One of the most important fixtures came in January 2002 when the Reds traveled to north London to face Arsene Wenger’s side in the fourth round at Highbury.Liverpool were left on the wrong end of a 1-0 lead after Dennis Bergkamp’s header was enough to separate the two sides. However, the news was not that the two sides were hostile.
The hosts were reduced to nine men with Martin Keown and Bergkamp sent off and there were three red cards as Jamie Carragher also received a red card. Arsenal defender Keown was brought down after Michael Owen was brought down across goal, while goalscorer Bergkamp was sent off four minutes later for a two-footed shot at Carragher. Bergkamp and the Arsenal crowd were left in disbelief as the decision sparked outrage over Keown’s dismissal and a Liverpool defender threw a missile in his direction before tossing a coin back into the crowd. Mike Riley showed Carragher his third red card.
The Liverpool defender avoided police action but was fined £40,000 for the incident after apologizing. He said: “I regret what happened at Highbury because I hurt the club, the fans, my colleagues and myself. Whatever the provocation, be it physical or verbal, should not have been taken as such. I would like to excuse.”
“I was so angry that I acted recklessly at this point. Anyone who sees me perform regularly knows it’s completely out of character, but I make no apologies for it. “I was wrong. As a professional footballer I should have known better. It was a mistake and I will never do it again.”Phil Thompson said from Liverpool, with manager Gerard Hollier out after heart surgery: “He’s angry and frustrated because something has hit him and he’s acting out of character, but it’s still not good. “Jamie had a responsibility to his teammates. Two Arsenal players were sent off, so we have to be calm. “Whether Jamie is punished by the club is a personal matter.”
Jurgen Klopp travels to the “Emirates” stadium, rather than the seven rounds of Germany. Under the former Borussia Dortmund manager, they failed to improve once, losing to Wolves in 2019.The two sides met in the Premier League a few weeks ago but had to share the victory when Mohamed Salah denied Gabriel’s opener.
