Mohamed Salah attacks late to deny Arsenal and a rescue point for Liverpool | first division

The numbers speak for themselves. Mohamed Salah not only excels against the Premier League's lesser teams, but routinely hurts Liverpool's rivals in the so-called Big Six. And so it was here. One more time.

The first half was a story of Bukayo Saka's excellence for Arsenal. He scored a wonderful first goal and, after Virgil Van Dijk assisted Liverpool Returning to the canvas, Arsenal's first goal came from Mikel Merino, a summer signing from Real Sociedad.

Mikel Arteta's team looked set for a big win in a game they really couldn't afford to lose. Everything changed in the second half when Arsenal lost Gabriel Magalhães and then Jurriën Timber to injuries. His defensive reserves were already close to breaking point. Now they exploded.

Liverpool didn't create much and there was a feeling that Arsenal might be set for a back-to-the-wall win. But the visitors just needed to create something and when they did, Salah made it count for a result that further increased the feel-good factor under Arne Slot.

It was Darwin Núñez who played the final pass after a beautiful ball down the right inside channel from Trent Alexander-Arnold and there was Salah to sweep home. Was there even a hint of doubt about the result when the low cross reached him? Statistics show that Salah has 62 goals and assists in 73 games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester clubs. It was his 11th goal in 15 league games against Arsenal.

The draw was a fair result, even if Arsenal were furious at the end when Gabriel Jesus put the ball into the net. The referee, Anthony Taylor, had long since blown his whistle, although it was not entirely clear why he had done so at that time. Perhaps it was due to a foul by another substitute, Jakub Kiwior, in the build-up. Kai Havertz assisted the ball over Caoimhín Kelleher and against a post but the play was clearly dead.

It would be a mistake to focus on that moment, no matter how much Arsenal fans chatted as they left the stadium. From his point of view, it was better to salute the back-and-forth performance of the first half, which was illuminated by Saka, who had returned from a hamstring injury.

It's worth dwelling on how he manipulated space for the decisive goal, how he tied up Andy Robertson inside and out with a touch of hypnotic brilliance. Saka's first had been to bowl a Ben White long ball down the channel under his influence, but it was all about the second; a wicked nutmeg to Robertson with the outside of his left boot as he sliced ​​through the inside. He even had a bit of stun, which opened up the opportunity to shoot. Saka hit high inside Kelleher's near post.

Liverpool were not down for long. Van Dijk had shown he was ready for the fight, colliding with the ball early on with Havertz and launching two kicks at the Arsenal striker. Taylor called back the play for a free throw but took no further action. Which was disconcerting. From then on, Van Dijk became the target of the local public.

Salah had wasted half a chance after poor control by Merino when Van Dijk put his head where it hurt to level his team. It was a corner from Alexander-Arnold from the left and Luis Díaz was the first to throw the ball past Havertz. Van Dijk beat Thomas Partey in a crowded small area.

Arsenal roared back, the intensity of their performance in the first half was truly remarkable; The same emphatically applies to the way Saka played. Every time he came on, alarm bells rang for Liverpool. He was often too quick and cunning; always in control of the situation.

Arsenal's second came from a routine free kick they had tried in the 19th minute, Declan Rice batted the ball in from the right and Merino timed his run. On the first occasion, Merino tangled with Partey and the opportunity was lost. Now, with 43 minutes on the clock, he got it right, the header filled the net, Van Dijk's boot finding he had played it just inside after a chaotic and lengthy video assistant referee review.

Arteta was without the suspended William Saliba and the injured Riccardo Calafiori and his solution had been to start Partey at right-back, move White to the center and ask Timber, who passed a late fitness test, to take over at left-back. But he had to regroup when Gabriel appeared to hit his knee on the turf and was forced off in the 54th minute and Timber later succumbed to cramp. Kiwior and Myles Lewis-Skelly were the substitutes.

Liverpool sensed that they could get something out of it. They kept the ball more easily in the second half and pressed; Its dominance in territorial terms is pronounced. Confidence breeds patience in these types of situations and Liverpool have plenty of that after their start with Slot. They also have Salah.