That’s your lot for today. Thanks for your company and emails – goodnight!

Bukayo Saka’s reaction

We’re a bit disappointed. Credit to Liverpool, they’re a good team, but we feel like we didn’t show our best selves for the full 90 minutes.

First half we showed our qualities and dominated. We gave them nothing in open play. In the second half we sat back a bit and we weren’t at our best. They won more duels than us, they kept possession and then naturally the momentum was with them so we had to defend more.

I hate missing games and it was really frustrating to be on the sidelines. I had this game in my mind and was going to do everything to be available.

[On his goal] I tried to keep the keeper guessing. I haven’t seen it back but it felt like a nice finish.

I felt like I could have finished the game but the manager decided to take me off.

Virgil van Dijk’s reaction

It’s a very tough place to come, so to come back twice is a good thing. We take the point and move on.

[On his goal] Thomas Partey was only looking at me, not the ball, so it was quite easy to get away from him.

We kept the ball better in the second half. They pressed well in the first half but if we’d kept the ball better we could have got some momentum. We didn’t create loads of chances in the second half but we were much more dominant. We were trying, trying, trying and in the end it was a great goal.

I think they only had two players injured today didn’t they? They played a very, very strong team.

[On his contract] I’m very calm. Let’s see what happens at the end of the season. I’m enjoying my football, I feel very good physically and mentally. It’s a beautiful game that we play.

The updated Premier League table

Gabriel Jesus was booked after the final whistle for giving the referee Anthony Taylor a mouthful. The crowd are booing, though I’ve no idea why: the foul he gave against Kiwior was pretty much a 50/50 decision.

90+6 min Jesus wins a corner off Tsimikas… and the assistant gives a goalkick. The home fans aren’t impressed.

90+4 min Nunez has a hack at Trossard and is booked.

90+3 min Alexander-Arnold’s corner is headed away really well at the near post, possibly by Kiwior.

90+2 min Gakpo wins a corner for Liverpool. Eek, a winning goal now would be a hammer blow.

90+1 min Seven minutes of added time. Liverpool have brought on Wataru Endo for Curtis Jones.

90 min Anthony Taylor whistles for a foul by Kiwior just as Havertz is about to go through on goal. Havertz keeps playing and lobs the ball over Kelleher and onto the post. Jesus follows up to score but the whistle had long gone so VAR can’t get involved.

89 min “Bringing on the promising but untested Lewis-Skelly instead of the experienced Zinchenko was not the obvious decision, and the goal came down that side,” says Kári Tulinius. “Arteta knows infinitely more about his players than me, but I do feel that sometimes he resists the obvious substitution, for reasons I never quite get.”

I can’t comment on the second part, but I can promise you Zinchenko being on the field would have made no difference to the goal.

88 min The corner is headed away to Jesus on the edge of the D. He controls it on the chest, which knocks him off balance, but he still manages to stumble through a couple of challenges and rake a half-volley that is well held above his head by Kelleher. Lovely effort.

87 min Havertz teases a lovely cross over the head of Kelleher. Gabriel Jesus meets it on the volley beyond the far post but the angle is prohibitive and all he can do is win a corner off Jones.

85 min: Double substitution for Arsenal Gabriel Jesus and Ethan Nwaneri come on for Bukayo Saka, who understandably faded in the second half, and Gabriel Martinelli.

83 min Cole Palmer still wins pass of the day/season but that was still a beautiful, almost nonchalant ball from Alexander-Arnold.

Arsenal broke dangerously thriugh Martinelli, who tried to run Konate and was made to realise the futility of that particular idea. The ball was moved forward Alexander-Arnold, who waved a devastating, perfectly weighted pass in behind Lewis-Skelly and Kiwior. Nunez surged onto it, in the inside-right channel, and squared for Salah to score. Salah, who criss-crossed his run with Nunez’s, curled nervelessly into the far corner. Brilliant goal!

79 min This would such a big win for Arsenal, one that would end the external negativity at a stroke and make them feel like they can overcome any adversity.

77 min Arsenal have had some promising attacks in the last few minutes. Merino bobbles the ball across the edge of the area to Havertz, who thumps a half-volley over the bar. Difficult ball to hit.

76 min “This is where Arsenal are really missing Odegaard (and to a lesser extent, Xhaka) - he’s so good at dictating tempo and his distribution and movement allows Arsenal to wrest control back, but today’s midfield has no comparable passers even if a lot of quality still,” says Will Vignoles. “Bit uncomfortable to defend all half, particularly with half a first-choice defence!”

