CECH’S GIFT
Keeper lets Kop back in to draw a real cracker
ARSENAL and Liverpool served up a ding-dong Christmas cracker as they shared the spoils at the Emirates last night.
Jurgen Klopp’s side looked set for a fifth win on the road with goals either side of the break from Philippe Coutinho and Mohamed Salah.
But Alexis Sanchez sparked a fiveminute triple salvo from Arsenal, pulling one back immediately after Liverpool’s second.
Simon Mignolet then gifted Arsenal a second, the Liverpool keeper’s weak one-handed save unable to keep out Granit Xhaka’s long-range strike.
Mesut Ozil looked to have bagged three points for the Gunners when he finished off a slick move.
But Mignolet was not the only keeper who came bearing gifts as Petr Cech let Firmino’s shot slip through his fingers for Liverpool’s dramatic equaliser.
THREE Arsenal goals in five sensational minutes sparked an amazing turnaround at the Emirates last night.
It looked like being a Hard Day’s Night for the Gunners after two of Liverpool’s Fab Four, Philippe Coutinho and Mohamed Salah, put them 2-0 up.
Salah’s strike came in the 52nd minute and Liverpool were cruising.
But then came the astounding Gunners revival which turned groans, moans and boos into a Friday night frenzy of excitement for the home fans.
Alexis Sanchez sparked it in the 53rd minute with a header. A Granit Xhaka thunderbolt levelled it up before Mesut Ozil’s clinical finish made it 3-2.
Hangover
But Jurgen Klopp’s men proved they could hit back themselves through Roberto Firmino to make it 3-3.
Until Sanchez’s goal, Arsene Wenger’s men had looked like they were suffering a pre-Christmas hangover. They were awful and the home support did not hold back in letting them know it.
It was a big occasion for Wenger, with the Frenchman confessing in the buildup to the game he was still haunted by the 4-0 defeat at Anfield in August.
Coutinho did not play in that game, which came as Barcelona were pulling out all the stops to sign him.
The playmaker again showed why the Nou Camp giants still want him so much, looking a class above the rest early on.
Coutinho was joined by the other members of his ‘band’ last night – Salah, Firmino and Sadio Mane.
Striker Firmino failed to score with two headed chances. Then in the 26th minute fellow Brazilian Coutinho showed him how to do it.
Substitute James Milner, on early for the injured Jordan Henderson, picked out the run of Salah on the right wing.
Laurent Koscielny backed off and when Salah poked in a cross, it hit the Frenchman and fell perfectly for Coutinho to nod over Petr Cech.
Firmino almost made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute, shaking off Nacho Monreal all too easily and then bending a right-foot shot just over the bar.
Another Milner through ball had Arsenal in trouble again. Koscielny