks up his second booking for a completely idiotic and unnecessary challenge on Danny Welbeck, down by the corner flag. He’ll miss their FA Cup replay against Blackburn.
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83 min: Boos ring out around the Emirates as the referee stops play so Jordan Henderson can get treatment for a head injury he doesn’t appear to have sustained.
79 min: The referee plays a good advantage that affords Danny Welbeck to bear down on Liverpool’s goal with a rangy run from deep. With Alexis Sanchez screaming for his team-mate to roll the ball across the face of the six-yard box for a straightforward tap-in, Welbeck elects to go it alone and shoots straight at Ospina from a very tight angle.
78 min: It could be argued with some justification that Hector Bellerin was lucky to escape a second booking for the foul on Sterling that gifted Liverpool their lifeline. He didn’t prevent a clear goalscoring opportunity but it was a fairly cynical foul. I’ve certainly seen players booked for less. Then again, in recent weeks, we’ve all seen players booked and sent off for doing nothing whatsoever.
GOAL! Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool (Henderson 76pen)
Jordan Henderson’s penalty is far from perfect, but sneaks in to the bottom left-hand corner, past the dive of David Ospina, who probably should have saved it. Liverpool trail by two goals and have 13 minutes left to score them.
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Penalty for Liverpool
Raheem Sterling shapes to shoot in the penalty area and is tripped by Hector Bellerin. Liverpool’s days has just improved.
74 min: Liverpool corner. The ball’s flighted to Henderson standing outside the Arsenal penalty area and his shanked volley from distance just about sums up Liverpool’s day.
72 min: Arsenal substitution: Mesut Ozil off, Danny Welbeck on ... not that you care, because you’re watching Gary Neville criticise Simon Mignolet for, if memory serves me correctly, crouching a bit too low.
70 min: Hector Bellerin gets booked for a shove on Raheem Sterling in midfield.
An interesting email from Mark McGinn, regarding Mignolet’s positioning for Arsenal’s third goal. “Gary Neville identified Mignolet’s problem when analysing Phil Jagielka’s goal earlier on the season,” he writes. “Look at this clip from 5min 30sec onwards.” I think I remember this one, Mark - takes for dragging it out of the vaults.
66 min: Raheem Sterling takes a tumble in the Arsenal box while contesting a through-ball with Hector Bellerin and appeals for a penalty. None is forthcoming and rightfully so. It wasn’t necessarily a dive, as he and the full-back did bump hips as they chased the ball into the penalty area. Arsenal fans are welcome to disagree.
64 min: Liverpool continue plugging away, but are creating little or nothing in the way of decent goalscoring opportunities. In the BT Sport commentary box, Ian Darke and Michael Owen suggest they could do with adding some width and tempo to their challenge if they’re to cause Arsenal anything resembling concern.
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63 min: Mathieu Flamini clatters Joe Allen with a “getting to know you” introductory challenge and is lucky to escape a booking.
62 min: Philippe Coutinho tries his luck with a shap-shot from 25 yards that fizzes about a foot wide of the left upright. Even if had been on target, I suspect David Ospina had it covered.
61 min: Arsenal substitution: Aaron Ramsey off, Mathieu Flamini on. Ramsey seems to have picked up a minor knock and walks off to warm applause from the crowd.
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60 min: Koscielny update: it seems the Frenchman was forced off with a groin injury.
57 min: Nothing comes of the corner yielded by Ospina’s save, but Mamadou Sakho is forced into action to prevent Arsenal embarking on a counter-attack.
57 min: Emre Can forces a decent save out of David Ospina at his near post with a fizzing diagonal shot from the edge of the penalty area.
55 min: Giroud gets on the end of a fine cross from the right and sends a meaty header goalwards from no more than five yards out. Mignolet saves brilliantly with one hand and Giroud looks baffled at being thwarted.
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53 min: Joe Allen gifts the ball to Alexis Sanchez just outside the Arsenal penalty area. He gallops upfield and picks out Aaron Ramsey, who tries to find Mesut Ozil. Allen gets back to atone for his sins and avert the danger. Moments previously, a Mamadou Sako error had almost let Giroud in on the counter-attack.
51 min: A chorus of wolf-whistles greet Raheem Sterling when he sends the ball high over the Arsenal cross-bar from the edge of the penalty area. He’d originally dithered over curling a first-time effort goalwards after picking up a neat pass from Alberto Moreno.
