Manchester City have renewed hope of winning the Premier League title after Arsenal surrendered a two-goal lead in a frantic 2-2 draw at Liverpool on Sunday.
City were six points ahead of Mikel Arteta’s team at the top of the table, but the defending champions now control the title’s fate.
City has a game in hand and will play the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium in the middle of the month.
Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus appeared to have Arsenal on their way to an eighth victory in a row in the league.
However, Liverpool’s comeback was sparked by a goal from Mohamed Salah just before the halftime break.
After Salah missed a penalty kick in the second half, Roberto Firmino scored an equalizer three minutes later.
After that, Jurgen Klopp’s team failed to convert a number of chances to complete the comeback, and Aaron Ramsdale, the Arsenal goalkeeper, earned a point for his team.
However, the match will also be remembered for a remarkable incident that occurred shortly after the halftime break, when Liverpool left back Andy Robertson was struck in the face by assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis.
Despite a perfect start, Arsenal struggled to overcome one of the major obstacles that stood in their way of winning the league and remain without a home victory over Liverpool since 2012.
The visitors scored after just eight minutes when Bukayo Saka broke through the Liverpool defense and the ball fell kindly for Martinelli to poke past his Brazilian teammate Alisson Becker.
Alisson’s excellent save to deny Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jesus’ glaring miss kept Arsenal out of sight within 15 minutes.
The decline in Virgil van Dijk’s performance has been a major factor in Liverpool’s transition from a team that was close to an unprecedented quadruple last season to mediocrity in the middle of the table.
When Jesus unmarkedly headed in Martinelli’s cross on 28 minutes, the Dutch center back was caught on his heels as Arsenal doubled their lead.
Yet, indications of a young side going for their most memorable title at last showed once Salah split the unfulfilled obligations three minutes before half-time.
Liverpool might have been level by the break as Jordan Henderson bursted one more opportunity of a lifetime over.
But that wasn’t the end of the drama; assistant referee Hatzidakis elbowed Robertson as the players left the field for halftime.
When Rob Holding brought down Diogo Jota, Liverpool had a golden opportunity to level the score, but Salah missed the penalty kick. That incident fueled Liverpool’s second-half surge.
Salah almost made amends moments later when Ramsdale made a stunning save to keep his team in front. The England goalkeeper was needed once more nine minutes from the end to stop a one-on-one with Darwin Nunez.
Firmino at last made the most of Liverpool’s strain when he headed home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross to set up a show off finish.
Before Ramsdale made remarkable saves from the Egyptian and Ibrahima Konate to ensure Arsenal only earned a point, Salah blazed over a glorious opportunity.
But Liverpool’s rally might not be enough on the day, and it might come too late for their chances of playing in the Champions League next season.
Since a remarkable 7-0 victory over Manchester United last month, the Reds have not won any of their five games.
Liverpool is still in eighth place, 12 points behind the top four.
