Arsenal vs Liverpool LIVE!

Arsenal spiced up an already intriguing Premier League title race as they beat lacklustre leaders Liverpool 3-1 to slice the gap to two points on Sunday. Arsenal deserved the points although they would not have expected a helping hand from an awful defensive mix-up between Virgil van Dijk and Alisson which allowed Gabriel Martinelli to restore their lead in the 67th minute. Substitute Leandro Trossard then soothed any late nerves in stoppage time with a shot through Alisson's legs.

Bukayo Saka had given Arsenal an early lead with a cool finish in the 14th minute but a Gabriel own goal on the stroke of halftime undid all of their good work. Heading for only their second league defeat of the season, Liverpool's frustrations boiled over as Ibrahima Konate was sent off in the closing minutes for a second booking after a foul on Kai Havertz.

Arsenal's win lifted them to second on 49 points to Liverpool's 51 with both clubs having played 23 games. Champions Manchester City, who play on Monday, have 46 from 21 games.

Arsenal vs Liverpool latest highlights

• GOAL! Alisson howler gifts Martinelli a goal

• GOAL! Gabriel own goal levels matters

• GOAL! Saka fires home early opener

Full-time

18:30 , Alex Young

98min: That's it! A huge, huge win for Arsenal.

18:25 , Alex Young

95min: Emirates is rocking and Jorginho is given man of the match.

GOAL!

18:23 , Alex Young

92min: Game, set and match as Trossard runs through and nutmegs Trossard to secure all three points.

Arteta is running around everywhere?!

18:21 , Alex Young

91min: Seven minutes added on.

18:20 , Alex Young

90min: Now Nunez is booked for reacting poorly at the referee.

RED CARD!

18:18 , Alex Young

88min: Deary me, again. Konate drags back Havertz and picks up a second yellow card.

Klopp gives the referee a thumbs up.

18:15 , Alex Young

85min: Deary me, Nunez gets on the ball for the first time and fires high and wide at Raya's goal with Jota screaming for it. Klopp won't like that.

18:13 , Alex Young

83min: Liverpool are pushing Arsenal further and further back.

Simon Collings at the Emirates Stadium

18:09 , Alex Young

Saka limping a bit as he comes off there.

Positively, though, he seems to be staying out to watch on the bench - instead of going down the tunnel for treatment.

18:08 , Alex Young

78min: Saka hobbles off, replaced by Nelson.

18:06 , Alex Young

74min: Martinelli replaced by Trossard.

Dan Kilpatrick at the Emirates Stadium

18:05 , Alex Young

Van Dijk, like Saliba, could probably have cleared the ball but it's Alisson's blooper.

The goalkeeper has to get rid of the ball once he has committed to coming. Martinelli will not have an easier finish but the Brazilian has deserved a goal for the way he's played this afternoon.

18:02 , Alex Young

71min: Liverpool need another response, and cannot rely on Arsenal to give them one this time. A huge 20 minutes to come.

GOAL!

17:57 , Alex Young

67min: Arsenal are ahead and it's a shocker from Liverpool! A gift from Van Dijk and Alisson, who gets in a right mess to allow Martinelli score into an empty net!

17:54 , Alex Young

63min: Big shouts for a penalty as Havertz goes down under pressure from Mac Allister, but the referee and VAR are not interested.

17:52 , Alex Young

62min: Jota and Diaz combine for the latter to hit a first-team effort at Raya, which is saved comfortably. Arsenal need a spark.

Dan Kilpatrick at the Emirates Stadium

17:50 , Alex Young

The outcome of this game might rest of what iteration of Darwin Nunez we see for the final 30 minutes or so.

17:48 , Alex Young

59min: Alexander-Arnold is off for Robertson, Gakpo for Nunez and Gravenberch for Elliott.

17:47 , Alex Young

58min: Seconds later, Gabriel is booked for a hand in Gakpo's face.

17:47 , Alex Young

57min: Gabriel meets the free kick, Odegaard's whipped delivery landing on his head, but can only direct the ball wide. Big chance.

17:45 , Alex Young

55min: Konate booked for bringing down Havertz. Arsenal want a red but that's never going to happen.

17:44 , Alex Young

54min: Nunez, Elliot and Robertson are warming up for Liverpool.

17:43 , Alex Young

53min: Corner comes to nothing.

17:43 , Alex Young

52min: An Odegaard shot is deflected narrowly behind for a corner. That could have gone anywhere.

