Arsenal and Liverpool have had an interesting rivalry with no team dominating the other for years at a time in recent memory. The two sides have produced some great matches, so here is a look at the top five battles between the north London and Merseyside clubs.
5. Arsenal 4-2 Liverpool: 9th April 2004
This hard-fought win for the Gunners kept their undefeated record for the famous “Invincibles” season and expanded their lead at the top to seven points at the time. Arsenal were down 2-0 at the break thanks to a fifth-minute Sami Hyypia header and a neat finish from Michael Owen just before half-time. Robert Pires cut the Liverpool lead in half five minutes after the half, and then the King, Thierry Henry, took matters into his own hands, scoring a hat-trick to end the match and seal the win with. In the process, he finished the day with 107 Premier League goals, which was an Arsenal record.
4. Arsenal 4-1 Liverpool: 4th April 2015
This match was thorough Arsenal domination, and the scoreline shows that. The floodgates opened in the 37th minute when Hector Bellerin, the young right back who had recently broken into the first team at the time, cut in from the right-wing to curl a shot on his weaker foot past Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. That neat finish was followed by a Mesut Özil free-kick to the far post and then a dipping shot from just outside the box by Alexis Sanchez. Towards the end of the match, Jordan Henderson converted a penalty, but it was not enough to make a comeback and shortly after that, Olivier Giroud latched onto a forward ball to make it 4-1 and put the icing on the cake.
3. Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal: 8th February 2014
This match was the polar opposite to the previous, as this was thorough Liverpool domination. Defender Martin Skrtel had two goals from set pieces in the first 10 minutes, and it was 4-0 by the 20-minute mark thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge. Sterling later made it 5-0 and then a 69th minute Mikel Arteta penalty was the only consolation, as well as the last goal of a match that, to Arsenal supporters, seemed to go on forever. After this, Arsenal’s title hopes slipped as their form and momentum plummeted just like their league position. After being on top of the table for most of the season until that fateful day, Arsenal finished in fourth place that season.
2. Liverpool 4-4 Arsenal: 21st April 2009
Andrey Arshavin was the hero from an Arsenal standpoint during this thriller of a contest, as he scored four goals on the day at Anfield. It should have been an away victory, but braces from Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun made it a draw. It was contested until the last kick when Benayoun scored in late stoppage time, after Arshavin scored around the 90th minute. It was undoubtedly the most memorable performance from the Russian, who had a disappointing career at the Emirates Stadium, but Arsenal supporters will remember the day the small Russian winger scored four against a Liverpool defence that had Daniel Agger, Jamie Carragher, and Alvaro Arbeloa, and Javier Mascherano as the defensive midfielder.
1. Liverpool 3-6 Arsenal: 9th January 2007
Julio Baptista went into this Carling Cup match without a goal in England to his name. After 90 minutes, he had four. Jeremy Aliadiere started the scoring in the 27th minute, only to be canceled out by a Robbie Fowler equalizer six minutes later. Baptista then scored on the 40th-minute mark, followed by goals from him and Alex Song right on half-time. It was 3-0 at the break, and Arsenal never looked back en route to a 6-3 triumph at Anfield in the Carling Cup quarterfinals.
