By Olaitan Ibrahim
Arsenal staged a spirited second-half comeback to earn a dramatic 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, recovering from a two-goal deficit in a match packed with drama, near-misses.
Liverpool dominated the early exchanges and were rewarded in the 20th minute when Cody Gakpo rose to meet Andrew Robertson’s pinpoint cross, nodding the ball past David Raya to open the scoring.
Just a minute later, Dominik Szoboszlai set up Luis Diaz, who tapped into an empty net to double the hosts’ lead after a defensive lapse.
Arsenal struggled to get a foothold in the first half but came out revitalised after the break.
In the 47th minute, Gabriel Martinelli halved the deficit with a well-placed header from Leandro Trossard’s lofted delivery, giving the Gunners renewed hope.
The equaliser came in the 70th minute following a dazzling attempt from Martin Odegaard. His strike from the edge of the box forced a spectacular save from Liverpool’s goalkeeper, but Mikel Merino reacted fastest to nod in the rebound, levelling the score at 2-2.
Merino’s night, however, ended in disappointment as he was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge in the 80th minute, reducing Arsenal to 10 men for the final stretch of the match.
Liverpool thought they had snatched a late winner deep into stoppage time, but after a VAR review, referee Anthony Taylor ruled out the goal due to a foul in the buildup — a decision that left the home crowd deflated.