Simon Collings at the Emirates Stadium

17:41 , Alex Young

Liverpool playing with much purpose this half. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as there should be space for Arsenal to exploit.

17:39 , Alex Young

49min: It's a completely different game already. This time, Jones cutting in from the left to bend a shot narrowly beyond the far post.

17:38 , Alex Young

48min: A much better start for Liverpool, who are showing more after two minutes than the entire first half. Mac Allister further forward, Jones a little deeper.

Second half

17:36 , Alex Young

46min: Back underway, Kiwior on for Zinchenko.

17:29 , Alex Young

It's back to square one for Arsenal, then, who really need to win today.

Dan Kilpatrick at the Emirates Stadium

17:26 , Alex Young

I'm not sure I've ever seen an own goal like that. Gabriel has slapped the ball into his own net with his hand!

It's an awful time for Arsenal to concede after a dominant first-half display, particularly as Liverpool often improve after the interval.

Half-time!

17:20 , Alex Young

50min: Arsenal have completely blown an almost perfect first half.

GOAL!

17:19 , Alex Young

48min: Out of absolutely nothing, Liverpool are level as Gabriel puts the ball into his own net under pressure from Diaz.

17:17 , Alex Young

47min: Huge chance for Arsenal to make it 2-0 as Jorginho is found in space in the area, he turns and shoots but gets the ball stuck under his feet so it's easily blocked.

17:16 , Alex Young

46min: Three minutes added on.

17:16 , Alex Young

45min: A bit of back and forth between White and Diaz. White does his usual trick of shoving a player over, which the referee plays on, and then Diaz gets revenge with a trip on the Arsenal defender... which wins a free kick.

17:14 , Alex Young

43min: Havertz is lucky to avoid a booking after a late tackle on Mac Allister. Van Dijk is fuming.

17:11 , Alex Young

41min: Liverpool's midfield has been poor today, Jones and Gravenberch offering little to nothing.

17:09 , Alex Young

38min: A free kick from the left flank is floated to the edge of the Liverpool edge and drops to Gabriel for a decent shot at goal. Alisson saves.

Simon Collings at the Emirates Stadium

17:07 , Alex Young

Big 10 minutes before the break here for Arsenal. They've done so much good work in this first half. Need to see it out now.

17:06 , Alex Young

36min: A superb ball from Gabriel find Martinelli on the left flank, but there's no one in the middle for Arsenal so the move breaks down.

Dan Kilpatrick at the Emirates Stadium

17:04 , Alex Young

Ben White has beaten his man with a lovely piece of skill twice in as many minutes, demonstrating the confidence flowing through this Arsenal team right now.

The right-back is then foolishly booked for time-wasting which may make his afternoon altogether harder.

17:02 , Alex Young

32min: Ben White gets booked for time-wasting.

17:01 , Alex Young

31min: Liverpool struggling to find space in the Arsenal defence. Jones goes for an ambitious ball over the top for Jota, but it's simple for Raya.

16:59 , Alex Young

29min: Alexander-Arnold's delivery meets Van Dijk, but the header loops over Raya's goal.

16:59 , Alex Young

28min: Alexander-Arnold wins Liverpool's first corner, his cross deflecting off Zinchenko.

16:55 , Alex Young

25min: Gomez into the book for a cynical foul on Havertz. That could be very costly.

16:55 , Alex Young

23min: A building Liverpool move is stopped by a tactical foul by Odegaard.

16:54 , Alex Young

21min: An intake of breath around the Emirates as Odegaard gets away from Alexander-Arnold and winds up for a shot, but Konate blocks inside the area.

Simon Collings at the Emirates Stadium

16:50 , Alex Young

The roar when that went in. The Emirates is the loudest it has been all season.

16:49 , Alex Young

19min: Liverpool looking to slow the play down after a frantic start. They need to quieten the home crowd.

16:47 , Alex Young

17min: Liverpool look a bit shocked, and Klopp's gurning grin has vanished. Still plenty of time to recover, of course.

GOAL!

16:45 , Alex Young

14min: Saka makes amends!

Liverpool's defence is all at sea and Havertz runs through, is denied by Alisson but Saka finishes into an empty net.

16:44 , Alex Young

13min: Straight up the other end Gakpo fires a low drive toward Raya's far post which whistles narrowly wide.

16:42 , Alex Young

11min: A stunning, stunning run from Martinelli down the left after a superb pass from Raya, out-muscling Konat before finding Saka in the centre, who has to score but messes up the header.

