Portuguese forward Diogo Jota put in a man-of-the-match performance as he scored two after coming on as a substitute.
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It is not a happy Easter for Arsenal fans as their club slumped to a 3-0 defeat against Liverpool. The reigning champions comfortably took all three points at the Emirates on Saturday. Goals from substitute Diogo Jota and Mo Salah saw the Gunners off. The Reds sit fifth on the table, two points behind Chelsea. Arsenal, however, sit ninth in what has been a dismal season.
An injury-ridden Liverpool was helped by a returning Diogo Jota who scored after three minutes of being on the pitch. Jota was brought on in place of Andrew Robertson in the 61st minute. He scored a bullet header past Leno in the 64th minute from a pinpoint Trent Alexander-Arnold cross. The right-back had not been chosen for any of England’s matches in the international break.
Salah finished a delightful goal just four minutes later to double the champions’ lead. Fabinho’s deft chip found the Egyptian in behind the Arsenal defence. He took the ball past Gabriel before passing it into the net through the legs of Bernd Leno.
Jota scored Liverpool’s third goal in the 82nd minute to seal the three points comfortably. The scoreline could have been a lot wider as Sadio Mane, James Milner, and Mo Salah had failed to score what seemed like simple chances.
Bernd Leno did not have the best time between the sticks but he made a couple of good saves during the game. The concern for Arsenal, however, would be Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s performance. The Gabonese striker failed to get a single shot on target, much like the earlier game against Liverpool in the season. The Reds had emerged 3-1 victors in that game.
With the season entering its final stages, Mikel Arteta has a mountain to climb if Arsenal are to compete in any European competition next season. They currently sit at ninth place but 11th placed Aston Villa are only one point behind and have two games in hand.
The Gunners could, however, qualify for next season’s Champions League, should they win the Europa League this season. However, the competition has strong contenders like Roma, Ajax, and Manchester United.
Their next test will be against Slavia Praha in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
