Arsenal - Liverpool live online: score, stats and updates, FA Cup 2023-24

What could have been for Arsenal

Liverpool's forays forward have been few and far between, but Arsenal have had more than enough opportunities to be a goal or two up. I've got a feeling they might live to regret it in the second half. 

Half time: Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool

Referee John Brooks blows up 30 seconds early for some reason. That's all for now, folks!

Arsenal will be kicking himself they're not ahead, but also relieved not to be a goal down there. 

Three extra minutes to be played.

Alexander-Arnold smashes off the bar!

And Arsenal are almost made to punish! Alexander-Arnold bursts forward and rifles a fierce effort against the crossbar!

Wasteful Arsenal

Another mistake in possession from Liverpool and Arsenal have another great chance to score! Again, too many touches from Havertz turns a clear chance into a half chance, which Alisson has little bother dealing with. 

Nuñez gets away from the Arsenal defence but Ramsdale is alert and races from his line to clear the danger. 

Saka is in charge but overhits his cross - or was it a shot? - to the back post and it drifts behind. 

What can Arsenal do here? They have a free-kick on the right just outside the box. 

Jarell Quansah down

Jarell Quansah is in for Virgil van Dijk but could be about to go off himself after injuring him trodding on the ball...

How did Havertz miss??

Oh, wow. Saka's corner lands on Havertz's head at the back post but the German somehow directs his header wide!

White denied by Alisson!

Gomez again stops Saka from going past him but the ball falls to White, who unleashes a shot from the angle of the box and is denied by Alisson's fingertips!

Rice tries one from 25 yards but it's straight down Alisson's throat. Easy for the Brazilian. 

Saka has been one of Arsenal's main threats and he is set away down the right once more. This time, though, Gomez does well to stick to him and block his cross. 

From the resulting free kick, Alexander-Arnold's delivery floats to the back post...and over the bar. 

Ben White is very lucky not to get a yellow card there. He loses the ball to Curtis Jones, who then brilliantly flicks it round the defender before being manhandled on his way into the box. Proper showboating there from the Liverpool man. 

Wasteful again from Arsenal! Mac Allister loses the ball inside his own half and Odegaard plays the ball through for Havertz, who opts to take a touch when a first-time shot was on. His eventual effort is blocked by the Liverpool defence. 

There's only one Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool full-back is facing his own goal and chooses to dribble across his box and play a brilliant pass up to Díaz rather than just clear his line, which 95% of players would've done. 

A crucial interception from Gomez stops the ball reaching Odegaard, whose eyes had lit up on the edge of the box. 

Arsenal work the ball from right to left nicely, with Saka, Havertz and Nelson all involved. Nelson then lays the ball off at the edge of the box to Saka, who's off balance as he shoots. An easy stop for Alisson. 

A free kick for Liverpool in a dangerous position. Elliott whips it into the box but Konaté is challenged as he heads goalwards and it's easily claimed by Ramsdale. 

Oooh, that's looked a bit naughty from Nelson. The winger takes on Alexander-Arnold and goes down in the box despite their being very little in the way of contact, if any. At least he didn't claim for a penalty. 

Eliott's corner is met by Nuñez but the big Uruguayan can't get his header on target. That was a decent chance!

A corner for Liverpool as Nuñez breaks into the box and looks for Díaz, who is well covered by White. 

The pace has dropped a bit since those opening 15 minutes. 

A lull in play as Arsenal knock the ball around inside their own half. 

A bit of possession for Liverpool for the first time. Which they needed after the hosts' rapid start. 

Arsenal are definitely playing with more intensity than in their last couple of Games (defeats to West Ham and Fulham). 

A rare forward forward from the visitors as Jones tried to thread a pass through for Alexander-Arnold, who is blocked off well. The ball runs through to Ramsdale. 

The Liverpool defence looking a bit shaky without van Dijk so far...

Havertz should probably have passed to Saka, who would've had a tap-in, rather than square for Nelson, who was denied by a brilliant tackle from Konaté.

Arsenal should be ahead!

Unbelievable. Gomez gifts the ball to Saka, who finds Havertz in the box. The German tries to pick out Nelson but the ball breaks back to Odegaard, who crashes the ball against the crossbar!. 

A little break in play as Díaz goes down. He'll be OK to carry on though. 

Arsenal are ramping things up! Seconds later, Havertz tries to find the far corner from range but his curling effort is kept out at the second attempt by Alisson!

And from Saka's corner, Havertz somehow fails to push the ball over the line at the back post!

Odegaard again involved as he lays the ball back to the box, where Jorginho slides it to Nelson. The winger gets a shot away this time but it's deflected out for a corner.

