Alexandre Lacazette strikes to salvage draw for Arsenal against Liverpool

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:27 am

Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette rescued a point nine minutes from time as he cancelled out James Milner's opener in an entertaining 1-1 draw at the Emirates.

The goal prevented unbeaten Liverpool from opening up a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League, while Unai Emery's are now unbeaten in 14.

Arsenal impressed in a first half which saw both sides have a goal disallowed -- and fail to capitalise on almost identical goalkeeping errors.

On 16 minutes, Henrikh Mkhitaryan rose to meet a cross in the Liverpool box and Alisson came charging out, but completely mistimed his challenge and was lucky to see the ball fall just wide off the Armenian's head.

Two minutes later, Sadio Mane felt aggrieved at seeing his tap-in ruled out for offside. The Senegal international was offside when the original ball was lobbed over the Arsenal defence, but Roberto Firmino got on the end of it ahead of his strike partner.

His effort hit the post and the rebound was put in by Mane, who was behind Firmino when the Brazilian took the shot, but the assistant referee had his flag up.

Five minutes before half-time, it was Arsenal's turn to feel hard done by when Lacazette finished off at the back post after a Shkodran Mustafi header, but was adjudged to have been offside.

And, in first half stoppage time, Bernd Leno produced an almost carbon copy of Alisson's earlier error by charging out in an attempt to stop a Virgil van Dijk header but misjudged the flight of the ball and was lucky to see it come back off the post.

Arsenal continued their superiority at the start of the second half; and the opening goal on 61 minutes came totally against the run of play, with Leno chiefly at fault. The German parried Mane's effort out to the edge of the area, and Milner stepped up to slam the ball into the net.

But Lacazette provided the equaliser for Arsenal on 81 minutes. The Frenchman drew Alisson out after latching onto the end of Alex Iwobi's through ball and took his time before creating an opening and firing the ball into the bottom corner.