Liverpool snatched a late draw with Arsenal thanks to Martin Skrtel’s late header, and we assess each Reds player on the day.
BRAD JONES (out of 10)- 5.5
The Australian simply doesn’t look at all convincing, and shouldn’t be starting ahead of Simon Mignolet. He could arguably have done better with both Arsenal goals, if you’re being ultra-critical.
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MARTIN SKRTEL- 6
Defensively the 30-year-old was poor, being out-jumped by Mathieu Debuchy for the equaliser and not getting tight enough to Olivier Giroud for his goal. He rescued a point with a thumping late header though.
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KOLO TOURE- 6
The Ivorian was largely solid, although his touch let him down on a couple of occasions. He can be erratic, but he did pretty well against a tricky Arsenal attack.
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MAMADOU SAKHO- 7
The Frenchman did very well on his first start in months, using the ball well and winning countless duels in the air. He may look a little awkward, but the 24-year-old is a very fine defender.
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JORDAN HENDERSON- 6.5
Henderson was deployed in his right wing-back role again, and although not entirely comfortable there, he did well. His energy was relentless and he also showed quality when he attacked. One pass in the second-half was sublime.
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LUCAS LEIVA- 6
The Brazilian was frustrating from start to finish, despite doing his defensive work in the middle of the park fairly well. Too often he got caught in possession, and his lack of pace was alarming a few times. Nearly gifted Santi Cazorla a last-gasp winner having been robbed of the ball.
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STEVEN GERRARD- 5
The skipper had a poor afternoon. He gave away a needless free-kick in the lead-up to Debuchy’s goal, and his wayward long pass played a part in Giroud’s strike too. Tried to make amends by shooting from everywhere, but it didn’t happen for him. His set-pieces were disappointing too.
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LAZAR MARKOVIC- 7
The Serb has enjoyed a good couple of performances, and he showed plenty of potential against Arsene Wenger’s side. The 20-year-old’s running was a constant threat, and he showed some nice touches to go with it. Promising.
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PHILIPPE COUTINHO- 7.5
Coutinho was Liverpool’s best player on the day. His fine finish gave the Reds the lead, and his trickery, balance and vision were terrific throughout. At times his decision-making was sloppy, like several others in the team, but the Brazilian was largely excellent.
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ADAM LALLANA- 7
The former Southampton man was again one of his side’s standout performers, linking up well with Coutinho and Raheem Sterling and producing some lovely foot-work. Ran out of steam a little towards the end.
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RAHEEM STERLING- 7
Like Coutinho and Lallana, Sterling lost the ball a number of times, but there was also lots to be positive about. He scared Arsenal time and time again with his pace and trickery, and there are signs that he is coming back to top form.
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Substitutes
FABIO BORINI (on for Markovic 74)- 6
The Italian twice tested Wojciech Szczesny with decent efforts, but was carelessly sent-off for two avoidable offences.
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RICKIE LAMBERT (on for Toure 81)- n/a
Added a little in the air, but wasn’t on the pitch long enough to merit a rating.
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