Arsenal 0 Liverpool 2: Jota and Firmino second-half strikes send Reds just one point behind leaders Man City

JURGEN KLOPP kept his promise to be a permanent irritation as unstoppable Liverpool moved to within one point of League leaders Manchester City.

The quirky German has vowed to annoy his team’s biggest rivals all the way to the finishing line in what is shaping up to be the mother of all title races.

And though Arsenal did their level best to stop the Mersey march they still didn’t have enough to deny Liverpool a ninth straight League victory.

Second–half goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino had Klopp celebrating like a mad thing, much to the vexation of the furious Emirates crowd.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta had claimed in the build-up to this match that his team are miles away from the current top two.

So he should be able to take some heart from the fact that there was precious little to choose between these sides for much of this fiercely competitive match.

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But that probably won’t be much consolation for the demanding Spaniard who saw his team’s own winning streak ended by costly errors from Englasd internationals Aaron Ramsdale and Bukayo Saka.

Arteta knows there is no disgrace in losing to a Liverpool team of this quality but now must ensure that they don’t allow this setback to affect their hopes of securing Champions League qualification.

Arsenal are proud of the fact that they are the only team in the Premier League yet to concede from a corner this season.

But that record was almost demolished after just two minutes when Virgil van Dijk was allowed an unchallenged header which required a sharp diving save from Aaron Ramsdale.

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Yet that was a rare early sight of goal for a Liverpool team who were missing the dynamism of top scorer Mo Salah against an Arsenal defence susceptible to the press.

The Egyptian flyer was still feeling the effects of the foot injury sustained during Saturday’s 2-0 win at Brighton and was only deemed fit enough to start the match on the bench.

With neither team prepared to throw caution to the wind, chances were few and far between on a filthy night of torrential North London rain.

Gabriel Martinelli almost picked Liverpool’s pockets when he forced his way round the back to fire an inviting low cross into the danger area.

But Alex Lacazette failed to gamble in the six-yard box and Fabinho was able to clear from right in front of his own goal.

The dearth of goalmouth action was testimony to the respect these two teams have for each other now that Arsenal are no longer the soft touches they once were.

Time was not so very long ago that Liverpool would take victory over the Gunners as a given and a record of just one defeat in 17 games under Klopp suggested they shouldn’t have had too much to worry about against these particular opponents.

But there is a new-found resilience about these Arsenal youngsters and now that they have learned to keep 11 men on the pitch they are no one’s pushovers anymore.

And with referee Andre Marriner happy to allow the players to get stuck into each other, this was the perfect opportunity for Arteta’s kids to show their mettle.

Klopp was left raging when Sadio Mane was knocked off the ball without a free-kick being awarded and engaged in a long and animated conversation with fourth official Andy Madley.

And it was clear he was getting irritated with his team’s lack of success when he remonstrated with Fabinho for a loose clearance straight into touch.

Mane was presented with a half-chance on the stroke of half-time by a long ball over the top but poked his shot miles over on the stretch.

The Senegalese international did have the ball in the net two minutes after the break but had clearly strayed offside to receive Jordan Henderson’s ball.

In fact, it should have been Arsenal who were celebrating when the lively Martinelli danced past three defenders before delivering another inviting cross which none of his team-mates could finish off.

An even better opportunity came and went in the 51st minute when Thiago Alcantara’s shocking back pass was picked off by Lacazette but Martin Odegaard’s brief hesitation was enough for Alisson to make a crucial save.

And how Arsenal were made to pay for that miss when Thiago adjusted his radar to deliver an inch-perfect through ball for Jota four minutes later.

It was the first time all evening that Arsenal had been caught napping at the back and Jota made them pay the maximum price with a shot that beat Ramsdale inside his near post despite the keeper getting a firm hand to the shot.

That was to prove Jota’s final contribution to the evening’s proceedings as he was immediately replaced by Salah and Firmino came on for Luis Diaz.

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And Klopp’s judgement proved immaculate once again as his two substitutes combined for Liverpool’s killer second goal in the 62nd minute.

Salah’s goal-bound shot was cleared off the line by Ben White but when Bukayo Saka failed to clear his lines, Andy Roberton was able to spear the ball into the six-yard box for Firmino to apply a close-range finish.

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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk