Dominant Arsenal performance puts the London side back into a title charge

The match which was pipped to be the "game of the season" did not disappoint. Ultimately the game was won in the midfield by the much superior Arsenal who enjoyed more control of the match.

But things did not go according to plan for the Gunners, Going into the dying seconds of the first half after controlling the game for the whole of the first half, David Raya and William Saliba second-guessed a long ball which resulted in Colombian Luis Diaz putting a ball across Arsenal's box, ultimately being put into the back of the net by the unlucky Gabriel.

Arsenal would have kicked themselves if they let this one slip away after playing one of their best halves all season. Luckily for Arsenal, they didn’t.

The shell-shocked Emirates was sent into a state of euphoria by Martinelli's goal which capitalised on an unexpected mistake by the experienced partnership of Alisson and Virgil Van Dijk.

At the end of the frustrating second half for Liverpool, it was clear they lost their calm. A red card for Konate put the cherry on top. Substitute Leandro Trossard killed the game in the 93rd minute after a driving run from afar.

Story of the game

It was always going to be a tough game, two of the best defences in the league mixed with two of the best strike forces in the league, fans have been looking forward to this game since it was on the horizon. Going into the second half of the season with victories over Manchester City and Liverpool Arsenal will be over the moon. The mental block the Gunners have had in previous seasons against the big sides seems to be a thing of the past and ultimately gives the side even more confidence to build with.

Arsenal started the match strongly with Martinelli in the tenth minute putting a pinpoint cross straight into Saka's path who headed wide in an almost empty net. Liverpool then matched it at the other end a minute later when Gakpo ran off the back of the Arsenal defence, and rushed his wayward shot.

Arsenal then broke the deadlock in the 14th minute through Bukayo Saka. Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard played Havertz into the space that Van Dijk left, Havertz then had a poor attempt at goal which was luckily parried into Saka's path by goalkeeper Alisson who calmly slotted the ball home.

The game then fell stale broken up a succession of fouls and yellow cards to Joe Gomez in the 24th minute and Ben White's booking in the 30th minute for repeated time-wasting.

Then out of nowhere a long ball, which Liverpool had their main success with throughout the first half wasn’t dealt with by either Saliba or Raya and after pressure from Diaz was put into Arsenal's net by defender Gabriel. Suddenly the Emirates fell flat and it seemed all too familiar of years gone past.

Arsenal's dominance in the first half suddenly mattered for nothing. Their 2.03 expected goals from eight shots were vastly superior to Liverpool's 0.10 from 3 shots. Arsenal of a few seasons ago would have collapsed.

Liverpool came out for the second half firing, creating two quick-fire chances for both Diaz and Curtis Jones which was followed by Arteta's side with a high-quality chance for Odegaard.

Centre halves from both sides Konate and Gabriel then went into referee Anthony Taylor’s book for fouls in the 54th and 56th minute.

Following Gabriel's yellow Liverpool made a triple substitution; Darwin Nunez for Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson for Gakpo and finally Harvey Elliott for Gravenberch. Gomez moved back into his more natural right-back position with Nunez playing a central role.

Unfortunately, these changes were made irrelevant in the 66th minute when a horror defensive moment for Van Dijk and Alisson caused Martinelli to slot the ball into an open net. Following this the Emirates sprung into life and it never looked like Liverpool was going to get something out of the game.

Trossard came on for goalscorer Martinelli in the 74th minute much to the frustration of the Brazilian international who was getting joy down Liverpool's right-hand side and felt he had more to offer in the game. In the 79th minute, Saka limped off for fellow academy graduate Reiss Nelson to replace him.

Spanish international Thiago Alcântara came on for Gomez in the 85th minute, his first league appearance since April 2023.

At this point of the match, things had become laboured for Klopp’s Liverpool with already-booked Konate receiving his marching orders for a high arm that broke up an Arsenal attack. This was then followed up by Arsenal defender Gabriel pulling back Núñez in a rare Liverpool attack in the 90th minute which the Brazilian was not booked for. Núñez was then booked for his furious reaction.

Following another yellow card this time for Arsenal's Saliba for taking his time over a free kick in the 91st minute. Substitute Trossard then capitalised in the 92nd minute against the tired Liverpudlian defence driving the ball past Elliott and Diaz before firing the ball through Alisson's legs with help from an unfortunate touch from Van Dijk.

Following the late goal the game was broken up even more with yellow cards to both Rice (94th minute) and Havertz (95th minute.)

Man of the Match - Jorginho

Since signing for Arsenal in last year's January transfer window, question marks have risen over his ability to make a difference in a title-challenging side. The match tonight proved why 12 million was a shrewd piece of business by Arsenal.

The Italian international was the calmest player on the pitch, playing to a very level in a double pivot with Rice. To say this was his first start in the league since November he looked like he never left.

With a performance that has rolled back the years, the 32-year-old has forced himself into Arteta's thoughts, especially with the uncertainty of injury-prone Partey.

What Now?

Liverpool remain 2 points ahead of Arsenal with both sides playing 23 matches. Reigning champions Manchester City lurk five points off Liverpool with two games in hand.

Liverpool's next fixture is against Burnley at home. The match will take place on Saturday the 10th of February at 3 pm local time.

Arsenal travel to East London to play West Ham. The match takes place on Sunday the 11th of February at 2 pm local time.