Arsenal's early dominance was huge. Liverpool were pushed deep into their own half. Bukayo Saka, in good form, linked up with Milos Kerkez on the right wing. But the dominance did not translate into clear chances for an early lead in the pouring rain at the Emirates Stadium.
The attack slowed, Liverpool had more to say and then, out of nowhere, came the opportunity to shake up the league leaders.
Hit the bar
Center back Gabriel put his goalkeeper David Raya in trouble after a misunderstanding. The back pass was both hard and slightly misdirected. Raya's half-hearted clearance ended up at the feet of Conor Bradley, whose lob hit the crossbar. Cody Gakpo cut in on the rebound but the shot was blocked.
That was also all Liverpool produced going forward before the break.
Without the injured Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak, and with Mohamed Salah with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, Liverpool lacked the striker needed to put Arsenal under threat.
Tough evening for Gyökeres
Viktor Gyökeres, the national team striker, struggled the most but made a really nice opening pass. Otherwise, he was mostly involved in a positional war with center backs Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.
By the 65th minute, the Swede had done his thing.
Dominik Szoboszlai decided the match at Anfield early last autumn with a phenomenal free kick from distance. He had two similar chances in the return leg, but fired both over.
Liverpool, now on an eleven-match unbeaten run in competitive matches, had the better of the second half - but without a single shot on target.
After 21 rounds played, Arsenal's lead over Manchester City and Aston Villa is six points.
Liverpool are fourth, a full 14 points behind Arsenal.
