Having made a spirited second-half comeback to secure another 2-2 draw with Premier League champions Liverpool at Anfield, it was the sixth league encounter in a row in which Arsenal has remained unbeaten.
The Gunners had a potentially bright start-to-match mood, still coming on the heels of a humiliating Champions League exit to PSG-when-came-the-battering. Cody Gakpo opened the scoring with a powerful header from a cross laid by Andrew Robertson.
And within seconds, Luis Díaz had added the second after a refined build-up that featured Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah. It was a thoroughly dominant display by Liverpool in the first half, with David Raya putting up some big saves to keep Arsenal on his back.
Mikel Arteta, however, stood proud into the halftime, his side kicking the ball and scoring goals after the break. Only three minutes into the second half, Leandro Trossard’s delivery was dipped perfectly by Gabriel Martinelli to pull one back with a fine header. Arsenal kept the pressure up and were rewarded for their efforts when Mikel Merino was first to react to a rebound, heading home after Alisson had pushed Ødegaard’s shot onto the post.
The celebrations were short-lived for Merino as he was sent off late on for a second bookable offence. Liverpool thought they had grabbed a late winner through Robertson but were denied by the VAR. This draw puts Arsenal closer to securing Champions League football for next season.
