12′ Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Assist: Bukayo Saka), 73′ Takumi Minamino – PENALTIES: Mohamed Salah, Reiss Nelson, Fabinho, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Rhian Brewster, Cedric Soares, Takumi Minamino, David Luiz, Curtis Jones, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (5-4 Arsenal)
Arsenal claimed their second piece of silverware in August as they shocked the Premier League champions at Wembley. A closely fought game was eventually decided on penalties, with Rhian Brewster the only player to falter from the spot.
The game burst into life in the 12′ minute, as Arsenal broke out from the back in classy fashion. The ball eventually found Saka, whose diagonal ball over-the-top landed straight to the most in-form striker in England. Aubameyang effortlessly glided past Neco Williams, and the captain curled a stunning effort into the far corner from outside the box. Aubameyang loves Wembley – that’s 5 goals in 3 appearances at that ground.
Liverpool were knocking on the door so profoundly that an equaliser was almost inevitable. A scrappy kerfuffle in the box saw the ball fall to Minamino, and he tucked it away for his first Liverpool goal.
Neither side were able to fashion another goal, so the tie went to penalties. A shootout that saw not a single goalkeeper save, every player seemed very confident. Only young Rhian Brewster failed to score, with his effort crashing off the crossbar. A horrible moment for the youngster, but it provided Aubameyang with the chance to win the game, and he calmly slotted his penalty into the top-right corner, bringing Arteta his second trophy as Arsenal boss.
Whilst it may just be ‘a glorified friendly’, Arsenal put in a wonderful performance, thoroughly deserving the win. Arteta really has turned the team around, having seen his side beat Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool (twice) in just 45 days. He will hope that they can push on, using this as a catalyst for a successful league campaign. Liverpool were missing both Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, but Klopp will hope that his boys can forget and move on as quickly as possible.
PLAYER RATINGS:
ARSENAL
Emiliano Martinez – 8
Hector Bellerín – 7.5
Rob Holding – 8
David Luiz – 8.5
Kieran Tierney – 8.5
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 9 (MOTM)
Mohamed Elneny – 8.5
Granit Xhaka – 7.5
Bukayo Saka – 8
Eddie Nketiah – 7
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 8.5
Subs:
Cedric Soares – 7
Joe Willock – 6.5
Reiss Nelson – 7
Sead Kolašinac – N/A
LIVERPOOL
Alisson – 6.5
Neco Williams – 4.5
Joe Gomez – 7
Virgil van Dijk – 7.5
Andrew Robertson – 8.5
Georginio Wijnaldum – 6.5
Fabinho – 7
James Milner – 5.5
Mohamed Salah – 6.5
Roberto Firmino – 6.5
Sadio Mane – 7
Subs:
Takumi Minamino – 7
Naby Keïta – 6
Curtis Jones – N/A
Rhian Brewster – N/A
Written by Jed Vine
