Liverpool lost 3-1 against Arsenal in the Premier League at the weekend. Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard were all on target for the Gunners.
The league leaders put in a well below-par performance and were punished for some silly errors, but still remain two points clear at the top of the table, even if Manchester City have a game in hand.
Key players including Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah were missing but that was no excuse. Liverpool simply didn’t turn up and perform at the level required when Mikel Arteta’s side rose to the occasion. Uncharacteristic mistakes from Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker didn’t help the cause either.
While Arsenal celebrated the three points in a manner that showed just how important their players felt the victory was, the Gunners have received some less positive news since. It will not take that much of a shine of an important victory, however.
According to the Daily Mirror, Arsenal face a fine of around £25k. That is because Arteta’s side picked up six bookings from referee Anthony Taylor, which is enough to trigger an FA fine for improper discipline.
Starters Benjamin White, William Saliba, Gabriel, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz were all booked, while half-time substitute Jakub Kiwior was cautioned.
Only Joe Gomez and Darwin Núñez were booked for Liverpool aside from Ibrahima Konaté, who received two yellows and was sent off in minute 88.
“A lot of things were against us today,” Jürgen Klopp said about the officiating post-match.
“This referee gave me a red card against Man City for a wrestling situation between Bernardo Silva and Mohamed Salah. Today, same situation with [Diogo] Jota but [I] didn’t get a red card.
“It is unbelievable, then the one of holding [Kai] Havertz on Konaté for the first yellow card. Then Havertz goes down and the referee gives Konaté a yellow card. Gabriel [Magalhães] does the same to Núñez and no yellow card.”