75 min: Arsenal substitution Timber is down again and has been replaced by Erling Haaland’s buddy Myles Lewis-Skelly. He’ll be playing against Mo Salah, who started tearing up the Premier League when Lewis-Skelly was 10 years old.

74 min Arne Slot was booked for something or other apparently.

73 min “Arsenal playing like they’re down a man since the Gabriel injury,” writes Sean Orlowicz. “Very strange approach.”

I can see both sides!

72 min Timber goes down with cramp. He’s okay to continue.

71 min Salah’s outside-of-the-boot cross is clawed away by Raya but only as far as Jones, who chests the ball down and hits an early shot is crucially blocked by Partey.

70 min A tame cross-shot from Szoboszlai goes behind for a goalkick.

69 min See 67 mins. It’s one-way traffic, has been for most of the second half.

67 min Arsenal were so good in the 15 minutes before half-time. Since the break: nada, zilch. Sweet bugger all. They haven’t had a shot on or off target. And yet, for all Liverpool’s pressure, David Raya hasn’t had much to do either.

66 min David Raya is booked for timewasting.

65 min Gravenberch blooters one miles over the bar from 25 yards.

65 min It’s all Liverpool now. The substitute Kiwior heads away crosses from both full-backs in the space of 30 seconds.

64 min “Not a supporter of either club, but I really want Arsenal to win so they can bring out the huge cameras and Jamie Carragher cardboard cut-outs,” says Dan Christmas. “If they did that they’d be my second team forever.”

I can see both sides!

63 min: Triple substitution for Liverpool See, told you. Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Kostas Tsimikas come on for Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister and Andy Robertson.

62 min Liverpool are getting three players ready: Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Kostas Tsimikas.

61 min Robertson’s corner doesn’t beat Havertz at the near post.

60 min Nunez is crowded out desperately in the Arsenal area after a good ball from Gravenberch, then Alexander-Arnold’s shot deflects over the bar. Liverpool have a whiff of claret in their nostrils.

58 min Liverpool are having a good spell and have had 66 per cent of the possession since half-time. Alexander-Arnold throttles a long-range shot well wide from 25 yards.

56 min Salah is starting to liven up. He slips Timber superbly, runs from the halfway line to the edge of the area and cuts back inside onto his left foot. That slight delay is crucial because by the time he crosses the ball Diaz is offside.

55 min Arsenal’s defence, from left to right, is Timber-Kiwior-White-Partey. You’d have got long odds on that nine days ago.

54 min: Arsenal substitution Jakub Kiwior replaces the limping Gabriel. It looks like he got the injury when Nunez ran into the back of him at the start of the second half.

53 min Gabriel is down again, and this time it’s terminal.

52 min Better from Liverpool. Salah plays a slick one-two with Mac Allister on the edge of the area, then rams a shot from an absurd angle that is pushed away by Raya. He should probably have crossed it.

51 min Diaz goes on a mazy run near the byline, past Partey and White, but then he overruns the ball and fouls David Raya. He’s been the brighest of Liverpool’s front three.

50 min Actually it might be Gabriel’s left knee that is troubling him. Either way, he’s going to try to continue.

48 min More injury woe for Arsenal: Gabriel is down with what looks like a muscle injury. Jakub Kiwior, who had a miserable time at Bournemouth last weekend, is warming up.

48 min Havertz breaks dangerously behind Robertson and slides a low cross that is well cleared by Konate.

47 min Sipke Hulshoff, Liverpool’s assistant manager, has been booked.

46 min Peep peep! Arsenal begin the second half.

45+4 min Alexander-Arnold’s excellent cross is met by Mac Allister, whose flicked header from 10 yards is held to his right by Raya. A difficult chance.

45+1 min There are four minutes of added time. Merino eventually headed in from six yards, which makes you wonder whether Kelleher could have come in. But Rice’s cross was perfectly struck and always curling away from Kelleher, who was like a batsman being done in the flight by Noman Ali.

GOAL GIVEN! Van Dijk’s trailing leg was playing Merino onside.

45 min They’re still checking it.

44 min There’s a VAR check for offside…

Merino owes a big thank you to Declan Rice, who curled a devastating free-kick into the corridor of uncertainty from a narrow position on the right. It was met by Merino, six yards out at the far post, and he powered a header past Kelleher.

41 min Arsenal are all over Liverpool at the moment. Trossard’s cross from the left is headed away well by Van Dijk but Rice ensures Liverpool can’t get out by winning the ball back.

41 min Underrated.

