Slot impressed with Liverpool's comeback powers against Arsenal
Arne Slot survived his and Liverpool’s first match against one of last season’s top five as they twice came from behind to score an important draw against a patched-up Arsenal side. They looked set to take all three points after Mo Salah scored a late equaliser to deny Mikel Merino a winner after Virgil van Dijk had cancelled out Bukayo Saka’s early strike for Arsenal. Manchester City, meanwhile, stay top without having to play.
Arsenal had already taken seven points from away fixtures at City, Aston Villa and Tottenham but badly wanted a win here after losing at Bournemouth last time out. They have had the harder start of all the obvious title contenders and have been without captain Martin Odegaard, Starboy Saka and influential midfielder Declan Rice in most of their key matches to date. This time William Saliba was suspended and his defensive partner Gabriel came off injured at the start of the second half.
Either way, Arsenal ended up disappointed not to win as Arteta managed to send up a more than makeshift starting like up with Saka starting and Jurrien Timber returning for the crocked Richy Calafiori. Neither lasted 90 minutes and they suffered another potentially huge blow when Gabriel hobbled off shortly into the second half.
Liverpool manager Slot said he was very pleased with the point after his side battled back and finished the match on top. He said: "Arsenal dominated the first half and we had to make changes to adapt., I was very pleased after the long week away in Europe and the way we came back.”
Arsenal’s stand-in captain (for the still injured Martin Odegaard) Saka summed up the mood in the camp afterwards when he said: "We are disappointed, credit to Liverpool. We feel like we didn't play the full 90 minutes. First half we showed our qualities, gave them nothing and they scored from a set piece. I can't think of another chance they had. Second half we weren't at our best.
"They had more momentum, won more duels, kept more possession and naturally momentum goes to them and we have to defend."
The England winger also hinted Arteta was wrong to take him off in the 85th minute and added: “I thought I could finish the game but gaffer took me off."
Arsenal felt they should have had a late winner through Kai Havertz only for local hate gigure referee Antony Taylor to deny the strike for what he gave as a foul in the build-up. No VAR delay this time.
Arteta refused to comment on any of the opfficiating, but looed to be seething in his post0-match press conference as he said: “We are very disapoointed not to win considering what we are going through at the moment and the way we dominated the game for so long.”
Slot had no issue with the ref, but did obJect to Arsenal’s time-wasting as they tried to protect their lead. He was keen to point that he had been booked for complaining about it too. The Dutch coach said "They (Arsenal) always fell down when they had ball possession. I said to Ibou Konate: 'This is a ****ing joke', but the fourth official thought I was talking to him. I got a yellow for that!"
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk refuted suggestions Arsenal had done well to hold them with a makeshift line up, claiming they were missing only two players. He alksop commented: "It sounds very cliche but it's better than losing. There were opportunities for us to try and win the game. The first half was difficult. We came out well in the second half and pushed for the equaliser. We move on."
Saka shot arsenal ahead inside ten minutes. Ben White, filling in for the suspended Saliba at centre back, spotted his old wingman in space down the right and sprang him with a deft pass over the top of last Liverpool defender Andy Robertson. Perhaps Liverpool should have doubled up on Arsenal’s Starboy, van Dijk more alert to the possibility that Saka was capable of nutmegging his team-mate to cut in and score.
It was only the beginning of a breathless, dramatic start as Arsenal tried to double down on their lead while trying to get out of their own half and cope with Liverpool’s suffocating press. No big surprise then when van Dijk headed in the 18th minute equaliser after Luis Diaz flicked on a near post Alexis Mac Allister corner.
Merino had made a mess of a great chance from a deadly Declan Rice free-kick earlier on but made no mistake in an identical set piece on 43 minutes when he sent in Arsenal’s second from another superb Rice free-kick from the right.
Slot cracked with about half an hour to go when he made a triple substitution and look to get back into the game and more. That Arsenal had keeper Raya booked for time-wasting over a goal kick betrayed the home side’s mindset.
But it was when they got caught with too many players going forward that Liverpool seized their chance to score with a well taken 81st minute Salah strike. Trent Alexander-Arnold sent Nunez clear on the right, chased by a posse of desperate defenders and squared the ball to Mo Salah to finish unmarked from around the penalty spot and join Robbie Fowler as the club’s joint top Premier League scorer.
Arsenal: Raya 6; Partey 7, White 6, Gabriel 6 (Kiwior 54), Timber 7 (Lewis-Skelly 76); Rice 7, Merino 7, Trossard 6; Saka 8 (Jesus 85), Martinelli 7 (Nwaneri, 85), Havertz. Subs: Neto, Nichols, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Sterling.
Liverpool: Kelleher 6; Alexander-Arnold 7, Konate 6, Van Dijk 6, Robertson 5 (Tsimikas 63); Gravenberch 7, Mac Allister 5 (Szoboszlai 63); Salah 7, Jones 6 (Endo 90), Diaz 6 (Gakpo 63); Nunez 6. Subs: Jaros, Davies, Gomez, Quansah, Morton.
Ref: Anthony Taylor 5
