Liverpool come from behind twice to draw at Arsenal

Mohamed Salah proved the saviour for Liverpool as they twice fought back to earn a 2-2 draw against Arsenal in a pulsating encounter between two Premier League title rivals at the Emirates Stadium.

The Egyptian finished a clinical Liverpool counter-attack on 81 minutes to earn a point, capping a second half that saw Arsenal lose Gabriel Magalhaes to injury and Jurrien Timber also forced off.

Bukayo Saka had given Arsenal a ninth-minute lead with his 50th Premier League strike and Mikel Merino's first Gunners goal had them in front by the break after Virgil van Dijk's equaliser.

But it was Salah who had the final say to ensure the spoils would be shared, sending Liverpool home with an important point in the bag.

Arne Slot's men are consequently second in the table, just a point behind leaders Manchester City, while Mikel Arteta's Gunners are five off top spot in third.

How the match unfolded

Saka struck first when he received Ben White's excellent long ball in the right-hand channel, then turned Andrew Robertson and lashed past Caoimhin Kelleher at his near post.

Salah then failed to punish a mis-control from Merino but Liverpool were level when Luis Diaz flicked on a Trent Alexander-Arnold corner for Van Dijk to nod in from close range.

Merino fluffed his lines from one Declan Rice set-piece just before the break, but he made no mistake at the second attempt as he headed home from the England midfielder's delicious whipped free-kick to restore Arsenal's lead.

Liverpool gained more of a foothold when Arsenal lost Gabriel and Timber after the interval, though, and they had the hosts noticeably penned deeper inside their own half.

Eventually the pressure told when Alexander-Arnold bent a beautiful ball forward for Darwin Nunez, who squared for Salah to slot home the equaliser.

Defensive woes prove too much for Arsenal

Last week's defeat at AFC Bournemouth not only put a dent in Arsenal's title hopes, but it also came at the cost of a suspension for William Saliba.

With Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu injured, Arteta faced a headache that was partially solved by the return of Timber and saw Thomas Partey play at right-back.

It was a solution that initially appeared to work, though it has to be said the return of Saka – missing against Bournemouth and Shakhtar Donetsk through injury – was also a huge boost.

Robertson struggled all game to get a grip of Saka, who became the youngest Arsenal player to reach a half-century of Premier League goals.

Rice was also typically excellent and Merino saw one inviting delivery from his team-mate come off his heel, though the chance for his goal soon afterwards was almost unmissable, such was the quality of Rice's cross.

But you could sense a shift when Gabriel and Timber exited the field in the second half and, although Liverpool initially struggled to find the killer ball, Arsenal's resolve finally yielded and Arteta will now face a nervy wait to learn the extent of his latest injury woes.

Liverpool show their mettle

Liverpool knew this was a great chance to really enhance their title credentials and the absence of Saliba for the Gunners will have provided a big pre-game boost.

The Reds will be disappointed with the opener, not just Robertson getting turned but Van Dijk being nowhere on the cover to thwart Saka, who was also on target when Arsenal won last season's corresponding fixture 3-1 in February.

The equaliser from their captain provided a shot in the arm, though if anything it only served to strengthen the resolve of the hosts, who began to dominate the midfield battle.

But in fairness to the Reds, they showed character and the second half was already becoming more attritional prior to Arsenal's injury misfortune.

Though they initially struggled to turn the extra pressure into clear-cut chances, when the moment came – thanks to Alexander-Arnold's exquisite pass – Salah was there, as he has so often been in the past, to secure a point and show Liverpool's mettle.

Coming off the back of a hard-fought win over an impressive Chelsea team a week ago, this point showed Liverpool have what it takes to be in the title picture this season.

Club reports

Arsenal report | Liverpool report

What managers said

Mikel Arteta: "Very proud of the team. The courage, quality, domination in the game we wanted to play especially in the first half. Should've been a bigger score in first half, they came out in second half and we didn't have courage.

"We deserved to win the game. We were the better team. Learnings from both goals, second one is a transition moment we have to end up in final third. You can not give that away."

Arne Slot: "To go two times behind with the fans being so loud and the team coming back so strong in the second half, I didn’t feel we deserved to go in 2-1 behind.

"It’s very pleasing to see we had the energy and we were so strong to fight back in the game. We did really good but we were really strong today." 

Next Premier League fixtures Key facts

Arsenal have failed to win back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time since New Year’s Eve in 2023 (v West Ham and Fulham). They’ve also failed to win two of the four home league matches they’ve scored first in this season (W2 D2), one more than in the whole of last term (scored first in 14 – W13 D1).

Liverpool are unbeaten away from home across all competitions this season, winning six of their seven games (D1). Indeed, Arne Slot is the first Liverpool manager to not lose any of his first seven away matches in charge since William Connell in February 1923.

Despite relinquishing their lead on two occasions, Arsenal remain unbeaten in five Premier League meetings with Liverpool (W2 D3); their longest run without defeat against the Reds in the competition since October 2007 – April 2011 (eight matches).

Liverpool conceded twice in the first half of a Premier League game for the first time since December 2023 (two versus Fulham). Indeed, 40 per cent of the Reds’ goals conceded in the competition under Arne Slot were scored by the Gunners today (2/5).