Arsenal just missed out on the three points in a six-goal thriller at Anfield. It was a breathless night of end-to-end play and Liverpool clinched a draw at the death with a last-minute equaliser.
Arsene Wenger reverted back to his typical starting XI with Aaron Ramsey, Nacho Monreal, Per Mertesacker, Mathieu Flamini and Joel Campbell all returning to the starting line-up for Arsenal after the FA Cup win at the weekend.
Liverpool dominated the opening stages of the game and after 10 minutes Roberto Firmino smashed in a goal from the rebound of a Petr Cech save. After Theo Walcott dallied around the box, Emre Can nipped in to intercept and Liverpool claimed a deserved goal for their efforts.
Just four minutes later, Arsenal equalised out of nowhere. Joel Campbell slid in a beautiful ball to Ramsey, who squeezed the ball past Simon Mignolet at his near post. In the build-up to the goal, Olivier Giroud went down with a knock to the head, and returned after five minutes with the addition of a staple to his head.
Both teams refused to let the tempo of the game drop and in the 19th minute, Firmino scored a stunning curling strike from outside the box. Arsenal simply could not cope with Liverpool’s aggressive, high press without the stabilising presence of Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla in midfield.
Their lead, however, did not last for long. Within a few minutes, Giroud poked the ball past a flailing Mignolet from a corner. And in the 27th minute, Giroud missed a golden chance that should have put Arsenal ahead.
The match finally settled down, with both teams putting more effort into retaining some semblance of defensive shape. Cech had to be alert to punch away a Liverpool cross at the end of the first half, and in stoppage time, Firmino nearly got his hat-trick with an effortless turn and volley that skimmed off the top of the bar.
It took just 30 seconds of the second half for another golden chance to materialise. Mesut Ozil delivered a classically pinpoint cross to Campbell, who skied the ball under pressure from Alberto Moreno. Both sides continued to look threatening, exploiting the wide open wings in such an open game.
But it was Arsenal who scored what looked like a winning goal early in the second half. Hector Bellerin stormed past the hapless Liverpool defenders and Campbell played a ball in to send Arsenal ahead for the first time. Giroud demonstrated some astonishing footwork in the box and turned to place the ball into the net past the Liverpool ‘keeper. It capped a superb performance from Giroud, who was instrumental in holding up play for the Gunners.
After Arsenal scored, it renewed their confidence and they threatened Liverpool by winning the ball back quickly and playing neat passes. Yet the game was transformed again when Jurgen Klopp sent on the aerial presence of Christian Benteke in the 65th minute and Arsenal spent the rest of the match with their backs pinned to the wall.
With just stoppage time left, Joe Allen poked the ball past Cech to grab the equalising goal and deprive Arsenal of what looked like a hard-fought three points. It was a fitting end to a wild game, and Arsenal will be disappointed not to have held out for the final four minutes of the game.
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