Arsenal clinch vital three points in the title race

Liverpool went into this game knowing that a win would see them go eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table while a win for Arsenal would keep the top three close together.

And it was the Gunners who started the game the best. Mikel Arteta's side were energised and pressing high up the pitch with Bukayo Saka having a great chance to head in from close early on but fluffing his lines.

While Saka may have missed that chance he was unlikely to miss another.

The England international put the home side up in the 14th minute. Martin Odegaard's pass found Kai Havertz through on goal. Alisson did well to deny Havertz but the ball bounced to Saka who was able to take a quick touch and then find the net.

Arsenal couldn't keep their early energy up and the rest of the first half became scrappy before being punctuated by a farcical equaliser.

William Saliba looked to be jostling the ball away from Luis Díaz in the Arsenal box. However, the Colombian got a toe to the ball which then bizarrely bounced off the hand of Gabriel and into the Arsenal net.

It was one of the strangest goals of the season so far and meant that the visitors went into half-time level 1-1 despite not having a shot on target. 

Jürgen Klopp's team looked more lively in the second half with Curtis Jones having a good effort fizz just wide of the post.

However, they were undone by the game's second bizarre goal. Gabriel's long ball over the top released Gabriel Martinelli.

It looked like the combination of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson had it covered by a slight nudge by Martinelli into the Liverpool defender meant that the goalkeeper couldn't complete his clearance. Instead, the ball was sitting nicely for Martinelli to slide into an empty net and restore Arsenal's lead.

One good piece of news from this game for Liverpool is that Thiago made his return when he came off the bench in the 85th minute – the midfielder making his first appearance since April 2023.

Liverpool's attempt to get back into this game was dealt a big blow when they went down to ten men. Ibrahim Konaté stopped Havertz on the counter which led to his second yellow card of the game.

With Liverpool down to 10 men, Arsenal were able to add to their tally and kill off the game in stoppage time.

Leandro Trossard had time and space on the right – especially with Díaz now operating as a makeshift right-back – and was able to keep moving up the left flank.

Eventually, Van Dijk was able to get there but all the defender could do was get a touch on Trossard's shot which made it divert through the legs of Alisson to wrap up an important 3-1 victory. 

xG: Arsenal (3.76) 3-1 (0.41) Liverpool

A proper team performance 🙌 pic.twitter.com/q6LBJiyfgP

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) February 4, 2024