39 min Arsenal certainly have the right to feel aggrieved when Nunez gets away with flattening Saka just outside the penalty area on the right. That was a clear foul.

38 min This is an excellent spell for Arsenal, their best of the half. I think Diaz has just kicked the ball away again without being penalised. Thoughts with Twitter cranks at this difficult time.

37 min A flat, driven cross from the left is missed by Van Dijk and hits the unsighted Havertz at the far post. Had he controlled it he’d have had a clear chance, though he saw it very late.

35 min Martinelli lifts a shot over the bar from the edge of the area. It came at the end of a good move that included a brilliant piece of control from Merino, who was in mid-air when he pulled down Rice’s crossfield pass. It was almost a mirror image of Dennis Bergkamp’s first touch against Argentina in 1998.

33 min Mac Allister is booked for a foul on Saka, who led him a merry dance before being brought down.

31 min: Penalty appeal Martinelli goes flying after a clumsy challenge from Konate and Alexander-Arnold. The ball bounces towards Havertz, who can’t over the bouncing ball and swishes it over the bar.

There’s a VAR check but no penalty because Konate got something on the ball before sending Martinelli into outer space. It could have gone either way; had a penalty been given I’m not sure it would have been overturned.

31 min “Merino is left footed,” says Gary Stover of the decision to play Rice on the right.

True, but Rice is right footed and usually plays to the left of centre – as he did last week at Bournemouth even though Merino was on the pitch. I suspect there’s another reason.

30 min “Right,” says Matt Dony. “I’m just about to walk onto a five-a-side pitch. (My knees are not ready for this!) If nothing of import could happen for an hour or so, that would be greatly appreciated…”

29 min A really good break from Arsenal. Eventually Martinelli beats Alexander-Arnold and fires a dangerous early cross. It beats Saka at the near post and has too much heat for Havertz to control beyond the far post.

28 min Alexander-Arnold plays a good return ball to Salah, who tries to tee up the onrushing Jones. The pass takes a deflection, which leads to an impromptu game of pinball before Arsenal clear.

It feels like Liverpool are slowly getting on top.

26 min Arsenal play on even though Mac Allister is down. He eventually gets to his feet, is booed for doing so and then gives the referee a serve.

25 min “Sometimes it’s hard to recognise sarcasm in writing,” says Joe Pearson, “but was your post at 5 mins a subtle reference to Partey maybe needing help against the more mobile Diaz?”

Ha, no it wasn’t, and I don’t think that’s why Rice is playing there. You do sometimes have central midfielders picked specifically to help a full-back – Darren Fletcher did it superbly against Arsenal at the start of his career – but that’s almost always in a 4-3-3.

24 min Saka, Arsenal’s biggest threat by a distance, whips a curler over the bar from 25 yards. It’s a strange thing to say, given how popular he is, but there’s an argument Saka is still underrated.

22 min It was Diaz who kicked the ball away. The referee did see it; apparently the reason he wasn’t booked is because he didn’t delay the restart because Arsenal weren’t set for the free-kick. Is that a valid reason? City weren’t set when Trossard went off, surely?

20 min: Chance for Merino! Rice curls a brilliant free-kick from a deepish position on the right. It beats the men at the near post and reaches Merino, who cushions a volley well wide from six yards. At first it looked a great chance, though maybe the ball was slightly behind him.

19 min Arsenal’s fans aren’t happy because a Liverpool player has just kicked the ball away. I didn’t see who it was; nor, more importantly, did the referee Anthony Taylor.

For the second league game in a row, Arsenal have been done on a set-piece. Alexander-Arnold clipped it towards the near post, where Diaz headed it on Steve Bould-style. Van Dijk stooped in front of Partey, six yards out, and steered a header past Raya.

16 min “Hello from Pittsburgh!” says Eric Peterson. “The nature of this ‘rivalry’ seems defined by how much each club loathes Manchester United - it’s tough to summon enmity for a club with which you have that in common. I’m looking forward to seeing a game that can reveal the ‘real’ Liverpool in present time. Notable as it is to collect the results Arne Slot has, it remains true that their opponents thus far have been almost unanimously from the bottom half of the table. This game is a status check for the new Liverpool and a foreshadowing of what’s in store on their league docket now that the strength-of-opposition pendulum swings against them.”

I think Niall’s point is the key one; their success has rarely coincided. That’s the basis for maybe 90 per cent of rivalries that aren’t based on geography.

14 min: Chance for Salah! Mikel Merino allows the ball to run under his feet, 25 yards from goal. It rolls towards Salah, with Raya well off his line, but his first-time shot curls a few yards wide of the right-hand post. For a player of his etc, that was a chance.

