By Frank Kamuntu
Arsenal were punished for a host of missed chances as Jakub Kiwior’s own goal and Luis Diaz’s late strike sent Liverpool into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win.
Mikel Arteta’s side finished 2023 with back-to-back Premier League defeats and they started brightly as they looked to respond with a first win of 2024. However, their well-documented struggles in front of goal continued, as chance after chance went begging against Liverpool.
Martin Odegaard’s shot rattled the crossbar, while Reiss Nelson and Kai Havertz were also guilty of missed opportunities as the visitors, who hit the woodwork themselves through Trent Alexander-Arnold, got in at the break level.
It was a much more even contest in the second half as both sides fluffed their lines in front of goal. Bukayo Saka could not convert Havertz’s cross, while Darwin Nunez’s pass was behind Diaz as Liverpool threatened on the break.
The breakthrough eventually came 10 minutes from time as Kiwior diverted the ball past Aaron Ramsdale and into his own net before Diaz’s injury-time strike (90+5) sent the Gunners crashing out of the FA Cup with a third straight defeat in all competitions.
Arsenal have been knocked out of the FA Cup third round in two of the last three seasons (also 2021-22), this after having progressed from 24 of their previous 25 third round ties beforehand.
Arsenal have only one win in their last seven matches in all competitions as the pressure builds on Arteta to find a solution to his side’s struggles in front of goal.
Meanwhile, Liverpool, who are still in with a chance of winning four competitions this season, can look forward to Monday’s fourth-round draw.
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