Klopp speaks!
Jonathan Liew on Liverpool's win
That’s your lot, then. Nick Ames was at the Emirates, and here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Mikel Arteta talks to Sky. “Box to box, we were at least to their level, or even better. In the boxes, that’s where they won the game. They had two chances and scored two goals. We had chances but didn’t score. But the rest we went toe to toe with the best team in the league right now. Our performance doesn’t reflect the result. It is another step and the gap is smaller, but the reality is we lost the game. If Odegaard puts that in the net, it is a different game. I am very proud of the boys.”
Jurgen Klopp speaks to Sky. “Trent defended the diagonal balls to Martinelli incredibly. Martinelli is such a talented boy, he is really tricky. If anybody says Trent cannot defend, come to me and I will knock him down, honestly, I cannot hear that any more! I don’t know what the boy has to do. We score two fantastic goals and played much more football in the second half. We were prepared for a really tough game against a really talented team, we respect them a lot, so I was not angry at half-time. This team doesn’t need that kind of team talk, so that’s why we don’t do it. It was a sensational save from Ali, for me it was a goal, but Ali did not make it happen. When you always try to find a football solution like Thiago, these things happen, I would have tried to kick the ball into the stand but he tries to keep it in the game! Coming here and turning a game in the right direction is really special.”
Some post-match patter to come ... but Nick Ames was at the Emirates tonight, and his report has landed. Open a tab and enjoy.
That’s a brilliant three points for Liverpool, who were out of sorts in the first half, but came on strong in the second. They celebrate with their fans as the rest of the Emirates empties out. A good evening for Jurgen Klopp, who punches the air three times then beats the liver bird on his chest. Diogo Jota was about to be hooked before scoring the game-changing opener. He was then hooked anyway, and his replacement Roberto Firmino added the clincher in short order. Alisson deserves a mention in dispatches too, for a stunning save just before Jota’s goal to deny Martin Odegaard. The save and the goals all came during a brief burst of action, 11 minutes that may have a huge bearing on the title race. Arsenal meanwhile will be disappointed at their second-half showing, but they can take away positives from their relentless first-half press, and they’ve still got a couple of games on Manchester United.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 29 | 50 | 70 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 29 | 55 | 69 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 28 | 38 | 59 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 27 | 12 | 51 |
| 5 | Man Utd | 29 | 8 | 50 |
FULL TIME: Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool
The whistle goes, and that’s the sort of performance that wins titles! Liverpool make it nine in a row, and they’re now only one point behind the leaders Manchester City! Arsenal asked plenty of questions in the first half, but were outclassed in the second.
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90 min +2: Xhaka loops into the Liverpool box from the left. Alisson, whose save from Odegaard has proved so crucial, plucks the ball from the sky. Speaking of which, on the satellite channel, Gary Neville names Joel Matip as his man of the match.
90 min +1: White spins the in-rushing Mane to earn a cheer from the home fans. Nothing comes of it, but it’s a decent party piece nonetheless.
90 min: There will be three added minutes.
89 min: Thiago is replaced by Jones. He saunters off the field in the clock-management style, and earns a hug from Klopp when he finally reaches the white line.
88 min: Martinelli comes this close to changing everything! He runs onto a pass down the inside-left channel, opens his body and steers a Thierry Henryesque effort across Alisson and inches wide of the right-hand post. That would have been a lovely goal.
87 min: Cedric is bowled over by Mane out on the right. A free kick and a chance for Arsenal to line up on the edge of the Liverpool box. Cedric takes it himself ... but Van Dijk heads clear with authority.
85 min: Robertson tears down the left from deep and drifts infield. Having done the hard yards, and with Arsenal again light at the back, he underhits a diagonal pass that would free Salah down the right. Liverpool have passed on a couple of good situations to score a third now.
83 min: Thiago flies in on Partey. Arsenal aren’t happy, but it looked a robust tackle, nothing more. Will that gee up the hosts into one final push? They’ve been extremely passive since the second goal.
