Jurgen Klopp certainly didn’t celebrate as a manager regardless of the FA Cup. In fact, Klopp left the pitch with clenched fists after the third-round draw, which seemed to be his attitude all season.
Arsenal started well and missed many chances. As the world could see, they needed a striker. And it allowed Liverpool to be punished for their extravagance.
It’s unlikely to be a classic in front of a huge live BBC audience and the broadcaster’s choice was unfortunate, but at least we got a winner and Arsenal are to blame if they don’t.
And Liverpool are proving that numbers don’t matter as they ride the crest of a wave when it comes to winning.
Klopp’s men are top of the Premier League, had their winter break interrupted by a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final and are now through to the fourth round of the FA Cup. However, if the players are tired, forget about it when the final whistle blows and head for the away game.
And of course it is. Arsenal’s season is now in danger of collapsing as they have now gone four games without a win in all competitions, dropped down the table, missed out on the FA Cup and the bad feelings are starting to set in.
As the final whistle blew you could hear the rest of the fans groaning and they all heard the same thing. The idea was to recruit a striker. That was the difference between the teams. Liverpool went ahead after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s poor free-kick was followed by Jakub Kivior’s own goal and Luis Diaz taught Arsenal a lesson in extra time.
Arsenal wore an unfamiliar white kit to underpin their top-flight campaign, but the line-up looked familiar, with Kai Havertz playing as a false nine.
The simple truth is that Havertz is a very good player from a technical point of view. But there’s a reason he’s been relegated to a fake new role because he’s not just a closer.
Havertz has been the biggest culprit for Arsenal’s missed chances and goals have become a chronic problem for Mikel Arteta.
Gabriel Jesus is injured but has only scored three goals in the Premier League, Bukayo Saka is top scorer with six and they start Reiss Nelson against a weakened Gabriel Martinelli.
Nelson hit the side-netting early on but Havertz hesitated and slotted a superb chance through the goal before Martin Odegaard curled a shot over the bar.
When Havertz fired into the Liverpool penalty area, we knew Arsenal weren’t going to score and nobody could. Alexander-Arnold hit the crossbar in the first half and his influence grew as he went on as Liverpool began to pose a real threat on the break.
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale pulled off a good save from Diaz, but it was difficult for a team that had missed so many chances. Chivior looked vulnerable as a substitute on the left flank, but in the 80th minute, Alexander-Arnold scored an own goal with a spectacular free-kick.
Arsenal tried to find an equalizer but of course couldn’t find it and Liverpool took their place in the second half. Diogo fired a shot into the top corner, played in by Jota Diaz. Liverpool have all the momentum now and the season has started. Arsenal are in danger of falling at an alarming rate.
