Arsenal prove they are in the title race as Alisson blunders to seal victory over Liverpool
OP A wild afternoon at the Emirates, Arsenal blew a bloody big hole in the center of Jürgen Klopp's defense and won the title with three horses.
First, Virgil Van Dijk's extraordinary mix-up with goalkeeper Alisson gifted the decisive goal to Gabriel Martinelli, then Ibrahima Konate was sent off for two fouls on Kai Havertz as Liverpool's 22-match unbeaten home run came to an end.
2
The Gunners, who dominated the match for a long time, are now just two points behind Klopp's leaders.
And champions Manchester City – third but with two games to go – could finish top before Liverpool play their next match.
There's something about the chaos of Premier League football that can leave even the greatest defenders confused.
And here two of the very best – William Saliba and Van Dijk – were guilty of shocking mistakes.
After Bukayo Saka had fired Arsenal into an early lead, Arteta's side turned to self-destruction when Saliba's blunder led to a Gabriel Marguelhes own goal in stoppage time in the first half.
But Arsenal rallied when Martinelli took advantage of a major error in judgment from Van Dijk and a kamikaze strike from Alisson to score.
And after Konate's late dismissal, Leandro Trossard secured Arsenal's third win in a row, moving them back into the title table.
Sensing the importance of this match, Arteta's behavior was even more frenzied than usual – he stormed out of his technical area to play ball boy at throw-ins and shouted at fourth official Craig Pawson over minor decisions.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
Saka should have opened the scoring a few minutes earlier.
A long throw from David Raya allowed Gabriel Martinelli to shoot down the left, but as he stood in front of the intersection, Saka slanted his diving header wide of the goal.
However, the English winger did not have to wait long.
Martin Odegaard's sweet pass freed Kai Havertz, who hesitated and saw his shot parried by an onrushing Alisson, with Saka on hand to collect the rebound.
Arsenal survived a VAR check for offside and the Emirates went ballistic.
Joe Gomez was shown a yellow card for pulling Havertz back after Declan Rice had won possession and started another counter and Liverpool looked unsettled.
Ben White was shown a yellow card for wasting time when he scored a free kick after just half an hour.
But the idea that Arsenal were trying to slow the game down was ridiculous.
Martinelli operated at light speed, Rice was a Tasmanian devil in midfield, Odegaard celebrated winning a throw-in the way most men would celebrate a lottery jackpot.
Liverpool struggled to keep their heads above water. Luis Diaz, who had spent most of the first half throwing himself to the ground, was lucky to escape with a petulant late challenge on Ben White.
But Klopp's side were dominated in the first half of the FA Cup tie here last month but still won. It felt like Arsenal needed a second as they kept their stranglehold.
And in stoppage time of the first half they ruined it.
After a through ball from Ryan Gravenberch, Saliba thought he had successfully guided the ball back to Raya, only for Diaz to dip a toe into the ball and deflect it off a scrambling Gabriel.
It was a shabby way to throw away such a well-deserved lead.
At half time the shots on target were 4-0 for Arsenal, the score 1-1.
Arteta sent on Jakub Kiwior for Oleksandr Zinchenko at half-time.
But Liverpool started the second half with a bounce in their step, pushing Arsenal back and Curtis Jones curled a shot narrowly wide of the far post.
Arsenal rallied and Odegaard's shot almost deflected off Konate, who was quickly shown a yellow card for blocking Havertz.
Klopp, whose bench was better filled than of late, called in the cavalry: Darwin Nunez, Andy Robertson and Harvey Elliott.
Havertz was tripped in the area by Alexis Mac Allister but Anthony Taylor said no and his Stockley Park mate David Coote refused to dominate.
Presumably VAR will do the 'plain and obvious' this week. Most weeks that is not the case and the penalty would have been given.
Yet it didn't matter as Arsenal took the lead again thanks to an extraordinary mix between Alisson and Van Dijk, both GOATs of their trade if you listen to the Liverpool supporters.
Gabriel stepped forward and Van Dijk was too nonchalant in his attempt to shield the ball from Martinelli as Alisson ran off his line, missed his kick and punched the Brazilian.
Martinelli looked stunned when he was hooked on Leandro Trossard, an odd substitution from Arteta, who looked even worse when Saka went down injured and had to be replaced by Reiss Nelson.
Kiwior, somehow in a centre-forward position, headed straight at Alisson when he could have killed the game, and Nunez shot wildly wide when he should have crossed.
Konate received his second yellow card for a body check from Havertz in the 88th minute and Arteta's men were home and hosed.
In stoppage time, Trossard tipped Elliott, bursting down the left and saw his shot deflected off Van Dijk to nutmeg Alisson and seal the deal.
ARSENAL NEWS LIVE: Stay up to date with the latest transfer news from the Emirates
THIS IS A DEVELOPMENT STORY..
The Sun is your destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, stunning pictures and can't-miss videos.
Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.