Emirates Stadium was the place where Liverpool visited Arsenal in another Premier League match. We have tonight’s player ratings.
Liverpool had a complicated return from the international break against Arsenal, they visited North London’s Emirates Stadium. On paper, we all hoped this could be a leveled affair between two of the most competitive sides in English football. But the reality is that the Gunners simply are one level below the Premier League’s elite right now. Even though they struggled this season in the tournament, Liverpool is still one of the most competitive sides when most of the players are fit.
Today was a perfect test before facing Real Madrid in the Champions League next week, which is the real target for Klopp and his boys. Mikel Arteta managed to hold on the draw until the second half, when the German coach decided to take Firmino off. Bobby is not doing well, he seems like he needs a breath of fresh air. In his place, Diogo Jota proved he came to Liverpool to succeed.
Jota and Salah lead the Reds to victory.
After getting on the pitch to replace Firmino, Diogo Jota needed only three minutes to respond to Jurgen Klopp’s challenge. The man who served him a beautiful cross was Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is also struggling to find his best form this season. But today, he delivered on the same level he’s shown in previous seasons. Jota’s header was absolutely majestic to open the scoreboard for Liverpool. After that, the Reds started having even more fun with open spaces.
Mo Salah broke Thierry Henry’s record after getting to 93 goals in 150 Premier League matches, which is one more than the Arsenal legend. The Egyptian star also set Diogo Jota up for the third goal after passing it to Mane before Diogo came to finish the job. He was in a better position to score the third goal of the evening. With this victory, Liverpool gets to 49 points just two away from the Top Four. Also, they needed this confidence boost before facing Real Madrid at Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium.
Player ratings
Arsenal: Leno (4), Chambers (4), Tierney (5), Holding (4), Gabriel (5), Partey (5), Ceballos (6), Odegaard (5), Pepe (4), Aubameyang (5), Lacazette (5).
Bench: Soares (5), Elneny (5), Martinelli (6).
Liverpool: Alisson (7), Alexander-Arnold (8), Phillips (7), Kabak (7), Robertson (7), Thiago (8), Fabinho (8), Milner (7), Salah (9), Mane (7), Firmino (5).
Bench: Jota (9), Wijnaldum (6), Williams (6).
Feel free to make your pick on player’s ratings and performances using the widget below.