Liverpool close gap at top as Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino sink Arsenal

Liverpool took their chance and, in doing so, showed Arsenal what happens when you fail to do exactly that. While the door to a title race had been left ajar for them on Monday there was always the knowledge in Jürgen Klopp’s mind that winning at the Emirates is a tall order nowadays.

That was evident during the first half, when Arsenal were the better side, but the game turned after Martin Ødegaard missed the hosts’ best chance of the night. Within eight minutes Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino had made him regret it and Mikel Arteta was left to reflect on the margins that, as he had warned pre-match, still exist between his team and those at the summit. For Liverpool, who were not at their best, a single-point gap to the lead looks deliciously surmountable.

The energy that has spurred Arsenal’s rise from basket case to top-four favourites was encapsulated in the 20th minute when Gabriel Martinelli, sprinting from his wide attacking berth to the midway point in his own half, slid in to stop Trent Alexander-Arnold advancing on the home penalty area. Arsenal are quick starters here and, in heavy rain that only augmented an excitable atmosphere, they set out with intent yet again.

There could have been the temptation to regard this as a free hit, given their position would look favourable regardless, but that was never a credible state of mind for Arteta. His side showed when outplaying Manchester City on New Year’s Day that, minus the old niggles that resurfaced to deny them, they can finally compete with the best; turning that level of performance into a victory would hammer home the point that their momentum is becoming irresistible.

Arsenal press with a ferocity Klopp would admire and, as a result, Liverpool were