The heavyweight match-up style might have dimmed a bit – or a lot – but Liverpool v Arsenal remains a fixture to peer your gaze at and look forward to. Perhaps none more so in a while than this season; Arsenal started the season with three straight defeats, shipping nine goals in that time, but haven’t lost a game since, and are in the top six; Liverpool are a formidable title prospect who are the leading scorers in the league, but suffered a first loss in seven months just before the international break.
The stakes are still not as high as they used to be, but the prospect of this game is one to watch. So, as we anticipate a potentially delightful clash at Anfield (we’ve jinxed it now, prepare yourself for drab goalless draw), here are five memorable league meetings between both sides in the past decade:
Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool (2010/11)
On the face of it, a Liverpool v Arsenal game with no goals for over 90% of it, and a combined 11 shots off target doesn’t seem like much. But it was the manner in which the game unfolded that sticks in the memory. Arsenal came into this game with fading title hopes, and Liverpool visited with faded European aspirations, and much of the looked to be stumbling towards a stale draw. But in stoppage time, Arsenal won a penalty, Robin van Persie took it, and scored. Off went the shirt, Arsenal’s slim title hopes were saved. Except not quite, as after the kick-off, Liverpool would get their own penalty, Dirk Kuyt would convert his as well, and suddenly, as the touchline kerfuffle between managers Arsene Wenger and Kenny Dalglish showed, a drab draw had become an incredible one.
Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal (2013/14)
Speaking of title aspirations... when Liverpool hosted Arsenal in February 2014, the stakes were high for the Merseyside club. A win looked of the utmost importance if they were stay in the title race and keep pace with the table-topping Gunners. But pace wasn’t a thing they lacked on the day, as Brendan Rodgers side ran into a 4-0 lead after 25 minutes. Another goal in the second half helped to a 5-1 win, and a month later both teams traded places, with Liverpool leading the table, and the Gunners scrambling to keep up, although neither would end up as champions.
Liverpool 3-3 Arsenal (2015/16)
Again, there was a potential title stake involved. Arsenal were among the chasing pack behind surprise leaders Leicester City in February 2016 (we know how that ended) when they visited Anfield, and a Liverpool only five months into the Jurgen Klopp era. Roberto Firmino scored twice either side of an Aaron Ramsey goal to put Liverpool 2-1 ahead inside half an hour, but Olivier Giroud would score his own brace to turn the game in Arsenal’s favour. But in the last minute, Joe Allen would pop up with the equaliser for Liverpool, sparking typical Klopp celebrations.
Arsenal 3-4 Liverpool (2016/17)
The first Super Sunday of the 2016/17 season involved Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates, six months after that 3-3 draw. Arsenal got off a to flyer with Theo Walcott putting them ahead moments after missing a penalty, but a brilliant Philippe Coutinho free-kick on the stroke of half-time restored parity. Liverpool went on a second half blitz, scoring three in the first 20 minutes, and picking a makeshift Arsenal defence apart. The hosts would pull two back, but there would be no escape, and that early season result proved crucial as Liverpool finished a point ahead of Arsenal in the final Champions League spot.
Arsenal 3-3 Liverpool (2017/18)
Liverpool v Arsenal has provided so many magical games in the past. The Michael Thomas moment, Thierry Henry’s hat-trick, the 4-4 at Anfield. But this Christmas period meeting in 2017 was probably the most bizarre of them. It was game that was notable for lack of quality, and bonkers entertainment. Philippe Coutinho gave Liverpool a half-time lead with a header, and when Mohammed Salah doubled that after the break, that seemed to be that. Except, in the space of eight minutes, Arsenal would turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead, with a combination of slack combination, bad goalkeeping, and a moment of brilliance from Mesut Ozil. But there was still more to come, as Roberto Firmino levelled at 3-3 with a shot that was fumbled by Petr Cech, to mark the most bizarre of games.
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