Arsenal v Liverpool: FA Cup third round – live | FA Cup

45+3 min … and Nelson’s free-kick is headed away.

45+2 min Arsenal’s pressing has been fantastic today, as good as I can remember this season. They nick possession again on the stroke of half-time, which leads to a free-kick on the left wing. This will be the last attack of the half…

45+1 min Two minutes of added time.

45 min: Alexander-Arnold hits the bar! My word, what a strike. Gakpo slipped Jorginho cleverly in midfield and flicked the ball outside to the supporting Alexander-Arnold. He took a touch on the edge of the area and pinged a sizzling drive that was too quick for Ramsdale and clattered off the crossbar.

44 min: Chance for Havertz! For the umpteenth time, Liverpool get caught playing out from the back. Nelson wins the ball and gives it to Odegaard, who moves it across to Havertz just inside the area. Once again he takes his own sweet time before shooting too close to Alisson with defenders converging. Alisson can’t hold the shot, which took a slight deflection, but Quansah is waiting behind him to clear.

You want attackers to have a resting heart-rate in the opposition penalty area, like Robert Pires and Thierry Henry in Arsenal’s glory days, but Havertz is almost too relaxed.

43 min “Happy new(ish) year!” writes Alex Moffett. “It feels as if more of the top clubs are putting out strong teams for these third round matches than in recent years. Do you think this is a general trend of greater appreciation for the FA Cup or just a product of the local conditions of this season? Or am I hallucinating it in a flush of rosy-eyed new year’s optimism?”

The two-week Premier League break probably helps, though Liverpool are playing on Wednesday and they have a strong XI out here. It does feel like the big clubs are treating the domestic cups with greater affection, possibly because Manchester City have been so dominant in the Premier League.

40 min Quansah injures himself while standing on the ball, with nobody near him, but it looks like he’s okay to continue.

39 min: Chance for Havertz! The resulting corner is headed wide at the far post by Havertz. That was an excellent chance: he got above his marker with ease but didn’t get enough purchase on his downward header. Arsenal now lead 12-1 on attempts at goal.

38 min Saka runs at Gomez, whose well-timed tackle diverts the ball towards the edge of the area. White runs onto it and whistles a rising drive that is pushed over acrobatically by Alisson.

37 min Rice shoots straight at Alisson from distance.

34 min … which Alexander-Arnold curls onto the roof of the net from an extremely tight angle. If he was going for goal, the idea was poor; if he wasn’t, the execution was poor.

34 min Jones makes White look silly with a lovely bit of skill on the left wing, so White shoves him over. Free-kick to Liverpool…

32 min “When did you last see Saka beat a man?” wonders Joe Johnson. “Personally, I can’t remember. He’s tired, lost his mojo, been hit too many times – whatever. The basic metric of a fully functioning Saka is surely when he takes someone on and beats them, and I haven’t seen that for ages.”

Well, strictly speaking the answer is about five minutes ago, but I know what you mean – it feels like he has done it a lot less this season. It might be tactical rather than physical, though I agree he needs a break.

30 min Mac Allister is bullied off the ball by Rice inside the Liverpool half. Odegaard collects the loose ball, runs at the defence and reverses a pass to Havertz just inside the area. He takes his time, as is his wont, and the eventual shot deflects through to Alisson.

On the BBC, Alan Shearer implores him to shoot first-time.

27 min Saka changed his boots straight after that shot. Gen bloody Z, eh.

27 min Arsenal move the ball nicely from right to left, a move sparked by a surge infield from Saka. Eventually Nelson pushes the ball back to Saka, whose first-time shot from the edge of the box bobbles through to Alisson.

26 min Liverpool are starting to improve, though they still look disjointed in attack.

24 min Jorginho tells Gakpo to eff off after being penalised for pulling him back. The referee John Brooks calls him over for a quick word.

22 min Elliott’s outswinging corner is headed across goal and wide by Nunez. It was a pretty tricky chance; he needed somebody following in at the far post.

21 min Better from Liverpool. Alexander-Arnold slips an inviting ball down the inside-right channel for Nunez, whose cross is turned behind by White.

20 min The pace has dropped in the last few minutes, though Arsenal continue to play with greater intensity. Liverpool have been strangely passive.

18 min Liverpool have actually had more of the ball, which tells a story that isn’t worth reading. All six goal attempts have been from Arsenal.

15 min Liverpool aren’t yet at the races. Arsenal have been so last season, and that’s a compliment.

11 min: Odegaard hits the bar! Arsenal are all over Liverpool and could have scored three times in the space of five seconds. Gomez dithered on the ball and was robbed by Saka, with Havertz collecting possession on the right side of the area. He picked out Nelson, whose shot was brilliantly blocked by Konate. The ball rebounded to Odegaard, who leathered it off the crossbar, and then another Arsenal player, Saka I think, had a close-range shot blocked,

11 min Saka is limping a little after being accidentally caught on the achilles by Diaz. I think he’s okay.

8 min Saka’s fast, inswinging corner is flicked on at the near post by Steve Bould and scrambled clear at the far. Moments later, Havertz’s curler from 20 yards is comfortably saved to his right by Alisson.

7 min Arsenal have made a really fast start. After a well-worked throw-in on the right, Nelson’s shot from the edge of the area spins behind off a Liverpool defence.

6 min Saka finds Odegaarsd in a good position on the edge of the area. He eschews the shot, a little surprisingly, and instead helps the ball across to Nelson. The move peters out.

5 min Elliott is fouled on the right wing by Nelson. Alexander-Arnold’s ball is overhit and White allows it run out for a throw-in.

3 min: Chance for Arsenal! Ramsdale pings a beautiful 70-yard pass to put Nelson through on goal. Alisson hesitates, which allows Nelson to go round him, but the toutch makes the angle too tight and he shoots into the side netting.

1 min Peep peep! Harvey Elliott gets the match under way, with Liverpool kicking from right to left as we watch.

“So – Ramsdale,” says Charles Antaki. “The general feeling amongst Arsenal fans seems to be that Arteta has put himself in an unwinnable position: effectively abandoning a likeable man-of-the-people player (who looks humanly hurt) in favour of a not-obviously better keeper (whose emotions are unreadable, beyond looking a bit dazed much of the time).

“Ramsdale has a free hit today; play well and more credit accrued to his side of the ledger; play poorly and the blame will probably fall on Arteta. Eventually Ramsdale will go, and the waters will close over him, as they do with any player, but that time still seems a little far off.”

I’m interested that you say it’s a free-hit; from the outside it looks like he can’t really win. He could save four penalties and Raya would still be in goal against Crystal Palace in a fortnight’s time.

Here come the players – Arsenal in white, Liverpool in their purple third kit.

We’re about to find out whether he gets his wish

“As a Liverpool fan I’ll take any result except for a draw,” says Niall Mullen. “Or maybe a win. I’m not sure this is the squad to compete on all fronts and we need to be wary of Generals Janvier and Fevrier as they have done for us in past campaigns.”

I think the squad is big enough, especially as you’re in the Europa League rather than the Champions League. Liverpool are almost uniquely dangerous when they get on a roll, whether it’s during an Anfield comeback or across a season, so I’d want to stay in as many competitions as possible. Easy for me to say, in my ivory tower.

Arsenal will wear a special white kit today to support the No More Red campaign against knife crime and youth violence.

Harvey Elliott will play wide on the right, Jurgen Klopp has confirmed, so that presumably means Cody Gakpo will play as a No8.

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