Arsenal defeat Liverpool at the Emirates to reduce their deficit to the Reds at the top of the Premier League table to just two points. We look back at all the important data angles from the game with our Arsenal vs Liverpool stats report.
Liverpool suffered just their second defeat of the Premier League season as they lost 3-1 to Arsenal. Both of those defeats have come in north London (the other vs Tottenham in September), with this loss opening the exciting 2023-24 title race up once more.
The Reds still lead the Premier League table ahead of Arsenal by two points but know that Manchester City could now overtake them if they win their two games in hand, both coming against Brentford this month.
It took a terrible mix-up between the usually-dependant Alisson and Virgil van Dijk in the 67th minute for Arsenal to eventually decide the game. Gabriel Martinelli took full advantage of the pair’s inability to deal with a seemingly innocuous ball over the top for his third goal in as many league appearances. Overall, the Brazilian has now scored five goals against Liverpool in all competitions – against no side has he scored more for Arsenal.
Liverpool had won a league-high 19 points from losing positions coming into this match, so after Luis Díaz saw his cutback cannon off Gabriel Magalhães’ arm and into the goal deep into first-half injury time, the writing seemed on the wall for another crucial Liverpool comeback. It wasn’t to be, though.
It was nearly the perfect first half for Arsenal. One-nil ahead thanks to Bukayo Saka’s 14th-minute strike, it looked like they would head into the break with a slender lead from a dominant attacking performance across the opening 45 minutes. However, Gabriel’s own goal sent Liverpool in level at the break without even attempting a shot on target.
Arsenal had taken the lead after Reds’ captain Van Dijk had been drawn from a central defensive position, leaving space for Kai Havertz to run in behind. The former Chelsea man found himself one-on-one with Alisson but based on his finishing in the Premier League so far across his career, not many would have fancied him to score. As it turned out, he didn’t. Thankfully for the German, Saka was perfectly placed to slam home the rebound and put Arsenal 1-0 in front.
Saka’s goal made him just the second Premier League player this season to score more than 10 goals (11) and provide more than 10 assists (12) across all competitions – along with Liverpool’s Darwin Núñez.
That strike also saw Arsenal score first against Liverpool for the fourth successive Premier League meeting, but unlike the game at Anfield earlier this season, they went on to pick up all three points on this occasion.
It was a meek attacking performance from Liverpool, who didn’t even attempt a shot on target until the 62nd minute. Expected goals (xG) don’t always show the true story of a single match, but in this case, they truthfully display Arsenal dominance in this win. Their xG total of 3.52 was the highest xG conceded by Liverpool in the Premier League on record, overtaking Man City’s 3.47 on 7 February 2021, which included a penalty kick.
Ibrahima Konaté’s 88th-minute red card – Liverpool’s fifth of the Premier League season, which equals a club record in the competition – left further gaps at the back and Arsenal were able to capitalise to seal the game in injury time. Leandro Trossard put the icing on the cake with his goal in the 92nd minute, finishing through Alisson’s legs via a slight deflection.
The Premier League title may not be won or lost by this result, but it will have certainly given Arsenal confidence when they needed it most. It also dents Liverpool’s momentum ahead of an important six weeks in which they play in the EFL Cup final at Wembley and finish with back-to-back Premier League games against title rivals Man City and local rivals Everton.
Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool: Post-Match Opta Facts
- Arsenal have won two of their four Premier League games against teams starting the day top of the table under Mikel Arteta (L2 – both wins against Liverpool), as many victories as they had in their previous 17 such matches prior to the Spaniard’s arrival (D4 L11).
- Liverpool have only lost two of their last 34 games in the Premier League (W22 D10), with both of those defeats coming in away games in north London – versus Spurs in September 2023 and Arsenal today.
- Arsenal are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games against Liverpool (W2 D2), their longest unbeaten run against the Reds in the competition since between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 campaigns (W1 D3).
- Arsenal have opened the scoring in four straight league games against Liverpool for the first time since between August 1967 and November 1970 (a run of six). Indeed, Arsenal are the team with the most goals scored in the opening 15 minutes of Premier League games against Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool (6).
- Liverpool have scored in each of their last 17 Premier League games against Arsenal; the longest ever run by a team facing the Gunners in the competition. All 17 of those games have been since Jürgen Klopp took charge of the Reds (45 goals scored in total).
- Gabriel Martinelli has scored five goals against Liverpool, his joint-most against an opponent for Arsenal (level with Crystal Palace). In addition, no player has been directly involved in more Premier League goals against the Reds since the start of last season (5 – 3 goals, 2 assists).
- Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka is one of only two Premier League players with more than 10+ goals and 10+ assists across all competitions this season (11 goals, 12 assists), along with Darwin Núñez.
- Gabriel Magalhães scored the first own goal in this Premier League fixture (Arsenal v Liverpool) since March 2012, when Laurent Koscielny also put through his own net for Arsenal.
Arsenal vs Liverpool Timeline
Arsenal vs Liverpool Stats Centre
Our Opta match centre delivers you all of the Arsenal vs Liverpool stats from Sunday’s Premier League game at the Emirates Stadium.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own post-match analysis of the game.
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