A resurgent Liverpool team equalised late in the game to secure a point at home to Arsenal. The game finished 3-3 at Anfield thanks to braces from Roberto Firmino and Olivier Giroud. Aaron Ramsey scored Arsenal’s first goal whereas Joe Allen came off the bench in the 90th minute to score the last goal for the home side.
Here are the player ratings from the game:
Liverpool
Simon Mignolet – 6
The Belgian goalkeeper could do nothing about the two goals from Olivier Giroud but Aaron Ramsey’s squeezed shot at his near post could have been saved. He was decisive while coming to collect the crosses and gave a fine performance apart from leaking three goals.
Nathaniel Clyne – 5
Clyne should have known that Theo Walcott was going to cut in from the left, but the England defender never really followed him and his side paid. A good defender would look to cut off the option of the winger cutting inside, but Clyne did not even follow him when he cut inside on multiple occasions.
Kolo Toure – 5
The defender was outmuscled by his opposing striker Giroud on multiple occasions. The way in which Giroud was allowed to turn and shoot for his second and Arsenal’s third just summed up Toure’s night. He was troubled by the strength of Giroud and the pace of Walcott.
Mamadou Sakho – 6
The French defender was very inconsistent throughout the game. He played some good football and then suddenly was outmuscled by his countryman Giroud to allow him to get the score level at 2-2. He was not assured at the back, and showed signs of vulnerability, unlike Sakho.
Alberto Moreno – 6
The Spaniard was very impressive going forward in every attack but he lacked the same composure when dealing with Joel Campbell while defending. He rarely put the Costa Rican under any pressure and paid for his mistakes as Campbell produced a pass for Giroud’s second.
Jordan Henderson – 7
He looked like one of the Liverpool players for whom the game came too early as he has just come back from injury. But the England international was impressive in defence but did not provide much going forward. He put in a great shift having just recovered from a long-term injury.
Emre Can – 8
Can provided all the spark for Liverpool in the first half even though Firmino got the goals. The German was quick to pass and move and terrorised the Arsenal defence with him runs from midfield into the attacking third. He set the tone for his side, and Klopp would be pleased.
James Milner – 7
Milner’s job in the game was to move and distribute the ball forward from defence to attack in a matter of seconds. He performed that task very well, but on a couple of occasions when he was dispossessed, Liverpool were in trouble.
Jordon Ibe – 8
Very few players have troubled Arsenal’s Monreal this term, and Ibe produced a great display to get past the Spaniard on multiple occasions to provide crosses for his forwards. He put in a shift, but most of the duels were won by Monreal in the second half.
Roberto Firmino – 8
The Brazilian forward produced his best performance for Liverpool so far, he scored two goals. The first was a rebound off Cech, which he blasted past the keeper, the second was a curling effort from outside the box. But he was missing for large parts in the second half.
Adam Lallana – 6
The former Southampton man put in a fair display and looks to be playing better under Klopp than he had played under previous managers. He was an important part of the build-up play of any Liverpool attack. But he needs to control the game better as he has that quality, which was visible only in flashes throughout the game.
Substitutes
Christian Benteke – 6
The Belgian forward had his chances after he came on in place of James Milner, but he could not test the keeper with any of his trademark ferocious shots.
Steven Caulker – 5
The new signing ended up with just a couple of touches of the ball as he was positioned as a striker by Klopp.
Joe Allen – 7
The Welshman did the damage for the Gunners when he popped up to smash the equaliser late in the game.
Arsenal
Petr Cech – 6
The Arsenal stopper could have done better with the first and the third goal. In the first, he could have parried the ball towards his left away from the attackers, where as in the third, the ball hit his stretched arm, meaning he could have kept it out. Other than that, he was his usual self, being solid between the sticks. But he seemed less commanding.
Hector Bellerin – 6
The youngster was pinned back in the first half but got forward like he did against Bayern Munich to produce Giroud’s second. However, the young Spaniard could not keep up with Joe Allen late in the game and allowed him to go past and score.
Per Mertesacker – 6
The German was rarely impressive during the first 75 minutes of the game. But with his experience, he stood out tall in the rain and snow and demolished all the attacks Liverpool had up their sleeves. He seemed during the start of the game but settled down once Arsenal equalised.
Laurent Koscielny – 7
The French defender was very good in dealing with through balls played to him by the Liverpool players. He also started the game on the back foot. But recovered well to produce a fine performance. He also dealt well with Benteke in the latter stages of the game.
Nacho Monreal – 7
The fullback was solid in defence like he has been throughout the season. Even though Ibe was threatening, the Spaniard held his own and never let any real cross go in from the right wing. He also got into the attacking areas and provided width to the Arsenal attacks.
Mathieu Flamini – 6
He did a decent job of shielding the back four but he had his occasional wobbles. He got overrun at times as the opponents bombed forward on the counter. He stepped out from midfield to attack on multiple occasions but his decision making was not precise. He was seen giving too much room to Firmino and company which led to the first goal.
Aaron Ramsey – 8
The Welshman was very good offensively getting a goal and an assist to Giroud’s first goal. But on many occasions, he gave up his defensive commitments to go forward, leaving in opportunities for the Liverpool players to take advantage of. He did show plenty of energy in midfield.
Mesut Ozil – 6
The German may not have had any assists in the three goals for his side, but he was very well positioned to create passes for his teammates leading to the goals. He defended, which was unlike Ozil. He was rested in the FA Cup, and at times ran back 50 yards to stop a Liverpool from playing a pass.
Joel Campbell – 8
The midfielder has made this position his own. He was trusted by Wenger to start in a big game in the absence of Alexis, and he delivered yet again. The Costa Rican looked confident and played a beautifully waited pass to Aaron Ramsey for Arsenal’s opener.
Theo Walcott – 7
He was not very impressive in the first half but got on well in the second. The Arsenal man ran at defenders with ease and created opportunities for his side. He will be hoping his run of form can continue and that he does not get injured now. He was lively in patches but was possibly outshone by Giroud’s goals.
Olivier Giroud – 8
The French striker went missing for parts of the game. But he got on the scoresheet twice to first bring Arsenal level at 2-2 and then give them a 3-2 lead in the second half. The Frenchman put in a fine performance, keeping the ball and passing it to his teammates in better positions. The second goal on the turn was superb and we have not seen much of that from the Arsenal striker.
Substitutes
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6
The England international came on in place of Joel Campbell and was not seen much on the ball. He got dispossessed whenever he ran with the ball.
Mikel Arteta – 5
The Spaniard returned from a muscle injury in the FA Cup and was brought on to give cover to the 3-2 lead. But could not do much to prevent Joe Allen from scoring.
Kieran Gibbs – 6
Gibbs was brought on in place of Walcott to protect the lead but did not prove to be a good decision.