81 min: Nketiah comes on for Lacazette.
80 min: White ships possession 30 yards from his own goal. Arsenal are light at the back, but Salah, Firmino and Mane can’t quite find the right combination to unlock the hosts. A big chance to put this to bed is spurned.
78 min: He hits it long. Van Dijk can’t get any purchase on his header and Arsenal clear their lines.
77 min: Liverpool play some patient stuff down the right and eventually win a corner. Alexander-Arnold to take.
75 min: Cedric whips a cross in from the right. Alisson, Matip, Fabinho and Henderson combine to make a meal of clearing, but the flag goes up for offside with the ball bouncing around in no man’s land near their box.
74 min: Saka was a huge problem for Liverpool in the first half. In this second, not so much. He’s replaced by Pepe.
73 min: Acres for Martinelli to drive into down the left. Martinelli is never quite in control, though, allowing Alexander-Arnold to step across and shepherd him out of play. Goal kick.
71 min: Matip tries to Beckenbauer his way into the Arsenal box with a glorious run down the middle, but he takes on one man too many. Firmino tries to keep the move going but some things are just not meant to be.
70 min: Firmino attempts to Cruyff turn Partey, and cops an arm in the face for his trouble. It would have been a soft booking, but you’ve seen them given. Probably just as well it wasn’t, because Arteta is beyond livid at the mere award of a foul.
69 min: Smith-Rowe and Saka cause a bit of bother down the right. The former has a dig from a tight angle. Matip blocks bravely, but that’s a lively first contribution by the Arsenal sub.
68 min: On Sky, Martin Tyler points out that Firmino’s last 11 goals in the Premier League have all been away from home.
67 min: Salah dribbles hard down the right. His dinked cross floats out for a goal kick. Odegaard, who was brilliantly denied by Alisson just before Ramsdale’s error, makes way for Smith-Rowe.
66 min: Liverpool slow it down a bit. For the first time this evening, they’ve established a semblance of control. Plenty of time for Arsenal to get back into this, though, and one goal would change everything.
64 min: Like Jota before him, Firmino has a habit of scoring against Arsenal. That’s his ninth against the Gunners, and he’s not scored more against any other side. He earns a booking, though, for disappearing into the crowd during his celebration.
GOAL! Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool (Firmino 62)
This might have an effect, though. Firmino presses down the right, wins the ball and cuts back for Thiago. Salah takes the ball off Thiago’s toe and lashes low from ten yards. Arsenal block. The ball finds Robertson on the left. He dribbles down the byline and rolls into the six-yard box for Firmino, who deftly flicks across Ramsdale and into the bottom right. What a substitution!
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60 min: Some dude tries to tie or handcuff himself to Alisson’s goalpost, and is hauled off by the forces. Play continues, and Martinelli looks to leave Alexander-Arnold behind him again, sailing in from the left, only for the flag to pop up for offside as he prepares to shoot from the edge of the area. Arsenal haven’t let the goal deflate them.
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58 min: A free kick for Arsenal out on the left. Martinelli slips it down the channel for Lacazette, but the striker’s on the back foot and the ball trickles through to Alisson. Up the other end, Salah’s first act is to blaze a wild shot over the bar from distance.
56 min: Liverpool were preparing to take Jota off ... and Klopp sticks with his decision. He’s replaced by Salah, while Firmino comes on for Diaz. That goal was Jota’s fifth here in three games, but it’s his last kick of the evening. What a way to go out, though!
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GOAL! Arsenal 0-1 Liverpool (Jota 54)
Thiago, who nearly teed up Lacazette for an Arsenal opener, sets up Jota for a Liverpool one instead. Jota strides into the box down the left and lashes hard towards the bottom left. Ramsdale is beaten at his near post - an awful mistake, a strong hand should have parried that - and Jota wheels off in ear-cupping celebration!
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54 min: It’s still hosing down in north London, by the way. Meanwhile on the south coast, Spurs have beaten Brighton 2-0.