16:40 , Alex Young

9min: Diaz almost finds Jota with a defence-splitting pass, but Rice sticks out a boot to intercept. A tentative start from both teams.

16:37 , Alex Young

7min: Arsenal seeing more of the ball in these early stages.

Simon Collings at the Emirates Stadium

16:36 , Alex Young

Looks like Jorginho and Rice are both sitting in front of the back four.

A change from Arsenal's usual setup and perhaps a sign of how Arteta wants to give his defence some much-needed protection.

16:35 , Alex Young

4min: Arsenal working the ball around Liverpool's area and almost get Saka in, showing some great strength to out-muscle Van Dijk, but he shoots into the side netting.

16:32 , Alex Young

2min: First half chance as Jota jinks away from Gabriel and into the area, but runs out of room for a shot.

Dan Kilpatrick at the Emirates Stadium

16:31 , Alex Young

The Premier League trophy is pitchside at the Emirates, reminding both these teams what's at stake this afternoon.

If Arsenal lose, it is hard to imagine it will be back here in May. A potentially season-defining game is ahead.

Kick-off!

16:30 , Alex Young

1min: Here we go!

16:27 , Alex Young

Here come the teams!

16:23 , Alex Young

Almost time at the Emirates. The players are back in their dressing rooms.

16:16 , Alex Young

It sounds like Havertz will be playing in a forward role today, given Jesus' injury. He really needs to step it up.

16:11 , Alex Young

You can read more on Gabriel Jesus' injury setback here.

Arteta on Jesus injury

16:02 , Alex Young

"Unfortunately, he had a setback in training and he wasn't fit to play.

"It's something related to his knee, but I think it's a short-term thing."

15:55 , Alex Young

Arsenal are without forward Gabriel Jesus, who has been unable to shake off a knee injury. He is one of two changes, as Smith Rowe also drops out and Jorginho and Havertz come in.

Liverpool make three changes from the thumping win over Chelsea.

Conor Bradley, whose father died during the week, misses out entirely along with Szoboszlai, while Nunez is on the bench. Alexander-Arnold, Gravenberch and Gakpo come in.

Simon Collings checks in

15:46 , Alex Young

Here's our Arsenal reporter.

Teams in full

15:36 , Alex Young

Arsenal XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Odegaard, Rice, Jorginho, Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

Subs: Ramsdale, Smith Rowe, Nketiah, Kiwior, Cedric, Trossard, Nelson, Elneny, Walters

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Gomez, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones, Jota, Gakpo, Diaz

Subs: Thiago, Nunez, Adrian, Elliott, Robertson, Clark, McConnell, Kelleher, Quansah

Liverpool XI

15:31 , Alex Young

...and the visitors.

Arsenal XI

15:30 , Alex Young

Here's the Gunners lineup...

15:28 , Alex Young

Sounds like Jesus is out and Havertz starts for Arsenal.

15:23 , Alex Young

Teams to be confirmed imminently.

Klopp: Man City pressure means Liverpool must win every game

15:16 , Alex Young

Jurgen Klopp says there is pressure on Liverpool to win every remaining Premier League match this season as even an eight-point lead over Manchester City would not be enough of a cushion.

With City not playing until Monday Liverpool could extend the current five-point gap with victory at third-placed Arsenal.

Pep Guardiola's side would have two matches in hand but their run-in record in recent years - they won their last 14 games in 2018-19 to pip their north-west rivals by a point and dropped just six points in the final 12 matches of 2021-22 to again win the title by a single point - means there is no margin for error from the Reds.

"Shall I go to the boys in the dressing room and say, 'If we win against Arsenal we are eight points between us and them...'? Everybody knows that," he said.

"If we lose we are still two points ahead (if City win their game in hand as it stands), but then City are the big winner of a game they are not even involved in.

"That's outside talk and fine. Inside, we just focus on the things we have to do.

"I think what we learned over the years is if you want to be around City then you better win all your football games because they do. That's all.

"This is the time where City is dominating, that's how it is. They play incredible stuff and would probably consider themselves not playing their very best season but are where they are.

"We play a very good season and are in the moment two points ahead of City. We will try to make it as hard as somehow possible for everyone who wants to finish the season above us."

15:02 , Alex Young

Early reports suggest Darwin Nunez is not starting this afternoon and Szoboslai is not in the Liverpool squad.

Confirmed teams to come in half an hour.

Arteta jokes Arsenal duo 'sharing house and wives' after on-pitch spat

14:57 , Alex Young

Mikel Arteta has played down the spat between Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko after Arsenal’s win at Nottingham Forest, joking that they’ve been living together and "sharing wives".

