Much like their previous encounter in the FA Community Shield, Arsenal were able to emerge victorious on penalties against Liverpool. This time around, the Gunners were in Liverpool’s fortress, Anfield, unlike the neutral comfort of Wembley. Upon this victory, Mikel Arteta will invite Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City for a mouth-watering quarter-final in the Carabao Cup.
Bernd Leno’s heroics enabled the tie to remain 0-0 after 90 minutes. The German goalkeeper kept Liverpool at bay with some stunning saves. Liverpool could not find the back of the net despite having seven shots on target.
With the tie heading to penalties after nothing separated the two sides, both the teams went off to a perfect start. Arsenal midfielder Elneny was the first to miss from the spot, Liverpool’s Divock Origi followed suit as well following a stunning save from Leno.
Much like their FA Community Shield penalty loss to Arsenal, it was an academy player that unfortunately turned up with the decisive miss. Harry Wilson’s effort was kept out by the German shot-stopper which sealed Liverpool’s exit from the competition.
“It was a very tough game, It is very good to save some penalties and see some laughing faces but I prefer next time to win the game before penalties. But the main thing is we won.”, Leno revealed after the game
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta commented on the win by saying:
“I am really happy with the performance. I think the boys were exceptional, I thought they were superb.
“It is the third time in about eight weeks that we have played against the best team in Europe, in my opinion, and it is a step forward for my team.
“We still have a lot of things to learn but we are on the right path, I think.
Quarter-final draw revealed as Arsenal get a home draw against Manchester City
The draw for the quarter-final fixtures was carried right after the proceedings were finished at Anfield.
In a rematch of last year’s FA Cup semi-final, Mikel Arteta will have to overcome Pep Guardiola once again to advance in the tournament. Arsenal will face the Cityzens at the Emirates in December for a spot in the semi-finals.
On the other hand, Manchester United face a trip to Goodison Park to face the red-hot Everton side while Stoke City earn a home tie against Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur. Championship side Brentford will face Newcastle United in the last fixture of the quarter-finals.
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