AN own goal by Jakub Kiwior and a thumping late strike by Luis Diaz sealed a 2-0 victory for Liverpool at Arsenal in the weekend’s headline FA Cup third-round tie as the hosts’ dismal form extended into the New Year.
Arsenal wasted a sackful of chances in the first half and was made to pay as Liverpool skipper Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick glanced off the head of Kiwior in the 80th minute.
Diaz then made sure of eight-time winners Liverpool’s place in the fourth-round draw as he lashed home in stoppage time.
Earlier on Sunday, Manchester City romped to a 5-0 victory over second-tier Huddersfield Town with Phil Foden scoring twice and Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne returning to action after a four-month injury layoff.
Arsenal have now lost three games in a row in all competitions and their wayward finishing was evident again as they squandered a flurry of first-half chances.
Reiss Nelson latched on to a punt forward by Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale in the fourth minute but could only shoot into the side netting and captain Martin Odegaard then rattled the crossbar with a fierce drive after a mistake by Joe Gomez.
Kai Havertz could not capitalise on two good chances as Arsenal failed to punish a lacklustre Liverpool, although Alexander-Arnold did hit the crossbar for the visitors.
Arsenal continued to make chances in the second half with Bukayo Saka volleying clumsily over from Declan Rice’s cross.
Liverpool then woke up with Ramsdale saving from Diaz and Diogo Jota heading against the crossbar before the unfortunate Kiwior inadvertently glanced in Alexander-Arnold’s free kick.
Backed by 7,000 visiting fans, Liverpool then wrapped it up as Diaz slammed an unstoppable shot past Ramsdale.
“We changed things around at halftime internally, and we came out and played football and created chances,” Alexander-Arnold said. “There were times in the first half that we were a little bit naive … We hit the woodwork a couple of times, so we’ve had our chances, and towards the end, we put them away.”
DE BRUYNE BACK
City suffered a setback when they lost defender Manuel Akanji to injury early on and Huddersfield were proving stubborn until Foden fired them ahead and Julian Alvarez poked home a second before the interval.
De Bruyne entered the fray in the 57th minute and City added their third a minute later as Norwegian winger Oscar Bobb tried to pick out the Belgian at the far post, only to see his deflected cross loop into the net to make it 3-0.
Foden added his second with a precise shot and De Bruyne teed up fellow substitute Jeremy Doku to complete the rout.
“We are incredibly delighted to have him back because Kevin helps to win games. It is so important to have him back after a long injury,” Guardiola told the BBC.
Elsewhere Luton Town played out a scoreless draw at home against Bolton Wanderers, and Nottingham Forest was held to a 2-2 draw at the City Ground by Blackpool while West Ham United and Bristol City ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
Leeds United had no such problems as striker Patrick Bamford netted a brilliant volley in a 3-0 hammering of Peterborough United, and West Bromwich Albion cruised to a 4-1 win at home to Aldershot Town.
