AS IT HAPPENED: Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal

Hello, and welcome to Nigerianeye's live coverage of the match in the Premier League between Liverpool and Arsenal.


After Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Bournemouth, both Arsenal and Liverpool can capitalise and strengthen their bid to finish in the top four of the standings.
Liverpool head into the game having suffered five defeats in seven games in all competitions, but they will look to their form against the top sides for confidence when welcoming the Gunners to Anfield.

Arsenal have played just once since their 5-1 humiliation to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but Arsene Wenger will see this game as an opportunity to get their season back on track.


OFFICIAL LINE-UPS


ARSENAL: Cech, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Xhaka, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iwobi, Welbeck, Giroud
ARSENAL SUBSTITUTES: Ospina, Gibbs, Gabriel, Ramsey, Walcott, Sanchez, Perez

LIVERPOOL: Mignolet, Clyne, Matip, Klavan, Milner, Wijnaldum, Can, Lallana, Coutinho, Mane, Firmino

LIVERPOOL SUBSTITUTES: Karius, Moreno, Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Lucas, Origi, Woodburn

The full-time whistle goes at Anfield and Liverpool secure a deserved victory over Arsenal to move into third place in the table. How big a result could this be at the end of the season?! Wenger is sure to have to answer questions over Sanchez's demotion to the bench. The risk didn't pay off. Thanks for joining our live coverage of the match!

90+3 min FULL TIME: Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal

90+1 min Game over. Liverpool launch a counter-attack through Lallana, who bides his time before releasing Origi down the right. The Belgian runs down the right flank before supplying the perfect cross for Wijnaldum to fire into the corner from 12 yards.

90+1 min GOAL! Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal (Wijnaldum)

90 min There will be three minutes of added-on time. It's a big three minutes in the season for both sides.

87 min It's still all Liverpool to a large extent. Arsenal look threatening on the odd flurry forward but the home side are still looking for that third goal. Just three minutes to go plus added-on time.

83 min WOODWORK! Liverpool come so close to a third! A free kick from the left finds the head of Origi but his glancing header hits the base of the post and is cleared.

80 min SUBSTITUTION! Coutinho is the first man to be withdrawn by Klopp with Divock Origi coming on in his place.

76 min CHANCE! That should be the game for Liverpool. Coutinho swings in the perfect set piece for Matip at the back post but he mis-times his header and Cech makes an easy save.

74 min SUBSTITUTIONS! Wenger makes his final two changes as Theo Walcott and Lucas Perez replaced Welbeck and Giroud. Just before their arrival, Coutinho fired over from 20 yards. He would have expected to hit the target.

71 min We are into the final 20 minutes and both teams are still pushing forward. Sanchez has been successful in keeping Clyne in defensive areas but Liverpool still aren't taking a backwards step. Their front four have been fantastic.

68 min BOOKING! Can commits the most blatant foul you will ever see to stop Sanchez in his tracks. The referee played advantage but with Sanchez out of the way, the move petered out.

65 min SHOT! Clyne appears in an attacking position! What are the chances? Mane sends the ball through to the right-back but rather than cross into the middle, he shoots towards the near post and his effort goes over the crossbar.

61 min We are an hour into this game and it has a completely different complexion to the one at half time. Liverpool look scared every time that Sanchez gets the ball and his presence is stopping Clyne from getting forward. There's definitely another goal in this.

57 min It's game on at Anfield! Welbeck gets the goal after lifting the ball over an advancing Mignolet from 12 yards but it is all about the pass from Sanchez, who picked out the run of his teammate.

57 min GOAL! Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal (Welbeck)

54 min Coutinho produces several pieces of skill on the edge of the penalty area before earning a free kick. That was sublime. He steps up to take the set piece but the ball goes straight into the wall.

52 min Arsenal have been much more adventurous at the start of this second half. They are yet to create another chance but Sanchez is having an immediate impact.

