Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool: Gunners frustrated with lack of goals

Arteta’s men looked on course to score goals early on in the game but ultimately fell short of even a draw as Jakub Kiwior headed into his own net from a Trent Alexander-Arnold free kick. Luis Diaz added another to add insult to injury in injury time.

• Liverpool have not lost in their last five games
• Prior to this match, there were nine wins to Arsenal, thirteen to Liverpool, and eleven draws.
• Arsenal and Liverpool drew last time around in the Premier League.

Liverpool missed Dominik Szoboszlai through a hamstring injury, while Mohammed Salah and Wataru Endo were absent through their national teams. 

The third minute gave Arsenal a great chance but Reiss Nelson’s misjudged touch meant he could only strike the side netting, despite having beat Alisson.

A very end-to-end match was already on display in the first ten minutes with both sides seeing a lot of the ball. An Odegaard effort smashed the post in a scare for Liverpool, but nothing else came of the moment.

The 34th minute saw Alexander-Arnold hit a decently struck free kick, which only found the top of the net, despite looking dangerous.

Half-time stats include Arsenal’s outstanding xG (expected goals) of 1.3 as opposed to Liverpool’s 0.1. Thirteen shots, with five on target for the Gunners contrasted Liverpool’s two shots off target.

Arsenal have scored 1 goal from 6.47(xG) over the last three games.

— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) January 7, 2024

Kai Havertz’ standalone xG of 0.22 was the highest of any player as he fluffed a big chance, firing straight into the arms of Alisson.

The 0-0 scoreline at half-time certainly did not reflect the action between the two rivals.

Luis Diaz seemed dangerous in the second half making a few great runs into the Arsenal half, but despite that, Arteta’s men stood firm and managed to keep him out for the time being. 

Diogo Jota entered the field in the 59th minute, for Cody Gakpo. While Mac Allister was also replaced by Ryan Gravenberch.

Despite many more efforts from Arsenal, Arteta issued a change in the 62nd minute seeing Reiss Nelson come off for Gabriel Martinelli - to add more surge into the attack.

The end-to-end basis continued as both Arsenal and Liverpool switched the game up in minutes. Martinelli’s introduction to the game really helped Arsenal match Diogo Jota’s own impact.

80TH MIN GOAL - Drama hit in the 80th minute as Klopp’s men found a goal through an unfortunate Jakub Kiwior own goal. Trent Alexander-Arnold does very well to hit the ball from the free kick and force a goal from the Polish defender. 

90TH MIN GOAL - Luis Diaz's sublime finish cleanly beat Aaron Ramsdale as Liverpool killed the game just before the end, securing their progress to the next round. Arsenal’s desperate counter for their equalizer brought them to their knees.

The 75th minute saw the introduction of two youth products Conor Bradley and Bobby Clark, replacing Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott respectively. The two youngsters put in a shift and were on the field as Liverpool secured their 4th round progress.

Conor Bradley Career

Bojan Radulovic stats career

Season	Team	Competition	Matched Played	Goals	Assists	Yellow Cards	Red Cards
22/23	Bolton	League One	43	5	4	12	0

Bobby Clark Career

Bojan Radulovic stats career

Season	Team	Competition	Matched Played	Goals	Assists	Yellow Cards	Red Cards
2023/24	Liverpool U21	Premier League 2	5	2	3	2	0
2022/23	Liverpool	Premier League	1	0	0	0	0

Arteta’s decision to send as many players as possible in the end came back to bite them. Such a tactic gave Liverpool’s dynamic forwards, especially Luis Diaz, a chance to finish the game off and send the Emirates stadium into despair.

1 - Arsenal have won one of their last seven games in all competitions, losing each of their last three; it's their fewest wins over a seven-game period under Mikel Arteta. LDWDLLL. pic.twitter.com/qMJA0A7fmb

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 7, 2024

Trent Alexander-Arnold was ultimately the man of the match. Despite troubles upon Martinelli’s arrival, the right-back was able to adapt to his situation linking up with Konate almost perfectly as planned. The free-kick forcing Kiwior to mislead the ball was the key point in the game, and turned it to Liverpool’s favor.

Arsenal: Ramsdale 6.8, Kiwior 5.2, Gabriel 6.3, Saliba 6.9, White 6.4, Rice 7.4, Jorginho 7.1, Odegaard 7.6, Havertz 6.1, Nelson 6.6, Saka 6.4

Subs: Martinelli 6.6, Nketiah N/A, Trossard N/A, Smith Rowe N/A..

Liverpool: Becker 8.0, Alexander-Arnold 9.0, Konate 7.4, Quansah 7.0, Gomez 7.3, Elliott 6.6, Mac Allister 6.8, Jones 6.4, Gakpo 6.5, Nunez 6.7, Diaz 7.9.

Subs: Diogo Jota 7.7, Gravenberch 6.6, Clark 6.7, Bradley 7.0.

Match highlights: Manchester City vs Huddersfield Town

Arsenal welcome Crystal Palace to the Emirates on January 30th when the Premier League returns, while Liverpool will play Fulham earlier on the evening of 10th January in the EFL cup.