48 min: Arsenal substitution: Laurent Koscielny off, Gabriel on. It seems the Frenchman has been suffering from some mild discomfort in his achilles tendon and he’s replaced in the heart of Arsenal’s defence.
48 min: Emre Can gets booked for a foul on Santi Cazorla, or possibly for complaining a bit too vociferously after being penalised for fouling Santi Cazorla. Free-kick for Arsenal, on the edge of the final third. Cazorla whips the ball into the mixer, where Jordan Henderson does well to get to it first and head it out for a corner. Mignolet punches the ensuing inswinger clear.
47 min: A consdierably slower and less frenetic start to the second half than we had to the first. Alberto Moreno complains to the referee about being held, but his protests fall on deaf ears.
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The second half is under way at the Emirates
Arsenal kick off, with Liverpool having brought Daniel Sturridge on for Lazar Markovic, whose panic in front of goal caused him to blow a wonderful opportunity to put his side ahead in the first half. Can Liverpool get a foot back in this game? Let’s find out ...
Liverpool’s hopes of finishing fourth are in tatters. Presuming they lose here and other results don’t go their way, they’ll be eight points adrift of fourth place with just seven matches to go in the campaign. Carelessness in possession, some sloppy goalkeeping (replays show Mignolet should have done a lot better with Ozil’s free-kick) and profligacy in front of goal have done for them this afternoon and it’s a long way back for them from here. Their failure to deliver in big “must win” games under Brendan Rodgers is becoming something of a habit.
Half-time: Arsenal 3-0 Liverpool
Football, bloody hell. That was a magnificently entertaining half of football, in which 15 minutes of Liverpool superiority were bookended by two spells of Arsenal brilliance. Having opened the scoring with a fine individual goal and seen his team-mate Mesut Ozil double Arsenal’s lead with a fine free-kick, Hector Bellerin turned creator for the third. The full-back picked out Aaron Ramsey with a fine pass from deep. He in turn found Sanchez and the midfielder twisted Kolo Toure’s blood before unleashing a pile-driver that Simon Mignolet should at least have got a hand on. Arsenal lead shell-shocked Liverpool 3-0 at the interval courtesy of an extraordinary blitz late in the first half.
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GOAL! Arsenal 3-0 Liverpool (Sanchez 44)
After a slip from Kolo Toure, Alexis Sanchez fires past the hapless Mignolet from the edge of the Liverpool penalty area. He shot straight down the centre, but the goalkeeper just waved it in. He should have saved that. Arsenal lead 3-0 courtesy of three goals in eight minutes.
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43 min: Interestingly, according to BT Sport commentator Ian Darke, Ozil practiced five or six free-kick from that exact position while warming up before the game, so it’s no great surprise that he scored.
40 min: My word, Arsenal take a two-goal lead courtesy of a fine strike from their German midfielder. “He was fouled by Sakho just outside the Liverpool penalty area to win the free-kick and placed the ball a little right of the D. With Per Mertesacker blocking Simon Mignolet’s view, Ozil took aim and curled the ball inside the upright, beyond the reach of the diving Mignolet.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Liverpool (Ozil 39)
Mesut Ozil curls the ball inside the left upright again with a fantastic free-kick from about four yards outside the Liverpool penalty area.
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38 min: Hector Bellerin scores his second goal for Arsenal and it was a thoroughly splendid strike. Picking up the ball from Aaron Ramsey on the right flank, deep in Liverpool territory, he cuts into the penalty area and, with Alberto Moreno backing off him, curls a marvellous left-footed effort around Simon Mignolet and inside the foot of the left upright.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Liverpool (Bellerin 37)
Arsenal take the lead courtesy of a splendid individual goal and a fine finish from Hector Bellerin.
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35 min: Arsenal pass and probe down the left, with things getting a little over-elaborate and “Arsenal” between Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud. Liverpool clear.
32 min: Sakho looks much improved from his niggle and incurs the wrath of Laurent Koscielny when he catches the defender with a leading arm while contesting a high ball.
30 min: Liverpool go forward again, with Jordan Henderson galloping into space down the right flank. He sends the ball into the penalty area, where once again the home defenders look remarkably jittery. A cross from the left by Sterling proves just beyond the reach of his skipper and Arsenal clear their lines again. You’d have put your house on Arsenal winning this game on the evidence of the opening 10 or 15 minutes, but it’s a much tougher one to call with any confidence now. Liverpool are right back in it.
