Arsenal fell to defeat on Wednesday night after Dani Ceballos saw his penalty saved by Caoimhin Kelleher before Curtis Jones was able to convert and send Liverpool through to the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup.
It was yet another thrilling contest between the two Premier League heavyweights, with ten goals shipped across ninety minutes before a narrow 5-4 penalty shootout. Jurgen Klopp's side initially took the lead following a mistake from Shkodran Mustafi, who diverted former-Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's driven cross into his own net.
However, it was the London-based club that took much of the ascendency in the first-half, benefitting from the lack of VAR as Lucas Torreira's equaliser in the nineteenth minute stood despite appearing offside before capitalising on sloppy passages of play from the home side. Gabriel Martinelli impressed once again with a quick-fire double in the space of ten minutes before James Milner's penalty ensured Arsenal's lead was cut in half at the interval.
The second-half continued in an equally frantic manner, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles restoring the Gunners two goal advantage before a sensational volley from outside the area by Chamberlain sent the Kop into raptures.
It was a goal of the highest order from the England international, who had scored a similarly brilliant goal a week earlier against Genk in the Champions League. However, a similarly enthralling effort from young Joe Willock in the 70th minute would arguably be the goal of the match, appearing to send Unai Emery's side towards the quarter-finals after Origi's equaliser eight minutes prior.
There was to be late drama though, with Divock Origi again coming up trumps for the Reds, producing a scissor kick in front of the Kop to send the match to penalties. From there, both sides looked impenetrable until Ceballos saw his effort well saved by Liverpool's 20-year-old 'keeper. Klopp's side would capitalise on the mistake, with Jones the man to seal Arsenal's fate and draw the curtains on their involvement in the competition for another year.
Emery reflects on 'crazy match' following penalty defeat at Anfield
Speaking after the match, Unai Emery highlighted the frenetic nature of the contest, pointing to the high rhythm and intensity of his side's play while noting the defensive frailties shown by both outfits.
"It was a crazy match but I think it was amazing. In 90 minutes, as a supporter, I enjoyed it. I said to the players in the first-half there was a very high rhythm and a very good performance in general."
"You can speak about the defensive moments tactically. When two teams concede five goals, you can only be happy if you win. But I think playing m matches [like that] will help us be happy with that energy, speed and performance from two teams."
"After, we were very close to winning but the last actions and the penalty shootout are 50/50 situations and really, we are disappointed. Conceding five goals is another thing to fix but there were a lot of positive things for us to use in the next matches.
Emery admits dressing room were dejected after agonising defeat
Asked whether the dressing room were flat after losing the way they did having been in the ascendency at several periods of the match, particularly at 4-2 up in the second-half, Emery admitted his side were left dejected by the penalty defeat.
"Yes because I think we were very close to winning and we had a good performance and taking confidence in the first-half. In the second-half when they equalised, we scored the fifth goal which was amazing and was a very good, exciting moment for us and the supporters."
The last goal was the bad moment for us in this 90 minutes and the penalties were 50/50 for each team. We lost in that moment but I think we did very good things and players will take confidence. Now the most important thing is to focus on the match on Saturday and be ready."
Arsenal face Wolves on Saturday afternoon, currently sitting in 5th place in the Premier League table, four points behind third placed Leicester City but only three behind tenth-placed West Ham.
Thus, a strong performance at the weekend will be imperative to Emery's hopes of keeping apace with the top-four battle, while offering a crucial response to a disappointing draw against Crystal Palace last weekend.