Merino sent off, Arsenal lucky to escape defeat to Liverpool

Arsenal put in a strong second-half performance to snatch a valuable point against Premier League champions Liverpool. The result extended Arsenal's unbeaten run to six games (W2 D4) and eased Mikel Arteta's side's worries about qualifying for next season's Champions League.

Before the match, Arsenal had to form a guard of honour for Liverpool, who became champions with a few games to spare. Their actions had a greater personal significance for Virgil van Dijk, the captain of The Kop, marking his 300th Premier League match.

The visitors still looked to be recovering from their defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, which left them outclassed by the hosts. Luis Diaz forced goalkeeper David Raya into a brilliant save in the opening 10 minutes. However, Raya could not stop Cody Gakpo from scoring the opener from Andrew Robertson's pass in the 20th minute.

Just two minutes later, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah combined to set up Diaz for Liverpool's second. Arsenal were in trouble when Curtis Jones almost scored a third, but Raya made a timely save to prevent the visitors from conceding another goal. The Gunners had a very lacklustre first 45 minutes and many away fans must have expected defeat to the reigning champions.

Striker Diaz doubled the gap for Liverpool (Photo: Getty).

However, Arteta did not think so, he took advantage of the break to cheer up his players and adjust tactics. After the break, Arsenal quickly shortened the score thanks to Gabriel Martinelli's header from Leandro Trossard's pass in the 47th minute. The Belgian midfielder's goal gave Arsenal confidence in their ability to come back.

The visitors pressed hard after the goal. Under pressure from Arsenal, Liverpool manager Arne Slot made three changes, bringing on Alexis Mac Allister, Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold. However, Arsenal maintained their momentum and Mikel Merino levelled the score at 2-2 after Martin Odegaard's shot was saved by Alisson Becker in the 70th minute.

Arsenal came back strongly in the second half (Photo: Getty).

Arsenal fans were dreaming of a comeback win at Anfield. However, Merino's joy was short-lived when he was shown a second yellow card and sent off for a foul on Szoboszlai in the 79th minute, leaving Arsenal with 10 men. The visitors struggled to defend, and Arsenal were lucky to hold on when Robertson's 95th-minute goal was ruled out after VAR intervention.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/merino-bi-duoi-arsenal-may-man-thoat-thua-liverpool-20250512064641671.htm