Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard sought to bounce back from losses to Fulham and West Ham in their previous games by defeating a Liverpool team that was without important players Wataru Endo and Mohamed Salah.
Arsenal saw an opportunity to make a statement in this pivotal encounter of the historic competition, and they did so in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Emirates Stadium, despite Liverpool’s weakened roster.
Arsenal outplayed the Reds in the first half, producing multiple opportunities, most notably for Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka. But even with their superiority, at halftime the score was still 0-0.
Liverpool withstood Arsenal’s onslaught with resiliency, taking the lead thanks to a late own goal by Jakub Kiwior. Arsenal struggled to get back into the game as the match grew more intense, but their defensive shortcomings were exposed.
Luis Diaz of Liverpool scored a second goal after a counterattack in the last seconds, thereby ending Arsenal’s FA Cup run after just one game this season.
Arsenal’s current situation has thrown the team into disarray, and their home loss against a Liverpool team without several important players has left supporters perplexed. Arsenal’s form has to drastically improve as they deal with the fallout from this disappointing defeat.
