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Arsenal and Liverpool played out an entertaining fixture at the Emirates in the Premier League which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Both clubs came into the fixture in very impressive form, with Liverpool unbeaten in the league this season, while Arsenal were undefeated in 13 matches across all competitions.
There had been 23 goals scored in the last five fixtures between both sides, and as such fireworks were expected, and the match lived up to its billing, providing end to end excitement that ensured there was almost no dull moment throughout the match.
James Milner put Liverpool ahead in the 61st minute after an error by Bernd Leno in the Arsenal goal, while Alexandre Lacazette leveled matters 20 minutes later with a well-taken goal which was no less than the home side deserved after their impressive display.
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The stalemate moved Liverpool up into first position on the table, albeit briefly as Manchester City and Chelsea are yet to play, while Arsenal remained in fourth place closing the gap on Chelsea in third to two points.
Here are five talking points from the entertaining fixture
#5 Assistant referee makes a horrendous offside gaffe
The matchup started at a frenetic pace, as both teams sought to stamp their authority on the match early on, and as such there were multiple chances at both ends, but poor finishing let both sides down.
The first major talking point came sometime in the first half, after Sadio Mane had put the ball in the net off a rebound from the post off a Firmino shot which was comically flagged for offside by the assistant referee.
Replays showed that although Mane was offside when the original lofted ball from Alexander Arnold was played, that had nothing to do with that for which he was flagged offside.
Firmino was the original recipient of Arnold’s through ball, and the Brazilian was well onside even though Mane was offside at this point. However, after receiving the ball, Firmino took a shot towards the Arsenal goal which rebounded off the post for Mane to tuck in, and in this sequence of play, the Senegalese was nowhere near being offside.
FIFA’s Offside law states that a player can only be considered to be in an offside position if he is ahead of the line of the ball as of the time it was played, and replays showed that Mane was well behind the ball at the time Firmino had his shot at goal, so in no way was that an offside call.
In even more shocking scenes, analysis showed the assistant referee to be at least 5 yards behind the line of ball flight, so in no way could he have been sure of his decision, as he was not in the best position to make a call. In essence, he guessed at Mane being offside, which was a very wrong call, and potentially cost Liverpool three points in the match.
Liverpool fans and coaches were understandably furious at the decision, and rightly so, as this season’s title race could go down to the wire, and be decided by little details such as a dropped point here or there, and this would further increase calls for VAR to be introduced in the Premier League.
#4 Van Dijk emphatic at both ends
Once upon a time (less than ten months ago), solid defense was not something that could be associated with Liverpool, as the Anfield outfit had repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with comical defending and a series of schoolboy errors which cost the team multiple points.
Goalkeepers, defenders, fullbacks, midfielders, nobody was left out of it, as Klopp tried all methods in vain to get his team performing at optimal level in defense.
The club struggled to keep clean sheets, and a common scene in Liverpool’s matches was seeing scorelines which were more reflective of cricket matches than a top-level football match, as the club operated on an outscoring of opponent principle.
It, therefore, came as no surprise when Klopp identified shoring up the defense as a top priority, and made Virgil van Dijk his top target.
A club record amount was spent to purchase him from Southampton, which is also the highest amount expended on a defender, and if anyone was scoffing at the price of the Netherlands center-back, Liverpool are definitely the ones laughing now, as the 27-year-old has proved to be worth every penny expended on him.
He has transformed Liverpool’s defense, with his solid and calm performances, and helped the club keep nine consecutive clean sheets at Anfield until the run was halted by Cardiff last week.
Against Arsenal, he was at his imperious best, proving a nuisance to everything the Gunners threw at Liverpool’s backline, and also came in handy in Liverpool’s attacks.
He had the best chance of the first half, when he showed great technique to control a long ball with his chest, before calmly placing the ball in a manner which any striker would have been proud of, and was destined to end in the back of the net but for a fine stop by Bernd Leno.
His physicality also came to the fore when Liverpool were attacking or defending setpieces, and he had a couple of chances from corner kicks, hitting the post on one occasion.
Liverpool may have paid £75m for Van Dijk’s services, but on account of his performances so far, it is proving to be a bargain.
#3 Bernd Leno errors
The match was finely poised at 0-0, with Arsenal having the slight advantage when Leno handed the initiative to Liverpool curtsy a clumsy punch-out.
Saido Mane played in an innocuous square ball into the Arsenal box, and Leno did well to get there ahead of any onrushing Liverpool attacker, but he inexplicably opted to punch the ball straight back into the penalty box, rather than parry it away to safety.
The result was that James Milner grabbed his 50th Premier League goal in fine style, showing great composure to keep his shot low and into the back of the empty net to put Liverpool 1-0 ahead.
Earlier, the German goalkeeper also made some other gaffes, such as when he clattered Virgil Van Dijk in the Arsenal box, which should have seen The Reds awarded a penalty, but Andre Marriner waved play on.
Leno was bought in the summer from Bayer Leverkusen to be the long-term replacement for the legendary Petr Cech, and if he is to step into the substantial shoes of the Czech maestro, he would need to significantly step up.
#2 Iwobi the difference maker
Alex Iwobi has been one of the revelations of the season thus far, proving himself invaluable to the Arsenal team this season, and central to every attacking move orchestrated by the Gunners.
The 22-year-old is a nephew to the legendary Jay-Jay Okocha, and showed that the skillset runs in the family with his displays this season for Arsenal.
He has put on numerous match-winning performances for the North London club this season, and against Liverpool, he was once more at it.
He started the match on the bench, before being introduced for the lethargic and ineffectual Mkhitaryan, and the Nigerian international immediately proved his worth, getting into position and distributing the ball effectively for his teammates, with the result being that Arsenal got on the front foot immediately Iwobi stepped onto the pitch.
It was his pin-point defense-splitting pass which drew Alisson out from the Liverpool goal, and put Lacazette through to score the emphatic equalizer for Arsenal to ensure the spoils were shared at the Emirates.
For so long Iwobi found his value to the Arsenal team questioned, as he failed to hold down a first team spot, but on account of his showings so far, he seems ready to step up to the plate.
#1 Arsenal second-half kings
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League matches, winning seven of those, but surprisingly, The Gunners are yet to go into half-time of any Premier League match this season in the lead.
They have proved themselves to be stronger in the second half, scoring 19 of their 25 league goals after the break.
Even more impressively, they have picked up eight points from losing positions this season, which is more than any other Premier League side, as Emery has helped forge Arsenal into a compact side who never give up until the final whistle, which is a far cry from what was obtainable under Arsene Wenger, as Arsenal were accused of having a soft underbelly.
Resilience is a key trait of the greatest footballing sides, and on evidence of what we’ve seen so far, Emery could be on his way to restoring the greatness back to Arsenal.