48 min CHANCE! Arsenal come within a whisker of halving the deficit. A cross into the middle from Sanchez finds Giroud and his header, which seems destined for the top corner, is tipped onto the crossbar by Mignolet before he claims the ball at the second attempt.

46 min Liverpool get us back underway. As expected, Sanchez is on, with Coquelin the man to be withdrawn.

The half-time whistle goes at Anfield and Liverpool fully deserve to be leading 2-0. Arsenal have been abysmal and it's almost inevitable that we will see Alexis Sanchez after the break. The Gunners have put in one of their worst 45 minutes of the season.


45+2 min HALF TIME: Liverpool 2-0 Arsenal

45 min There will be two minutes of added-on time.

44 min CHANCE! What a chance for Liverpool to score a third! They get a bit of luck as a ball over the top is deflected into the path of Coutinho, but the Brazilian brings down the ball before clipping it straight at Cech from 12 yards. It should be 3-0.

43 min Liverpool were almost in again soon after the goal but Lallana's through-ball was over-hit and it went out for a goal kick. He should have given Coutinho the chance to cross in that situation.

40 min Liverpool have their second and it's a class goal. Milner to Firmino, who deceives the defender before spraying the ball out to Mane, who has space on the opposite side of the penalty area. He takes a touch before lashing the ball into the bottom corner from 12 yards.

40 min GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Arsenal (Mane)

37 min We still aren't seeing anything of Arsenal as an attacking force. Their one shot came from a Xhaka volley which went high into the stand. You'd have to expect changes at the break. Liverpool are still going about their business in the same manner.

34 min BOOKING! Coquelin is the first man into the book for a shirt pull on Lallana. Klopp wasn't amused.

32 min It's taken a while but Liverpool's front four are starting to link up in tandem now and Arsenal are struggling to cope. Coutinho is warming into the game, too, and he is denied another shot on goal by a fine block from a defender.

29 min SHOT! Better from Liverpool. The referee plays a fantastic advantage and the ball ends up at the feet of Coutinho around 20 yards out. The Brazilian switches the ball onto his left foot but his well-struck effort is tipped over by Cech. Sanchez is out warming up now.

25 min Giroud has been struggling with a knock for the last few minutes but Sanchez isn't among the substitutes warming up. You have to feel that something must have gone on behind the scenes. It's all very strange, isn't it?

23 min We aren't able to bring you anything different than details of either side looking fancy in the final third without much of a cutting edge. There's still only been that one real effort on goal, which was Firmino's opener.

20 min What Arsenal are missing is Sanchez's work-rate when Liverpool have the ball. Giroud has his strengths but he isn't chasing down the Liverpool backline. They are spraying the ball about on the halfway line under very little pressure.

17 min Chances are still few and far between in this game but Arsenal look wary of Liverpool's threat in the final third. Their passes aren't always finding their target but this is a different Liverpool side which wilted against Leicester.

13 min Arsenal are straight back into possession but Liverpool's pressing game is starting to come to the fore and they are making it difficult for the Gunners to get the ball into Giroud. This is turning into a tactical battle, rather than a back-and-forth encounter which many would have expected

9 min Of course, playing with a swagger in attack means nothing if you are going to concede soft goals. The ball is swept out to Mane on the right side of the penalty area and after his cross somehow finds its way to Firmino at the back post, he keeps his composure to fire into the roof of the net from close range.

9 min GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal (Firmino)

8 min Arsenal may be without their best player but you wouldn't know it. They are playing with a certain swagger in the final third of the pitch. Maybe it benefits them from not always searching for Sanchez or expecting him to do something special?

5 min Giroud does superbly to get the better of Can and lead an Arsenal break-away but he is just too far away to finish the move with a header at the back post. Good start from both teams.

3 min It's been a bright start from the home side who have Can to thank for getting Firmino to the byline. Liverpool earn a corner and it's panic stations inside the penalty area but the Gunners eventually clear.

1 min Arsenal get us underway at Anfield.