The Football Association is evaluating whether to investigate an incident involving players from both teams that occurred near the end of Arsenal’s 3-2 victory over Liverpool.
During the added time, Michael Oliver, the referee, rushed to the sideline to meet with Mikel Arteta and Jürgen Klopp, the managers. It is believed to have been related to a dispute that broke out inside the Liverpool penalty area involving multiple players. Gabriel Magalhaes was observed engaging in a heated dispute with Jordan Henderson and waving toward Oliver during the melee.
Oliver spoke with both managers after the game and submitted the situation to the FA, which will consult with the officials before determining its next course of action. An FA representative stated, “We are aware of an incident that occurred during the match between Arsenal and Liverpool.” “We are in communication with the match authorities and will evaluate the incident’s specifics.”
Klopp was left to calculate the quadruple cost of a loss that, according to him, eliminated Liverpool from title contention. After their 3-2 loss, his team is now 14 points behind the leaders, and injuries to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Daz are “not good,” according to the manager.
Daz left before halftime with a knee injury, and AlexanderArnold followed after attempting to continue when Gabriel Martinelli caught his right ankle by accident. Both will have scans, but the stakes are extremely high for Alexander-Arnold. The 24-year-old player’s status in Gareth Southgate’s World Cup plans has been the topic of significant speculation, and after missing Euro 2020 due to injury, a similar result would be devastating.
Klopp stated of Daz, “There’s a problem with his knee.” “He will get a scan, after which we shall learn more. I do not know the extent. In addition, Trent was suffering from a twisted ankle. Not good. Trent never leaves the field; he can play indefinitely. He was in too much discomfort, and it instantly began to swell.
Thus, he shall get a scan.” Any long-term absences would worsen the mood at Liverpool, who lost to Arsenal for only the second time in their last 20 encounters despite twice equalizing.
They are tenth with only two victories, and this season seems more like a battle just to keep their Champions League spot, let alone a challenge for first place.
Regarding the title, he stated, “We are out of the running.” “Imagine if I were to sit here and think, ‘We’re almost there, please be patient We currently have issues, but today we caused the in-form squad, the table-topping side, enormous trouble.
We must continue. In a situation such as ours, Rangers and Manchester City are inevitable [next week] opponents. Is that the ideal adversary for building confidence? Probably not, but we shall battle nonetheless. This is what we must do, and this is what we will do.”
Klopp was dissatisfied with the penalty call that led to Bukayo Saka’s game-winning goal and believed Gabriel Jesus had exaggerated Thiago Alcantara’s challenge. “If I look back at the situation, if there was touch, which I’m not certain there was, it may have been light contact,” he stated. “But the player was standing on both feet before falling. This suggests that something may have been fabricated.” He also believed that Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty kick in the first half for handball by Magalhaes.
Even though Arteta was pleased after the final whistle, he continued to dispel notions that Arsenal is serious title contender. When asked if his squad can defeat anyone, he responded, “On the day we play our best, we have a shot.” “Enjoy where we are now, play with the same boldness and confidence we displayed in the second half, and proceed step by step.”
