After the euphoria of battling to a 0-0 draw at Anfield last week, Arsenal were brought back down to earth with a bump as they crashed out of the Carabao Cup.
They had gone into this semi-final second leg against Liverpool dreaming of a showdown with Chelsea at Wembley, and the fact that a number of key players, such as Emile Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard and Takehiro Tomiyasu, were able to return filled them with even more hope.
A strong opening 10 minutes, which saw Alexandre Lacazette hit the bar with a free-kick, only added fuel to the fire, but by the final whistle there was nothing left but a few embers.
This wasn’t really a barnstorming performance by Liverpool, the type of “heavy metal football” they have become synonymous for under Jurgen Klopp. Instead, it was a professional one as they sucked the life out of Arsenal and took away all the oxygen until their fire went out.
It took just 19 minutes for that to happen, with Diogo Jota opening the scoring after a well-worked move opened Arsenal up.
Trent Alexander-Arnold may have had a difficult night defensively against Gabriel Martinelli, but going forward he was at his best and his role in the opening goal helped open Arsenal up.
In fact the worst thing about the goal, which included a delightful flick by Roberto Firmino, was the finish as Jota’s scuffed shot wrong-footed Aaron Ramsdale to find the net.
Arsenal never really recovered from that and instead Liverpool took control. They finished the first-half with over 60 per cent possession and Mikel Arteta’s side couldn’t lay a glove on them.
Other than Martinelli, Arsenal offered little going forward and when Albert Sambi Lokonga did pick out Alexandre Lacazette, with a fine pass just after the break, the Frenchman could only fire over the bar.
That summed up the Gunners’ night, who finished the game with just two shots on target and were punished by a clinical Liverpool side.
The Reds nearly got their second just before the hour mark, when Ibrahima Konate hit the post, but in the end it was Jota who did the damage once again.
Alexander-Arnold picked him out with a pin-point pass and Jota dinked the ball over Ramsdale, with VAR overturning the linesman’s decision to raise the offside flag.
Partey red card rounds off a miserable night
It never rains, but it always pours for Arsenal and Thomas Partey’s red card underlined that. Just when Arteta thought his midfield crisis had been solved, it has remerged.
Partey was in Cameroon on Thursday morning, but he travelled back that day and went straight to the team hotel after he landed.
The midfielder wanted to be part of the squad to help them reach Wembley, but instead he had a night to forget as he got two yellow cards in the space of four minutes after coming on as a substitute.
It means Partey will now miss Sunday’s clash against Burnley and, once again, Arsenal are now down to one senior central midfielder.
Martinelli only bright spark on damp night
There was little, if anything for Arsenal to cheer about, on Thursday night, but Martinelli’s performance was some comfort.
The Brazilian was Arsenal’s best player, getting some joy against Alexander-Arnold, and now looks like the real deal.
The fact he outshone Bukayo Saka and Smith Rowe, two of Arsenal’s best player this season, underlined his display. A small crumb of comfort for Arteta to cling to.
