Mohamed Salah’s late equalizer saved Liverpool from a 2-2 draw at injury-ravaged Arsenal and moved them within one point at the top of the table.
The Gunners were without William Saliba and Riccardo Calafiori from their main back four and kept their visitors at arm’s length for much of the thrilling encounter, but after losing Gabriel to a knee injury during the game, they were punished late by a clinical Liverpool side. . counter.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long pass down the home side’s right stretched out Darwin Nunez’s pace, giving him time to get back to Salah and score his sixth Premier League goal of the season.
Arsenal took a defensive lead after just nine minutes when Bukayo Saka won a race with Andy Robertson and flicked the ball down the line to Ben White. Despite the Liverpool defender coming to his senses, Saka pushed him away a second time before firing a shot at Caoimhin Keller’s near post.
Questions about the makeshift centre-back pairing of Gabriel and White were largely answered in open play and it was a corner that put Liverpool level nine minutes later when Virgil van Dijk stooped to nod in Luis Diaz’s shot.
The Premier League set-piece masters were not to be outdone and restored their lead minutes before the break with Merino’s first goal for the club, heading Kelleher at the back post from a Declan Rice free-kick.
The Spaniard’s celebrations were briefly interrupted by a VAR review, which took several minutes to confirm he was in with the better lead.
Liverpool’s disappointing performance at both ends of the pitch seemed to see the Reds heading for their first away defeat of Arne Slot’s reign until they finally saw Arsenal sidelined the late equalizer Salah.
Arsenal are four points behind Liverpool, while new league leaders Manchester City are one ahead.