53 min: Cedric flips Diaz into the air near Arsenal’s left-hand corner flag. A chance for Alexander-Arnold to send a free kick into a loaded box. Ramsdale claims easily. This is breathless end-to-end stuff.
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51 min: Partey has a bash from distance. The ball smacks off Van Dijk. Arsenal want a penalty. They’re not getting one. Thiago then tries to tidy up, only to play a dreadful backpass that lets Lacazette in. Lacazette can’t round Alisson, so he lays back for Odegaard, who sends a fierce shot goalwards. Alisson pops back into view, sticking out a strong arm to deflect over. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
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49 min: Martinelli rips past Alexander-Arnold and Henderson with some sensational skill on the left, a dropped shoulder, a nutmeg, then a dragback along the byline. Wow! He can’t find a team-mate with his low cross, which is such a shame, because that would have been an assist for the ages.
47 min: Now it’s Alexander-Arnold raking one down the same channel. Jota can’t quite trap and sprint clear. But these attacks, combined with the Mane chance late in the first half, will have given Arsenal something to think about.
46 min: Less than a minute in, Henderson, quarterbacking from deep, pings a pass down the inside-left channel to release Mane, who lashes past Ramsdale. But the flag goes up for offside. No goal, but an early sign that Liverpool have been ordered to step it up a bit.
Arsenal get the second half started ... but only after taking their sweet time to emerge from the tunnel. Liverpool were kept waiting for a couple of minutes in the pouring rain. Or did Jurgen Klopp send his players out early by way of punishment, a flea in their ear? Hmm. Neither team have made a change.
Half-time entertainment. Arsenal look to be heading in the right direction under Mikel Arteta, their rebuild going swimmingly after a rocky few years. In other news...
HALF TIME: Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool
The game has been pretty much non-stop, and there’s no added time. Arsenal traipse off the happier. Manchester City won’t mind this either.
45 min: ... but it’s Liverpool who nearly score before the break. Alexander-Arnold lashes a long bouncing bomb down the middle to find Mane just ahead of White. Mane, under intense pressure, leans back on the edge of the box and blazes over.
44 min: Tierney crosses from the left. Fabinho tidies up. Arsenal are pressing hard for the first-half goal their efforts deserve.
42 min: Ramsdale claims the corner and launches long. Alisson comes racing out of his box and high-kicks it back upfield. Strong rugby-union vibes here.
41 min: Henderson, Diaz and Alexander-Arnold triangulate crisply down the right. A cross is whipped in. Jota launches himself at the ball with a view to Keith Houchening one home, but Arsenal half-clear. Alexander-Arnold tries again, crossing deep this time, forcing Cedric into conceding a corner on the left.
39 min: Diaz tries to break down the right, but he’s got nobody up with him and is forced to turn tail. Arsenal are well in control here, albeit without any tangible reward for their good work.
37 min: Martinelli glides infield from the left, leaving Alexander-Arnold in the dust. Liverpool swarm the young Brazilian before he can get a shot away, but Arsenal are oozing confidence right now. Five wins in a row tends to give you that.
36 min: Cedric nicks the ball off Mane. Klopp thinks he’s come through the back of his player, incorrectly so, and engages the fourth official in philosophical debate. He’s not happy, though his team are very much second best right now and won’t be helping his mood.
35 min: There’s one other Premier League match taking place tonight, and it’s not going the way Arsenal would like. Tottenham Hotspur have just gone 2-0 up at Brighton, Harry Kane (57 min) adding to Cristian Romero’s first-half goal (37 min).
33 min: Lacazette spins Matip with ease down the middle and nearly releases Odegaard into the box. Liverpool half clear. The ball breaks to Xhaka, who attempts to send a curler into the top right from distance. He’s not miles away from hitting the corner flag.
31 min: Diaz hasn’t seen much of the ball, but here he battles hard for it down the left and toe-pokes a pass infield that nearly releases Jota. Not quite. Nothing’s sticking for Liverpool up front.