Not that I should be telling Martin Odegaard how to play soccer...

One pass too many from Arsenal! How many times have we said that over the years? Saka finds Odegaard in a great shooting position but he opts to pass left to Nelson, who is quickly crowded out. 

The Liverpool response sees Elliott break away down the right but his cross into the box is poor with Nuñez well placed in the middle. 

Arsenal close to early opener!

Almost the first goal in the first attack! Ramsdale pings a quarterback-style pass between Liverpool defenders for Nelson, who goes round Alisson but ends up running slightly wide, from where he can only hit the side netting!

FA CUP

Why are Arsenal wearing a white kit against Liverpool in the FA Cup?

In case you're watching too, Arsenal are in all-white. 

A little reminder of why from Joe. 

Underway at the Emirates!

And we're off! Strap yourselves in!

Arsenal - Liverpool moments away!

The teams are out, we're almost ready to go!

Van Dijk and Szoboszlai absent for Liverpool

You may have noticed a couple of big-name absentees for Liverpool in the shape of Virgil Van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai. The latter was expected to miss out (and I'm not sad he doesn't considering how hard it is to spell his name), but the Dutchman is something of a surprise absentees. 

Calum, Kieran and Joe have teamed up to give you the lowdown on why to of the first names on the Reds team  sheet are missing toay. 

Liverpool team to play Arsenal: van Dijk and Szoboszlai miss out

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Konate, Gomez; Elliot, Mac Allister, Jones; Gakpo, Nuñez, Díaz.

Arsenal team to play Liverpool: Zinchenko injured

Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Rice, Jorginho, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Nelson.

Less than 10 minutes until kick off

With kick off fast approaching, here's a reminder of how the teams will line up for this one.

FA Cup records: Arsenal vs Liverpool

Liverpool may be the more decorate club overall (with six European Cup/Champions League wins to Arsenal's none), but The Gunners are the FA Cup kings. No team has won the competitions more times than the London side, who have lifted the trophy 14 times. Manchester United are second on 12, with Liverpool tied with Chelsea on eight. 

Let the warm-up commence!

"Warm" being the operative word. As you might expect in England at the start of January, it's a little bit chilly out there. A few brave souls not wearing snoods. 

What happens if Arsenal and Liverpool draw in the FA Cup third round?

Back in the day, all FA Cup matches that were drawn would go to a replay (and sometimes a second, third or fourth replay...). Fixture congestion has changed all that, but only for part of the competition. Up until the fifth round, drawn matches are replayed (if the replay is also a draw, extra time and penalties follow). 

From the fifth round onwards, however, drawn matches are not replayed and go straight to extra time and a penalty shootout. 

FA Cup third round: how many teams take part?

Today's cup tie is one of 32 in the third round of the FA Cup, which is where Premier League club enter the competition. There's nothing too fancy about the format of the competition, with 64 teams whittled down to 32, then to 16, and so on. 

Liverpool: the 2023-24 season so far

While the likes of Arsenal and Aston Villa have faltered, Liverpool have come into form in recent weeks, which has seen them move to the top of the Premier League. The Reds/Lilacs are unbeaten in 13 league matches and have gone three points clear of second-placed Aston Villa, although third-placed Manchester City are five behind with a game in hand.

On top of that, Klopp’s side will play Fulham in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup (starting this week midweek) and have qualified for the Europa League round of 16.

Lilac Liverpool

Given Arsenal aren't playing in red, Liverpool, in theory, could've done, which they never get to do away to Arsenal Instead, they've gone for this lilac number, a colour I most associate with The Joker of Batman fame (as if you didn't know who he is). Jürgen Klopp's side will hope to have the last laugh today though. 

FA CUP

Why are Arsenal wearing a white kit against Liverpool in the FA Cup?

Arsenal will be playing in a one-off kit for this game which is for a great cause. But before any jersey buffs get all excited, the club have said it will not be put on sale. However, a special “bespoke community t-shirt” will be available to buy which will see the money raised go to local initiatives, which Joe is on hand to explain. 

Something's not white right in the Arsenal dressing room

Arsenal complying with the (presumably) compulsory social media post showing the dressing room being "ready". I'll have Liverpool's for you in just a moment, in the sake of fairness.

But something looks a bit off...

Can we read anything from those line-ups about who the FA Cup matters to the most? I'm going to say "no", with both sides fielding pretty much as strong a line-up as they could've done, which is what we all wanted!

Liverpool team to play Arsenal: van Dijk out due to illness

The big news from a Liverpool point of view is there's no Virgil van Dijk in defence. Apparently the Dutch defender may have played but has been struggling with illness. Youngster Jarell Quansah takes his place. 

