Anfield was supposed to provide a painful experience for Arsenal and for 66 minutes Liverpool obliged. Then Trent Alexander-Arnold entered the fray and everything changed, not least his standing among his fellow Liverpool supporters. The punishment was transferred to one of their own.
The boos started as soon as Alexander-Arnold waited on the sideline to replace Conor Bradley, reached a crescendo when he stepped onto the pitch and continued every time he touched the ball. His applause for the Kop after the final whistle brought another round of condemnation for the Real Madrid-bound defender, Dominik Szoboszlai making his displeasure at the reaction clear with a gesture towards the fans. The Alexander-Arnold show was too much of a distraction, his introduction a mistake, and Arsenal, two goals down at the interval, completed their comeback through Mikel Merino’s header. Gabriel Martinelli had earlier given Mikel Arteta’s team hope after Cody Gakpo and Luis Díaz had established a seemingly comfortable lead for Liverpool.
The home of the new Premier League champions was seemingly the last place Arsenal wanted to be and it showed at times in the first half. Fresh from their Champions League elimination by Paris Saint-Germain, Arteta’s side not only had to form a guard of honour for Liverpool before kick off but listen to a soundtrack of “Bring on the champions” and “Where’s your European Cups?” as they did so. Declan Rice was a notable absentee following the midweek exertions in Paris.
Arsenal’s motivation was greater than Liverpool’s with their place in next season’s Champions League not mathematically certain and their hold on the runners-up spot under threat. The incentive for Slot’s side was to show their nearest rivals in the table – challengers would be exaggerating Arsenal’s league campaign – why they are convincing champions and to address last weekend’s blip at Chelsea.
Anfield initially heeded Slot’s call to concentrate its energies on the team and not Alexander-Arnold following Monday’s confirmation that he will be leaving the club on a free transfer at the end of the season. Bradley’s name was chanted throughout and the contender for Alexander-Arnold’s right back slot next season announced himself on proceedings with a crunching, but clean, tackle on Martinelli after 46 seconds.
A minute later Bradley caught Merino in the back as they leapt for Ben White’s cross-field ball. Arsenal should have taken the lead from Martin Ødegaard’s resulting free-kick. As Liverpool moved out to catch four Arsenal players offside, Bukayo Saka raced in from an onside position to meet his captain’s delivery. Six yards out and with Alisson exposed in the Liverpool goal, Saka scuffed a shot wide of the far post.
Arsenal made a lively start but, in a sign of things to come, Liverpool sliced through their casual defence with ease at the first serious attempt. It took a fine save from David Raya to deny Díaz after the Colombia international, Gakpo and Mohamed Salah combined impressively.
Another excellent opportunity came and went for Arsenal when Thomas Partey dispossessed Curtis Jones inside the Liverpool penalty area. The midfielder left the second ball to Leandro Trossard, who left it to Partey, while Ødegaard ran past the pair of them. By the time someone decided to take responsibility, Liverpool had enough men back to block Trossard’s shot.
In the 20th minute Arsenal fell asleep. By the time they awoke in the 21st they were two goals down. The brief but damaging collapse commenced when Andy Robertson released Gakpo clear of Ben White down the left. Gakpo was unable to find the unmarked Salah, or release a shot with any conviction, and Arsenal cleared for a throw-in that was taken quickly by Jones. Robertson found himself in acres of space where White should have been and centred for Gakpo to head home at the near post. William Saliba, White and Jakub Kiwior all stood off and admired the forward’s 10th league goal of the season.
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Within seconds of the restart Liverpool regained possession and Salah swept a glorious pass between Kiwior and Myles Lewis-Skelly into the run of Szoboszlai. The midfielder squared beyond Raya and Díaz slid in to apply the finishing touch. “Best team in Europe? You’re having a laugh,” sang the Kop, mocking Arteta’s claims regarding his team’s Champions League performance this season.
Díaz and Jones could have added a third for Liverpool before the break but, shortly after the restart, Martinelli dragged the visitors back into the contest when glancing Trossard’s cross into the bottom corner of Alisson’s goal. Bradley afforded Trossard too much time to deliver a pin-point assist.
The atmosphere, and indeed the flow of the game, turned when Alexander-Arnold was introduced as part of a triple substitution in the 66th minute. The boyhood Liverpool fan entered the fray to universal boos – prompting teammates to applaud him in encouragement – and the same treatment was applied to his every touch. Liverpool appeared collectively stunned by the reception and, after another Alexander-Arnold pass was booed, Arsenal equalised immediately. Alisson could only push Ødegaard’s powerful 20 yard drive onto a post. Merino was first to react and headed the rebound in unmarked.
The Arsenal midfielder was sent off with ten minutes remaining for a foul on Szoboszlai, his second yellow card offence of the game, and Alexander-Arnold of all people stepped up to take the free-kick. It sailed agonisingly wide. Robertson thought he had clinched victory in the 96th minute, and on his 250th league appearance for the club, when turning in the rebound when Raya saved solidly from Virgil van Dijk’s header. He was ruled offside, however, and there would be no glossing over the reception for his fellow full-back.