29 min: A long pass down the left for Martinelli nearly undoes Liverpool. Alisson comes haring out of his area to bash clear. Martinelli looks to have the beating of Alexander-Arnold.
28 min: Roberson curls in softly from the left. Jota should take control, just inside the box, but momentarily loses sight of the ball, spins around, and is quickly dispossessed.
26 min: A couple of cute Alexander-Arnold passes down the right nearly open Arsenal up. For a second, it looks like Mane is free down the channel, but the hosts close the door. A rare sortie in enemy territory for Liverpool.
24 min: Saka nearly breaks into the Liverpool box from the right. He’s getting a lot of space down this flank. This time he can’t deliver a meaningful cross, but the hosts are on top right now.
22 min: Xhaka’s glorious crossfield pass finds Saka in space on the right. Saka pulls back for Cedric, who from the edge of the box drags a hopeless shot well wide right. Lacazette is furious, having been free in the area, waiting for a slide-rule pass down the channel.
21 min: Another long pass down the right in the hope of releasing Saka. Alisson comes right to the edge of his box to claim.
20 min: Mane goes over just to the right of the Arsenal D. The home team and fans want him booked for diving, but there was a little contact with Gabriel’s hip. You can see why the foul wasn’t given, but also why a card wasn’t awarded.
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19 min: Liverpool take some sting out of the game with a little patient probing. Alexander-Arnold sends a couple of speculative balls in from the right, but neither look like finding a team-mate.
17 min: It’s raining fairly heavily in north London right now.
15 min: Martinelli scampers clear of Alexander-Arnold down the left and reaches the byline. He fires low into the six-yard box for Lacazette, who shapes to slam home. Robertson nips in and whips the ball away from danger just in time. The hosts have started very confidently.
13 min: Another long pass towards Saka on the right. This is beginning to look like a tactic. Has Arteta spotted something? Robertson holds firm again.
12 min: Ramsdale takes an age over a drop kick, then launches long in the hope of releasing Saka. Robertson keeps calm, heading spectacularly back to Alisson.
10 min: Alexander-Arnold tries to release Mane down the right with a wedged pass from a tight spot. Mane’s usually silky touch betrays him for once, and the ball clanks out for a goal kick.
9 min: Partey creams a pass down the right for Saka, who reaches the edge of the Liverpool box before looping long for Martinelli, who heads back across goal in the hope of finding Lacazette. Matip heads half clear, then Alisson gathers. Both teams will be happy with the way they’ve started. Arsenal look especially lively in these opening exchanges.
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7 min: Matip hoicks long down the right. Ramsdale races out of his box to trap and clear under pressure from a couple of bright yellow shirts. A nice, open feel to this game.
5 min: Mane is bowled over to the right of the centre circle and tries to release Jota by springing up and taking a quick free kick. Good idea, but the ball was rolling when he took it, and the whistle goes. Mane smiles ruefully, knowing that was a great chance to send his team-mate free on goal.
4 min: Odegaard slips a pass down the right but not with enough energy to release Saka. Robertson comes across to slide, intercept and purchase a cheap free kick that puts an end to Arsenal’s first attack.
3 min: Arsenal clear this one easily enough, and the hosts have managed to survive that early pressure from Liverpool. “You could count on one hand how many players a team could have that it wouldn’t matter Salah wasn’t starting for them, so not convinced Mr Arteta,” writes Zach Neeley. “Not that I should worry. As an Arsenal fan, going in to a big game and no sight of David Luiz on the team sheet, no photo of his lustrous coiffure a top the page, I’ve already won.”
2 min: A corner on the left leads to another on the right. Alexander-Arnold takes. Van Dijk sends a header towards the bottom right. Ramsdale does well to turn the ball around the post for another corner, and keeps Arsenal’s record of not conceding from a corner this season in tact.
1 min: Liverpool are out of the blocks quicksmart. Alexander-Arnold whips from the right. Ramsdale comes out and flaps. Cedric is forced to knock out for a corner.
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Liverpool get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes the knee. Warm applause greets the gesture of solidarity. There’s no room for racism.
