Arsenal miraculous escape

The brave performance not only helped coach Mikel Arteta and his team extend their unbeaten streak in the tournament to 6 (2 wins, 4 draws), but also brought them closer to a place in the UEFA Champions League next season.

Arsenal are currently 5 points ahead of 6th-placed Aston Villa. If they can get just one more point against Newcastle in the next round, the Gunners will almost certainly secure a ticket to Europe's most prestigious cup tournament in the 2025/26 season.

Even if they are level on points, Aston Villa will find it difficult to surpass Arsenal, because the goal difference of coach Unai Emery's team is too low compared to their North London opponents (+7 compared to +33).

Arsenal close in on Champions League ticket.

After lining up to welcome the new Premier League champions, Arsenal started the game somewhat unsteadily. In less than 10 minutes, Luis Daaz warned the visitors' defense with a shot that forced David Raya to save.

Liverpool quickly asserted their position when Cody Gakpo headed the opening goal after a sharp cross from Andrew Robertson in the 20th minute. Just 1 minute later, Arsenal's defense continued to be penetrated, Dominik Szoboszlai coordinated with Mohamed Salah for Diaz to double the gap for the home team.

The Gunners ended the first half under pressure, but the turning point came early in the second half. Leandro Trossard sent a precise pass to Gabriel Martinelli to head home to reduce the deficit in the 47th minute. This goal breathed new life into Arsenal. They continued to increase the pressure on Liverpool's defense.

Despite manager Arne Slot's attempt to refresh his squad with three changes at once, bringing on Alexis Mac Allister, Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool were unable to stem the visitors' momentum. In the 74th minute, Martin Odegaard unleashed a dangerous long-range shot that forced Alisson Becker to dive to block, but the ball bounced off the post, allowing Mikel Merino to head home the equaliser for 2-2.

Merino's joy was short-lived as he was sent off after picking up a second yellow card for a cynical foul on Szoboszlai. Arsenal, who were downed in the final minutes, struggled to defend and were saved when Andrew Robertson's 90+5 minute goal was ruled out for offside.