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28 min: Sanchez and Ozil combine down the right flank and win a throw-in for their team on the edge of the final third. Hector Bellerin takes the throw-in, but Mamadou Sakho clears the danger.
26 min: Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho seems to have picked up a knock and is struggling. Dejan Lovren is warming up on the touchline.
23 min: Just outside the Arsenal penalty area, Sterling pounces on a decent pass through the centre, takes Koscielney out of the equation with a wonderful first touch and then shoots low from distance, dragging the ball wide of the left upright. He might have done better if he’d taken another touch or two to bring him closer to the goal.
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22 min: A little over 20 minutes in and it’s been a quarter of ... em, two halves. Arsenal dominated for the opening 12 minutes but got no reward for their superiority, but Liverpool appear to be on top now and have missed the best chance of the game.
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18 min: Raheem Sterling misses what looks like a sitter. The ball’s threaded through Arsenal’s defence and Lazar Markovic pounces on it, with Raheem Sterling in support to his left. David Ospina advances from his goal and Markovic attempts to roll the ball into the path of his team-mate. With the goal gaping and no more than a tap-in required, Markovic criminally overhits his pass, sending the ball trundling a yard out of Sterling’s reach. He stretches every sinew in an effort to divert the ball into the goal, but it’s just too far away from him. That’s a terrible pass and Sterling is understandably irritated by Markovic’s poor delivery.
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17 min: Ramsey crosses from the right for Arsenal, but Liverpool’s defenders clear the danger and their team embarks on another sortie down the field and get Sterling on the ball. He attempts to dink a speculative cross-come-shot goalwards, but Arsenal clear their lines.
15 min: The camera cuts to Brendan Rodgers, who is busy scribbling in a notebook. “Tell Lucas and Kolo to stop giving the ball away,” is my guess, although he might just be writing a shopping list.
13 min: Arsenal are playing a high line here and almost get caught out as Sterling pounces on a through-ball only to be flagged for offside. That was very, very tight and replays suggest that Per Mertesacker was playing the Liverpool striker onside.
10 min: Nothing comes of Liverpool’s corner, which is taken by Jordan Henderson. Arsenal turn the screw again, constantly pressing and forcing their visitors to repeatedly cede possession in midfield.
9 min: Liverpool finally clear their lines and go on the attack, winning a corner when an attempted cross from Lazar Markovic on the right flank is put out by Laurent Koscielney. This has been quite the white-knuckle ride thus far.
6 min: Arsenal take two corners in a row, from which nothing comes. There’s an appeal for a penalty when, from close range, Sanchez thumps the ball into the hands of Jordan Henderson, who had little or no opportunity to get them out of the way.
4 min: Arsenal continue to pile the hurt on Liverpool and bring another fine save out of Mignolet, courtesy of another defensive howler from Kolo Toure that gifts possession to Aaron Ramsey. The Arsenal midfielder scorches goalwards and shoots from 12 yards, only to be thwarted by the Liverpool goalkeeper. Kolo Toure atones for his error by beating Cazorla to the loose ball and hacking it clear.
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3 min: Simon Mignolet is forced to make a save and it’s straight out of the top drawer. Having gifted possession to Arsenal in midfield again, Santi Cazorla shot low and diagonally through the legs of Kolo Toure, forcing the Belgian to get down and save with a strong hand.
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2 min: Ramsey and Bellerin combine down the right flank in a bid to pick their way through the Liverpool defence, but are forced backwards. A cross-field pass from Santi Cazorla sends them on their way again - this is a confident start from the Gunners.
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1 min: Liverpool get the ball rolling, with their players in their change kit of black shirts, shorts and sock. Arsenal are in their usual home kit of red shirts with white sleeves, white shorts and white socks. A mistake from Joe Allen allows Santi Cazorla to win possession in the Liverpool half and pick out Alexis Sanchez, who fires low, hard and well wide from distance.
Not long now: The teams are lined up in the tunnel, with Jordan Henderson and Per Mertesacker wearing the captains’ armbands. Referee Anthony Taylor plucks the match ball from the ceremonial plinth, the teams line up either side of his team of match officials and handshakes ensue. Prediction time: I’m going for Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool. Here’s hoping we get a decent game.
