Liverpool and Arsenal draw 3-3 in wild EPL matchup

Premier League fans were treated to a wild and chaotic match, with Liverpool throwing away a second half lead at the Emirates Stadium by giving up three goals in five minutes to Arsenal, then coming back to equalize and earn a 3-3 draw. It was one of the most energetic and high-paced games in the EPL so far this season, showing off just how intense this holiday period of the schedule can be.

It took a while for the match to get up to speed, but once it did wind up it never let up. Liverpool dominated the run of play in the first half, but could only get one goal out of it, with Philippe Coutinho scoring a rare header, served up off a fortunate deflection of a cross by Laurent Koscielny. Their other chances went wasted, though, thanks to poor finishing, unfortunate deflections, or just plain whiffing on the opportunities despite having them served on silver platters.

That trend continued into the second half, though Mohamed Salah was able to convert on a chance for Liverpool early in the half — and that would be the last thing Liverpool would celebrate for quite awhile in the match.

That’s because Liverpool’s goal kicked off a chaotic and — for them, disastrous -- spell to the match that saw Arsenal score three times in five minutes, with Alexis Sanchez, Granit Xhaka, and Mesut Ozil all taking advantage of bad mistakes from Liverpool’s midfield and defense, as well as absolutely horrendous goalkeeping from Simon Mignolet.

That set up a frantic final half-hour of the match, with Liverpool chasing an equalizer and Arsenal desperate to extend their lead. Liverpool would come away with the final goal of the match with Roberto Firmino striking a ball so fiercely that Petr Cech’s initial save still looped and bounced into the goal in the 70th minute, but there were many chances for both teams to score.

It was a chaotic second half that could have broken in any of numerous directions for either team, and in the end a draw is probably the appropriate result. But Liverpool will feel like they should have won, while Arsenal will be kicking themselves for taking so long to get into the match, given how good they were once they finally did.

The 3-3 draw does nothing to change the outlook of the table for now, as both teams had hoped it would, and it’s going to be interesting to see what lessons both teams take from this match and how they move forward from it.

Arsenal: Petr Cech; Hector Bellerin, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal (Shkodran Mustafi 46’), Ainsley Maitland-Niles; Jack Wilshere, Granit Xhaka; Alex Iwobi (Danny Welbeck 78’), Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez; Alexandre Lacazette

Goals: Sanchez (53’), Xhaka (56’), Ozil (58’)

Liverpool: Simon Mignolet; Joe Gomez, Dejan Lovren, Ragnar Klavan, Andrew Robertson; Jordan Henderson (James Milner 13’), Emre Can, Philippe Coutinho (Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 84’); Sadio Mane (Georginio Wijnaldum 80’), Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah

Goals: Coutinho (25’), Salah (52’), Firmino (70’)

Three things we learned

Liverpool cost themselves a massive opportunity

Liverpool were in full control of the match in the first half and well into the second half, but a lack of cohesion in the final third meant that they had just a two-goal lead despite having five or six clear-cut scoring chances by the time Mo Salah scored. But all match long there had been an undercurrent of sloppiness in their side, with too many turnovers in midfield and defense — they’d just gotten away with it because Arsenal weren’t punishing them.

That changed once Liverpool went up 2-0, though. That scoreline seemed to sharpen the Gunners’ attention, while Liverpool’s own focus seemed to slip, with the defense switching off and the midfield getting bowled over en route to three Arsenal goals in just five minutes to not just throw away their lead, but go down a goal. Yes, Liverpool came back to earn a draw, but that doesn’t change that they had a prime opportunity to get some breathing room over Arsenal and put pressure on third place, and they completely threw it away.

Arsenal need a midfield overhaul

Yes, the Gunners were without a pair of oft-relied on midfielders with Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla out, but there’s little reason to think they would have helped the Gunners much on Friday. Jack Wilshere was so useless for long stretches of the match it was easy to forget he was even on the pitch, and except for his outrageous goal, Granit Xhaka spent so much of the match overwhelmed thanks to Wilshere’s walkabout that he was woefully ineffective.

Arsenal’s midfield has been begging for quality reinforcements for years, but they’ve only gotten help in drips and drabs, while mostly average players like Cazorla, Ramsey, Wilshere, and Francis Coquelin pile up playing time in crucial matches. They were fortunate that Liverpool’s midfield was such a mess on Friday, or else they would he been horribly outclassed and Arsenal wouldn’t have had a chance.

Liverpool needs a midfield overhaul too

The playmaking presence of Coutinho aside, Liverpool’s midfield was an absolute mess on Friday. Jordan Henderson left early in the first half with an injury, and James Milner was woeful at replacing him -- and Henderson hadn’t even been particularly effective playing in his now-customary defensive role as a number six. Emre Can was often anywhere but where he needed to be and was incredibly sloppy on the ball, not to mention far too rash with many of his challenges, and his tendency to get distracted when marking someone off the ball helped lead to one of Arsenal’s goals in their five-minute storm of scoring.

The late substitution to bring on Georginio Wijnaldum helped, as the Dutch midfielder brings much-needed energy and precision to their midfield, but they still badly need an actual high-quality defensive midfielder to serve as a screen for their defense and pivot point for their possession game. Henderson doesn’t give them that. Can doesn’t give them that. Milner definitely doesn’t give them that. Without that kind of player, there’s likely a hard ceiling for how far Liverpool can go as a team right now, which is a shame given how much fun their attack is.

And yes, Liverpool have problems in defense and desperately need a good goalkeeper as well. But a better defensive presence in midfield would help alleviate those issues and help balance the team better overall, and it needs to be a priority for the team in the immediate future.