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Konate, Gomez; Elliott, Mac Allister, Jones; Gakpo, Nuñez, Díaz.

Arsenal team to play Liverpool: Zinchenko misses out

Remember how I said Eddie Nketiah would start up front for Arsenal? Yeh, well, scrap that. Kai Havertz looks set to play centre-forward against Liverppol. Zinchenko misses out in the end because of his calf problem. 

Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Rice, Jorginho, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Nelson.

Arsenal: the 2023-24 season so far

It was all going so swimmingly for Arsenal. Sure, they hadn’t really been blowing teams away as they did at points of last season but there seemed to be a maturity about Mikel Arteta’s men, who appeared to have learned from last season’s title collapse. A 1-1 draw away to Liverpool on 23 December kept them top of the Premier League but was followed by disappointing defeats to West Ham and Fulham, which have allowed doubts to creep back in about their title credentials. The Gunners have dropped down to fourth, five points behind today’s opponents, the new leaders.

Arsenal won their Champions League group and will face Porto in the round of 16, but were eliminated from the Carabao Cup by West Ham on November. 

AFCON

How many Games will Mo Salah miss for Liverpool due to AFCON?

Liverpool fans - are you supporting Salah and Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations or not? The good news for you is the attacker, who has scored 18 goals in 27 games in all competitions this season, will definitely miss just one Premier League game (along with two cup ties). The bad news will come if Egypt make it out of the group stage and go far in the tournament, with is completely possible.

Here's Paul to explain the worst-case scenerio. 

Liverpool are Arsenal's (late) first footers

While today's cup tie is Arsenal's first game of the year, Liverpool were involved in a thriller against Newcastle on New Year's Day, winning 4-2 when they could've won 10-2. Their last away game saw them win 2-0 at Burnley on Boxing Day, while they haven't lost a domestic away fixture since the end of September (although they have been beaten twice on the road in the Europa League since then). 

Early Arsenal team news update: Gabriel Jesus to miss Liverpool cup tie

Breaking news! As well as Elneny, Tomiyasu, Partey, Vieira and Timber, who I mentioned earlier, striker Gabriel Jesus will also miss out for Arsenal with a knee injury, which is set to keep him out for "a short time". 

Eddie Nketiah will surely be starting up front. 

The Emirates hosts first game of 2024

Arsenal play their first home game of 2024 today and they'll hope it goes significantly better than their last home game of 2023, when they were beaten 2-0 by West Ham United. A result which has gone some way from turning them into title challengers to title outsiders, in some people eyes. We'll delve into that in just a moment. 

Early Liverpool squad news: Salah misses first game due to AFCON

The big blow for Liverpool, and perhaps the biggest for any Premier League club, is that Mohamed Salah is also off to the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt. You suspect The Reds will miss him a tad more than The Gunners miss comparator Elneny. Wataru Endo has also jetted off on international duty, where he will also take part in the Asian Cup with Japan.

Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak, Joel Matip, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are long-term absentees and have now been joined on the sidelines by midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, who has suffered a hamstring injury.

Early Arsenal team news: Zinchenko a fitness doubt

Left-back-cum-midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko missed Arsenal's defeat to Fulham on New Year's Eve due a calf injury and a late decision is set to be made on whether he is available to play or not. 

Early Arsenal tean news: Partey and Tomiyasu among absentees

Mohamed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu are unavailable as they are now at the Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup with Egypt and Japan respectively. Thomas Partey, Fabio Vieira and Jurrien Timber are sidelined through injury.

FA CUP

Arsenal - Liverpool: times, how to watch on TV and stream online | FA Cup

Before we get down to Business, you may still be looking for a way to watch today's Game. If you’re in the United States, then you’re in luck as there is a way and Calum is here with the details! 

Just be sure to stick with me too, please!

What time does Arsenal - Liverpool kick off?

We’ll all have to wait just a little though, as the clash in London gets underway at 4:30 p.m. local time, which is 11:30 a.m. ET and 8:30 a.m. PT. How could there possibly be a better way to wake up on a Sunday morning, west coasters?

Over the next 90 minutes or so I’ll be bringing you build-up, team news and plenty more. Let's do this!

Hello and welcome to Arsenal - Liverpool!

It’s the world’s oldest domestic soccer competition and one of the heavyweight match-ups of the English game. Arsenal take on Liverpool for a place in the fourth round, with both teams in the thick of a Premier League title race. With that in mind, how much importance will Mikel Arteta and Jürgen Klopp place on the FA Cup? We’ll find out soon enough when the teams come in, but there’s always plenty at stake when these two lock horns regardless.

I’m Roddy and thanks for joining me as The Gunners host The Reds at the Emirates!