Brendan Rodgers speaks ...
The Liverpool manager says that his side’s most recent defeat was very upsetting. “The Manchester United games was bitterly disappointing, not so much for the result, but because of the way we played,” he reveals. Of his team selection, he says that it was “a straightforward decision” to replace Martin Skrtel with Kolo Toure, which won’t come as music to the ears of poor Dejan Lovren, whose move from Southampton to Liverpool has been an unmitigated disaster for the Croatian centre-back.
Rodgers also said that it was a straightforward decision to play Raheem Sterling through the centre, because Daniel Sturridge hasn’t been able to train much, coming off the back of an injury. On the subject of Sterling, he says: “My relationship with Rasheem is very strong and never once has he said he wants to leave.” He adds that “I know Raheem very well” and says that he plans to carry on his development. “He’s a very strong character,” concludes Rodgers. “There is no way I ever thought of leaving him out today.”
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Arsene Wenger speaks ...
Asked about his team’s current winning streak by BT Sport’s resident smoothie Des Kelly, the Arsenal manager says: “It’s the moment for us to continue this run and our focus has to be on the next game.” Of his team’s approach to this afternoon’s game, he says that “against a team who are particularly good on the counter-attack we have to find a good balance between attacking and defending”. And on his selection, specifically the omission of Danny Welbeck, he reveals: “I had a little apprehension for Danny on his knee, but it looked fine in training yesterday. I have included an extra midfielder to help with our defence.”
Arsenal v Liverpool line-ups
Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Ramsey, Ozil, Cazorla, Sanchez, Giroud.
Subs: Gibbs, Gabriel, Rosicky, Walcott, Flamini, Welbeck, Macey.
Liverpool: Mignolet, Can, Toure, Sakho, Henderson, Allen, Lucas, Moreno, Markovic, Sterling, Coutinho.
Subs: Jones, Johnson, Lovren, Sturridge, Manquillo, Borini, Brannagan.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)
Arsenal v Liverpool team news
Liverpool contract rebel Raheem Sterling starts in attack against Arsenal. Daniel Sturridge, who missed England duty over the international break, is on the bench, but Adam Lallana misses out and Kolo Toure comes into the Liverpool defence for Skrtel.
For Arsenal, Mesut Ozil returns from illness to start, but England forward Theo Walcott is again a substitute along with Danny Welbeck, who has been carrying a knee injury. Teenage goalkeeper Matt Macey replaces Wojciech Szczesny, who has a rib injury, on the Arsenal bench.
That’s an interesting Liverpool selection. A bit midfield heavy, it could be argued, with no fewer than - I make it – seven midfielders numbered among the 10 outfield players! It will intriguing to see how they line up. I’ll have the full line-ups with substitutes very shortly, but remember that Steven Gerrard and Martin Skrtel are both sitting this one out on the naughty step for stamping offences.
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Confirmed #LFC team v @Arsenal: Mignolet, Can, Toure, Sakho, Allen, Lucas, Moreno, Henderson, Coutinho, Markovic, Sterling
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 4, 2015
#Arsenal team to play Liverpool: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Alexis, Giroud #AFCvLFC
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) April 4, 2015
Raheem Sterling has been hogging the headlines ...
The Liverpool midfielder’s reluctance to ink a new and improved deal with his employers has become a source of irritation for many of the club’s supporters and the lengthy interview he gave the BBC in a bid to justify his indecision has been the intriguing story of an otherwise slow end to the international break. Despite his dithering, Raheem Sterling will start against Arsenal today and our man on the Merseyside beat, Andy Hunter, has been pondering the 20-year-old’s situation in his match preview, which you can read by clicking on this link.
Preamble
Happy Easter one and all. After a seemingly interminable international break, our beady gaze returns to the Premier League this weekend. Arsenal entertain Liverpool at the Emirates in what ought to be a fascinating Easter curtain-raiser, where the visitors could do with a win to sustain their challenge on fourth place and the accompany tilt at next season’s Champions League that comes with it. A win for the Gunners will move them into second place, two points ahead of Manchester City and four behind a Chelsea side that will have played two games fewer by the time this contest ends. Kick-off is at 12.45pm (BST), but tune in an hour or so before then for all the team news and build-up in north London.