11 min Gary Neville, commentating on Sky, thinks Virgil van Dijk didn’t do enough to help Robertson on the goal. Even so, the way Saka slipped the ball between Robertson’s legs to tee up the shot, then surprise Kelleher by whipping it past him at the near post, was lovely.

Bukayo Saka has put Arsenal ahead with an outstanding goal. Ben White, playing centre-back today, clipped an excellent long pass in behind Robertson that was collected by Saka. He scurried into the area, nutmegged Robertson and whipped the ball past Kelleher at the near post.

8 min The game hasn’t settled down yet, though Salah almost enlivens it with a Palmerish through pass towards Diaz. Ben White makes an important interception.

7 min Van Dijk has a bit of a kick at Havertz off the ball and is penalised; he could have been booked for that. Arsenal make nothing of the free-kick.

5 min Arsenal are platying with a box midfield. The only slight change is that Declan Rice is the right-sided central midfielder; wonder why that is.

4 min There’s an excellent atmosphere at the Emirates, as there has been throughout their ascent under Mikel Arteta. There’s almost an underdog mentality today, with every challenge being cheered. Nowt wrong with that.

2 min Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick is headed on dangerously by Van Dijk and headed away by somebody in a red shirt on the six-yard line.

2 min Saka’s first action is a foul on Robertson down the Liverpool left. Alexander-Arnold is over the ball…

1 min Peep peep! After a performance of the Last Post, Curtis Jones gets the match underway. Liverpool, in their black change strip, are kicking from right to left as we watch.

A reminder of the teams

Arsenal could play Trossard deeper in a 4-3-3, though Mikel Arteta often likes a box midfield in the biggest games.

Arsenal (possible 4-2-4) Raya; Partey, White, Gabriel, Timber; Merino, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard, Martinelli.
Substitutes: Neto, Gabriel Jesus, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Sterling, Lewis-Skelly, Nichols, Nwaneri.

Liverpool (4-3-3) Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Nunez, Diaz.
Substitutes: Jaros, Davies, Gomez, Endo, Szoboszlai, Gakpo, Tsimikas, Quansah, Morton.

Referee Anthony Taylor.

And Arne Slot’s

Curtis [Jones] has had a week’s rest so hopefully he can perform the way he did last week.

You don’t think about the points gap [Liverpool will go seven clear of Arsenal if they win] before a game, you think about preparing the team in the best possible way for them to perform. Sometimes it’s the quality of the player that makes the difference; sometimes it’s a lucky decision. Set-pieces are also important. You have to put a lot of effort in, then at the end if you get a result you can look at the points difference.

Mikel Arteta’s pre-match thoughts

[On the return of Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber] They tried so hard to be available and it’s a big boost for us. Injuries mean an opportunity for others and we have an unbelievable squad.

A message for the crowd as well: when they come here to the Emirates they really need to feel it, and we have to play with that body language and certainty to win the game.

“It’s funny the lack of true rivalry between Liverpool and Arsenal,” says Niall Mullen. “Probably their peaks never really coincided (“it’s up for grabs” aside). The closest thing to enmity I can recall was after Stephane Hénchoz’s goalkeeping exploits in 2001 and the fortuitous penalty in the 2008 Champions League quarter final. I guess that could change but it feels like the two clubs have an enemy in common these days.”

There were also three red cards in a game in August 2000, though that was more about Graham Poll than any strong rivalry. The peak is surely 1986-91, when George Graham knocked Liverpool off their perch. Liverpool had their moments too, obviously, including one of my favourite free-kicks.

From the archive

“Phew, well I’d call it the match of the century, I don’t know about Match of the Day,” puffed Wolstenholme pitchside after the final whistle. Colour analyst Walley Barnes – he of the late own goal in 1947 – veered awkwardly into shot to agree that “match of the century is probably very right”. Sadly, nobody who went to Anfield that day would have been able to hear these Cholmondley Warneresque jolly japes. BBC2 had only been on the air for four months, and was only available in the London area. An estimated audience of 20,000 watched history being transmitted – less than half of the day’s 47,620 attendance – and viewers in Liverpool would have to make do with either The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, a western on BBC1, or ABC’s western Sugarfoot. Today’s multi-channel world of wall-to-wall tat suddenly doesn’t seem so oppressive.

Arsenal were criticised for overcelebrating after a terrific 3-1 victory over Liverpool at the Emirates in February. And they’ll happily do it again if they win today.