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LIVE: Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool - Saka with early goal, Van Dijk levels before Merino restores lead, but Salah levels again
Victory will take visitors back to top of table
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Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Pat Nevin
Former Everton and Chelsea winger on BBC Radio 5 Live
Trent Alexander-Arnold is now no longer getting back, so he is asking Ibrahima Konate to come out and play right back. It seems that Liverpool have now gone to a back three.
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
It's tense, tense, tense.
Mikel Arteta has just gestured to the home fans. They respond with more noise.
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Arsenal seem to be treating this game like they are playing with 10 men (again). Why drop back and protect the lead while still 11 v 11?
Mike
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Alex Howell
BBC football news reporter at Emirates Stadium
Academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly is on. Huge faith in him from Mikel Arteta to bring him on in a game like this.
He’s ahead of Oleksandr Zinchenko in the pecking order at the moment and came on ahead of him in the Champions League too.
Image source, Getty ImagesArsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Big moment for 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly who is on for Jurrien Timber. Will the teenager help Arsenal get over the line?
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Arne Slot has been booked for something he has said to the officials. Now Arsenal are preparing a change.
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Alex Howell
BBC football news reporter at Emirates Stadium
Ben White is another Arsenal player who has been very good today.
He’s so important to Arsenal’s back line with half of the players in it not in their regular positions in the first choice XI.
It’s Partey at right back, a centre back pairing of White and Kiwior and Timber at left back.
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
This is tense. This is nail-biting. This is exciting.
Liverpool trail but have had the better of the second half.
Arsenal have lost Gabriel and are putting their bodies on the line.
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
A lovely ball by Trent Alexander-Arnold finds Mo Salah in space out wide but that's good defending by Gabriel Martinelli who nicks the ball off his opponent before Salah can cause any damage.
Image source, Getty ImagesArsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Just as Pat says that another Liverpool chance goes begging after Dominik Szoboszlai gets it all wrong.
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Pat Nevin
Former Everton and Chelsea winger on BBC Radio 5 Live
It has been an improvement from Liverpool but they need to take more and more chances as the game goes by in order to get that equaliser.
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
No doubt about it, Arsenal have been rocked by the loss of Gabriel.
Liverpool are pressing for an equaliser but the Gunners are digging in.
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David at 17:54 - I agree. Liverpool now looking much better at that than Arsenal.
Chris
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Hello, what's this?
David Raya has just been booked for time wasting.
Are Arsenal ttrying to run down the clock already?
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Liverpool are on the attack. An Arsenal player goes down but Anthony Taylor waves play on and the ball falls to Ryan Gravenberch about 25 yards out. He goes for glory...high and wide.
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
It's all Liverpool. Arsenal cannot get out of their own half.
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The biggest difference between these two teams is the quality of their passing, especially under pressure.
David
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
On: Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Kostas Tsimikas.
Off: Alexi Mac Allister, Andy Robertson and Luis Diaz.
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer at Emirates Stadium
Arsenal's supporters have been quick to recognise their injury and suspension-hit side are under pressure here after Gabriel's injury and the noise levels have risen around Emirates Stadium as them on.
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Pat Nevin
Former Everton and Chelsea winger on BBC Radio 5 Live
Liverpool have added a little bit of chaos to things. They were really easy to mark and were predictable, but now there is variation. Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are moving forward, Luis Diaz is picking it up in better positions in the final third. They are asking more questions of Arsenal.
Image source, EPA
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is frustrated during the meeting with Liverpool at Emirates Stadium
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| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 23 |
| |
| 2 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 22 |
| |
| 3 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 18 |
| |
| 4 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 18 |
| |
| 5 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 17 |
| |
| 6 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 16 |
| |
| 7 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 16 |
| |
| 8 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 13 |
| |
| 9 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 13 |
| |
| 10 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| |
| 11 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 12 |
| |
| 12 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 12 |
| |
| 13 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 16 | -3 | 11 |
| |
| 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 11 |
| |
| 15 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 17 | -4 | 9 |
| |
| 16 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 16 | -6 | 9 |
| |
| 17 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 6 |
| |
| 18 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 20 | -11 | 4 |
| |
| 19 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 25 | -13 | 2 |
| |
| 20 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 19 | -13 | 1 |
|
Manager: Mikel Arteta
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Manager: Arne Slot
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Mikel Arteta
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Manager: Arne Slot
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Premier League
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All competitions
All competitions
Arsenal have won their last two Premier League home games against Liverpool, last having a longer such run between 2004 and 2006 (4).
Liverpool haven’t failed to score in any of their last 17 Premier League meetings with Arsenal since a 0-0 draw in August 2015.
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games against Liverpool (W2 D2), taking more points from these four games (8) than they had in their previous 14 against the Reds (7 – W1 D4 L9).
After losing to Bournemouth last time out (0-2), Arsenal face the prospect of losing back-to-back games in the Premier League for the first time since 31st December 2023 (0-2 v West Ham and 1-2 Fulham). Prior to their trip to Bournemouth, the Gunners had only lost one of their first 25 league games in 2024 (W21 D3).
If Liverpool win this game, it’ll be their second-best ever start to a Premier League season after nine games (24 points – currently on 21). Indeed, the only other occasion in which they’ve won 24 or more points at that stage of a Premier League campaign was in 2019-20, when they last won the title (25 – W8 D1).
Arsenal have been shown the most red cards in the Premier League this term (three in eight games), while the record for most dismissals after nine matches of a single season in the competition is four – done twice by Liverpool (1999-00 and 2023-24) and once by both Leicester City (1994-95) and Sunderland (1996-97).
Liverpool have conceded fewer goals than any other team in the Premier League this season (3), while they also have the lowest xG against total (6.2). Their three goals conceded are their joint-fewest after eight games of a league campaign in club history (also three in 1978-79 and 2018-19).
Gabriel Martinelli has been involved in more goals against Liverpool in all competitions than he has against any other side for Arsenal (7 – 5 goals, 2 assists). Four of his five goals against the Reds have put Arsenal in the lead in the match, including all three such Premier League strikes.
Kai Havertz has scored in each of his last five Premier League appearances at the Emirates Stadium. The only Arsenal player to score in more successive home appearances in the competition is Thierry Henry, who has done so twice (6 from March-August 2000 & 7 from May-October 2004).
Declan Rice could make his 250th Premier League appearance in this game. The Arsenal midfielder would be the sixth-youngest player to hit that milestone (25 years, 287 days) and youngest since current teammate Raheem Sterling in March 2020 (25 years, 91 days).
Arsenal will be without the suspended William Saliba for this game, a player who had played every single minute in the Premier League for the Gunners since the start of last season, prior to his red card against Bournemouth. Since making his debut in the competition (August 5 2022), he’s missed just 11 Premier League matches, with Arsenal having a 74% win rate and conceding on average 0.8 goals per game with him in the team compared to a 45% win rate and 1.6 goals conceded per game without him.