The teams are out! Arsenal wear their famous red shirts with white sleeves, forcing Liverpool into a third-choice yellow kit that may or may not be historically resonant of the McDonald’s that used to be in the Kop. “Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain might not have a got all the minutes on the pitch he’d have wanted by the move, but I imagine he’ll be reasonably satisfied with a decision to leave Arsenal for Liverpool,” argues Charles Antaki. “A European champion’s medal (though he didn’t make it off the bench) and a Premier League winner’s medal will help. But he’s one of the leavers who Arsenal fans won’t begrudge success, and if he comes on and if Arsenal are ahead, he’ll probably get a warmish reception. That’s two ifs, one even less sure than the other.” We’ll be off in a minute.
Mikel Arteta speaks to Sky. On the importance of winning: “We know the importance of the match. We play at home against a great opponent and we will need a great performance to get a result. Another three points will be massive, so we will be closer to what we want.”
On the opponents: “There will be periods in the game when they have more of the ball. Hopefully we can replicate that and do the same in the opponent’s half. There will be a lot of transitions. Those moments come out of nothing, so we will need constant attention. They have exceptional players so I don’t think [Salah not starting] is a big one.”
Jurgen Klopp talks to Sky. On Mo Salah’s foot injury: “He made it. It was just yesterday we only had one session to train in, to test if everything is fine. It was fine, but he doesn’t start. We have him in the back hand, and he can come on. Really good.”
On the change in midfield: “Thiago had a stiff neck last week and couldn’t play. Naby is in a really good moment to be honest. But it’s the same reason, if you have the opportunity to make changes, then you have to do it. You have to use the boys when they are ready, and I thought this midfield would be the right one for the things Arsenal will ask.”
On the opponents: “I expect Arsenal to really go for it. If you asked them before the season, what do you want, to qualify for the Champions League with this young team? That would be amazing. So they have no pressure at all and will just try to cause us as many problems as possible.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta decides that if it ain’t broken, it doesn’t need fixing. He names the same starting XI selected for the 2-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday.
Liverpool make two changes as they look to make it nine Premier League wins in succession. Mohamed Salah only makes the bench after hurting his foot in the 2-0 win at Brighton on Saturday; Diogo Jota fills in. Naby Keita also drops to the bench, Thiago taking his place.
The teams
Arsenal: Ramsdale, Cedric, White, Gabriel, Tierney, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Lacazette.
Subs: Leno, Smith Rowe, Holding, Pepe, Tavares, Sambi Lokonga, Elneny, Nketiah, Swanson.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago, Diaz, Jota, Mane.
Subs: Konate, Keita, Firmino, Salah, Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Minamino, Kelleher.
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands).
Preamble
A couple of in-form teams, right here. Arsenal have won their last five Premier League matches, a run that has catapulted them into fourth spot. Liverpool meanwhile have tasted victory in 12 of their last 14 games in all competitions, and the other two led to them winning the first domestic silverware of the season on penalties and qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Both are in a good place.
Liverpool are arguably the more desperate for the three points this evening. They’re looking to close the gap on leaders Manchester City to a single point, taking advantage of the champions’ slip-up at Crystal Palace a couple of nights ago. City don’t drop points often; these opportunities don’t come around every week. Arsenal by contrast have a little more margin for error, a point ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United with three games in hand, though they’d love to plump up the cushion between themselves and United, West Ham, Wolves and a certain Tottenham Hotspur.
This is set up rather nicely, in other words. Liverpool have the best of the recent head-to-head by far, with Arsenal only winning one of the last 18 matches in all competitions, the latest a 0-2 reverse at home in the League Cup semi-final. They also lost 4-0 at Anfield in November. But the Gunners will take succour from the goalless draw they secured with ten men in the first leg of that aforementioned semi, the Community Shield they won on penalties back in August 2020, and a come-from-behind 2-1 win in the league a month earlier. Kick off at the Emirates is at the slightly strange and travel unfriendly 8.15pm. It’s on!