White and Zinchenko were caught on camera arguing after the full-time whistle at the City Ground on Tuesday night and had to be pulled apart by team-mates and staff.

Arteta insisted after the 2-1 win at Forest that he “loved” the row and attempted to make light of the situation during his press conference on Friday ahead of Sunday’s huge game with Liverpool.

When asked if White and Zinchenko were now friends again, Arteta joked: “Yeah… they’ve been in the same house the past few days sharing wives and everything! It’s fine, they’re living together now. They’re best mates."

Read more here!

How Rice can win Arsenal's fight for control over chaos

14:44 , Alex Young

The challenge for Arsenal today is finding a way to combat that threat, and Mikel Arteta is likely to look to the blueprint he used for the thrilling 1-1 draw at Anfield in December, writes Simon Collings.

The Gunners stifled Liverpool that day, especially in the first half, playing with the control that Arteta has been searching for all season.

Gabriel gave Arsenal an early lead before some Salah wizardry earned Liverpool a point.

Like in December, midfield will be a key area on Sunday and the absence of Wataru Endo could hurt Liverpool.

Endo, who is away at the Asian Cup with Japan, impressed when the two sides met on Merseyside and helped Liverpool dominate in the second half.

Declan Rice has been vital in big games at the Emirates this season, scoring the winner against Manchester United and bossing the midfield against Manchester City.

These games are why Arsenal paid £105million for Rice last summer, and his role is likely to be key if the Gunners are to win the battle of chaos versus control.

The spotlight will also be on the Arsenal attack. Arteta's forward line has struggled all season but there is optimism it is slowly clicking into gear after a timely winter break last month.

Read more here!

Score prediction

14:32 , Alex Young

Arsenal will have taken positives from their FA Cup defeat to Liverpool, despite the result. The Gunners were the better side for much of the match and should really have won the game, but were let down by some poor finishing.

They must find a ruthless edge here, against a Liverpool side who have lost just once in the Premier League all season. News of Klopp's departure at the end of the season appears to have galvanised the squad further, and they continue to challenge on four fronts.

A draw would suit Liverpool more but both sides can be expected to push for all three points in what promises to be a thrilling encounter, and one that potentially ends with nothing to split them.

Draw, 2-2.

Liverpool team news

14:21 , Alex Young

Darwin Nunez is an injury doubt for Liverpool today.

The striker played the full 90 minutes of the 4-1 win over Chelsea as he hit the woodwork a remarkable four times and grabbed an assist, but left Anfield in a protective boot afterward.

Jurgen Klopp spoke to reporters on Friday and Nunez had not trained by then, throwing his involvement in the trip into serious doubt, but Alexis Mac Allister has been passed fit after coming off against the Blues.

"I don't know if Darwin is available or not because after 20 minutes somebody stepped on his foot and it was very painful," Jurgen Klopp told reporters on Friday.

"He only took the boot off after the game because he didn't want to see it before, he knew there was something, so he left the stadium in a boot, and it was not a football boot.

"Nothing broke, x-ray clear, but swollen. We have to see if he can get this foot back in the boot or not."

Arsenal team news

14:12 , Alex Young

Arsenal will be without Thomas Partey for today's meeting with Liverpool following an injury setback, but Gabriel Jesus should be fit.

The midfielder has been out since October with a thigh problem, but he returned to training last week ahead of Tuesday’s game at Nottingham Forest.

Jesus, who was managing a knee injury ahead of Tuesday’s win at Forest, should be fit to face Liverpool.

“Gabi obviously played and trained with us the whole week,” said Arteta.

Arteta has a dilemma over who to start in midfield, with Emile Smith Rowe hoping to get the nod over Kai Havertz.

Where to watch Arsenal vs Liverpool

14:06 , Alex Young

TV channel: The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra HDR.

Coverage will start following Manchester United's clash with West Ham earlier in the afternoon. Kick-off is at 4.30pm GMT.

Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch on a live stream via the Sky Go app.

Welcome

14:02 , Alex Young

Good afternoon and welcome to the Standard's LIVE coverage of the Premier League clash between Arsenal and Liverpool.

It's second hosting first in a game which is set to have a huge say in where the title ends up this second. Liverpool, along with champions Manchester City, have been tipped by many, while those at Arsenal insist they can make up for last season's staggering collapse.

What will the lay of the land look like come full-time? Stick with us to find out. Kick-off is at 4.30pm GMT.