Team
There were six changes made by head coach Arne Slot from the starting XI that had lost at Chelsea a week previously.
Andy Robertson was among those restored to the line-up, making him the 10th player to reach 250 Premier League appearances at the Reds.
Liverpool: Alisson, Van Dijk, Konate, Diaz (Jota, 79), Szoboszlai, Salah, Jones (Mac Allister, 66), Gakpo (Nunez, 66), Robertson, Gravenberch (Elliott, 83), Bradley (Alexander-Arnold, 66).
Unused subs: Kelleher, Endo, Tsimikas, Quansah.
First half
‘Bring on the champions,’ bellowed a sun-drenched Anfield, awaiting a first sight of the Premier League winners back on home soil since the title was sealed.
The Gunners crafted the first chance amid the din, a set-piece routine from the left finding an unmarked Bukayo Saka, whose side-footed effort across goal bounced just wide of the far post.
Liverpool pieced together a slick move soon after as Gakpo and Diaz combined to release Curtis Jones, who immediately arced a pass from the left over towards Mohamed Salah.
The Reds’ top scorer unselfishly opted to serve the ball infield to Diaz’s sprint forward but the Colombian’s driven finish was blocked by the leg of goalkeeper David Raya.
Arsenal let the hosts off the hook when Thomas Partey won possession from Jones inside his own box, their sudden numerical advantage yielding only a blocked shot from Leandro Trossard.
The champions promptly scored twice in the space of 90 seconds.
