Mohamed Salah strikes late to deny Arsenal and rescue point for Liverpool

The numbers speak for themselves. Mohamed Salah does not only make hay against the Premier League’s lesser lights, he routinely damages Liverpool’s rivals in the so-called Big Six. And so it was again here. Yet again.

The first half had been a story of Bukayo Saka’s excellence for Arsenal. He scored a wonderful opener and, after Virgil van Dijk had helped Liverpool back up from the canvas, there was a first Arsenal goal for Mikel Merino. Mikel Arteta’s team looked set for a statement victory in a game that they dared not lose.

Everything changed in the second half. Arsenal lost Gabriel Magalhães and Jurriën Timber to injuries, depleting their already stretched defensive reserves, and Liverpool kept on coming. They did not create much but they only needed to create something. When they did, Salah made it count for a result that further swelled the feelgood factor under Arne Slot.

It was Darwin Núñez who played the final pass after excellent work by Trent Alexander-Arnold and there was Salah to sweep home. When the low cross reached him, the finish was not in doubt and the statistics now show that Salah has 62 combined goals and assists in 73 appearances against Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and the Manchester clubs. It was his 11th league goal in 15 appearances against Arsenal.

The draw was the fair result, even if Arsenal would rage at the very end when the substitute Ethan Nwaneri had the ball in the net. The referee, Anthony Taylor, had long since blown his whistle, although it was not entirely clear why in the moment.

Arteta had said on Tuesday that Saka, who had not played since England’s loss to Greece on 10 October, was “unlikely” to be involved but everybody knows it is never wise to read too much into his injury steers. Saka showed zero sign of any ring-rust.

It is worth dwelling on how he manipulated the space for the breakthrough goal, how he tied Andy Robertson inside and out with a touch of mesmeric brilliance. Saka’s first one had been to bring a long Ben White ball up the channel under his influence but it was all about the second; an impish nutmeg with the outside of his left boot on Robertson as he sliced inside. It even had a bit of stun on it, which opened up the shooting opportunity. Saka banged the finish high inside Caoimhín Kelleher’s near post.

Liverpool were not down for long. Van Dijk had shown that he was up for fight, clashing off the ball with Kai Havertz at the outset, aiming two kicks at the Arsenal forward. Taylor called back the play for a free-kick but he took no further action. Which was baffling. Van Dijk was a target for the home crowd thereafter but he did not care.

Salah had wasted a half chance after a mis-control by Merino when Van Dijk put his head in where it stood to hurt to haul his team level. It was an inswinging Alexander-Arnold corner from the left and Luis Díaz was first to the flick-on ahead of Havertz. Van Dijk’s touch in a crowded six-yard box was decisive.

Arsenal were not down for long. The intensity of their first-half performance was really something, the same resoundingly true of Saka’s performance. Every time he surged inside, the alarm bells sounded. He was frequently too quick and too tricky; always in control of the situation. He took several whacks. For Liverpool, it felt like the only way, at times.

Arsenal deserved to be back in front at the interval, the goal coming after a chaotically long video assistant referee check. They had road-tested the free-kick routine in the 19th minute, Declan Rice whipping it over from the right and Merino timing his run. On that occasion, he got into a tangle with his own teammate, Thomas Partey, and the chance was lost. Now, with 43 minutes on the clock, Merino got it just right, the stooping header swelling the net, Van Dijk’s boot found to have played him just onside.

Gabriel Martinelli had been denied by a desperate Ibrahima Konaté tackle on the half-hour while the Arsenal winger also lifted high when well-placed. Alexis Mac Allister headed too close to David Raya in first-half stoppage time but Liverpool needed to reset during the break.

The contest was framed in part by those whom Arteta did not have in defence – principally William Saliba, who was suspended, and Riccardo Calafiori, who has a knee problem. His move was to start Partey at right-back, shuffle White to right centre-half and ask Timber, who passed a late fitness check, to fill in at left-back.

Arteta would be forced into another change in the 54th minute, his defence even more makeshift when Gabriel could not continue after appearing to jar his knee in the turf. On came Jakub Kiwior to partner White in the middle. Did Arteta have anyone in his most recognised position at the back?

Liverpool sensed that there could be something in it for them; the Arsenal support grew fretful. Slot had set up with Curtis Jones in the No 10 role; he also gave Mac Allister the scope to push forward. After the hour, he introduced Dominik Szoboszlai for Mac Allister as a part of a triple change; now Szoboszlai had the No 10 position.

Liverpool pushed; Arsenal dug in, nobody more so than Timber, who started to cramp up before he, too, had to depart. On came Myles Lewis-Skelly. There were still 15 minutes to play.

It was all that Arsenal could do to escape their half after the interval. It became a test of their resolve. Liverpool’s dominance of the second period was near total in territorial terms and they knew that they might need only one moment to enjoy their reward.

Alexander-Arnold, whose influence increased, was at the heart of the second equaliser, his ball up the inside right channel for Núñez a thing of beauty. Salah started to move inside from the flank and when Núñez crossed, everybody knew what would happen next.