Top five greatest matches between Liverpool and Arsenal

The Reds and The Gunners have faced off in some timeless classics over the years

The historic rivalry between two of the oldest clubs in the English top flight has always given the fans & neutrals, something to remember & take away over the years. Below are the greatest matches fought between Liverpool and Arsenal in the modern Premier League era:

Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal: FA Cup Final 2000-01

It is fondly remembered as the Michael Owen final by Liverpool fans as he miraculously revived Liverpool's FA Cup hopes in the final at the Millennium Stadium, in Cardiff, scoring twice eight minutes late in the match, and breaking Arsenal's hearts. The side from London was the more decisive & dominant throughout the match & led through Freddie Ljungberg's goal, in the 72nd minute.

Liverpool looked down & out, however, the introduction of Michael Owen changed the complexion of the tie. Owen opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 82nd minute, after a high lobbed ball came off fellow substitute Robbie Fowler's head & fell in the striker's path who acrobatically scored & putting Liverpool at 1-1. Arsenal was still recovering from the shock of the first goal when Owen decided to become a cult hero for Liverpool.

Late in the 88th minute, Emile Heskey won the ball near his box off an Arsenal set-piece & fed it to Patrick Berger. The Czech midfielder seeing Owen make a run put in a hopeful long ball towards the Arsenal goal & Owen using his speed & agility outran Lee Dixon, before finding just enough space to score with his weaker left foot in the far bottom corner, with Tony Adams marking him. He delivered Liverpool's seventh FA Cup & etched his name in permanent glory in Scouse history.

Arsenal 4-2 Liverpool: Premier League 2003-04

Arsenal Invincibles season, cherished & lauded by Arsenal & Premier League fans alike for becoming the only team to remain unbeaten in an entire Premier League season. However, on road to greatness, Arsenal had to overcome major hurdles in form of Sir Alex's Manchester United side & traditional rivals Liverpool.

They faced off on the 9th of April, & found a mercurial Thierry Henry on song & motivated enough to single-handedly win them the game through individual brilliance at old famed Highbury ground. The Arsenal legend led the charge for the Gunners who went a goal behind Liverpool through an early 5th-minute Sami Hyypia goal. But Henry brought them level in the 31st minute with a left-foot finish.

As is the case in these matches, Liverpool responded & Owen produced a similar finish to Henry's equaliser & put it through Lehmann's legs to put Liverpool ahead again in the 43rd minute. However, the Gunners responded yet again through Robert Pires, in the 49th minute, & making it 2-2.

However, the Thierry Henry show was about to begin yet, as the Frenchman produced one the most iconic goals ever in the Premier League, where he dribbled past Jamie Carragher, literally giving him the slip, and then produced his iconic body feint or popularly known drop of the shoulder these days, where two Liverpool defenders fell over the other way, & then calmly took an extra second when it looked improbable that he had any, & slotted it past Jerzy Dudek in the bottom corner.

The emotions & the elation of the goal were evident throughout the ground as it was celebrated with everyone watching it, & disbelief in Liverpool's hearts. The Frenchman's status as the best player in the Premier League & arguably the World was sealed. as he scored yet again with an incredibly close controlled finish from a lobbed ball over the top & ensuring Arsenal ran out 4-2 winners on the day.

Liverpool 4-2 Arsenal: Champions League 2007-08

The European stage always brought out the best in Liverpool as they faced off in a mouth-watering quarter-final clash with the Gunners. Arsenal & Liverpool rarely faced off in the Champions League & the winner of the match would go on to face a Chelsea side led by Jose Mourinho, in another Premier League clash, in Europe. So a lot was at stake with history, pride & bragging rights for years to come.

And so it produced, yet another iconic match in Anfield history, as well as this rivalry, with the game finishing in a dramatic 4-2 victory in Liverpool's favour. Coming into the game with a 1-1 score from the 1st leg, Arsenal had to take to initiative & so they did through Abou Diaby. However, Liverpool was able to respond to Sami Hyypia and Fernando Torres putting Liverpool back 2-1 ahead yet again, turning despondence into joyous fervour for the Anfield faithful.

Arsenal felt that they were going through when Theo Walcott's amazing solo run led to an Adebayor tap-in goal & going ahead on the away goals rule. However, it was the spirit of Anfield which brought Liverpool back, yet again in this tie as they got a late penalty for Steven Gerrard to put them ahead by 3-2 on the night. Ryan Babel then finished off the Gunners through a counter-attack goal, & an iconic match was yet again jotted down in the history books.

Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool, Premier League, 2010-11

Similar to the dent Arsenal put in Liverpool's title charge in 2008-09, where Andrei Arshavin's four-goal adventure at Anfield stopped Liverpool from winning their first Premier League trophy, Liverpool returned the favour a couple of years later in London.

The Gunner fans may not fondly recall Emmanuel Eboue cynically bringing down Lucas Leiva in the box after Luis Suarez's free-kick was blocked by the Arsenal wall. They'd taken the lead moments earlier through Robin Van Persie's penalty kick, in the 98th minute of added time!

Arsene Wenger complained later that the game should have stopped right after that. However, the referee decided to allow the play to continue due to the delay prior to Arsenal going ahead. And the drama & tension at the Emirates Stadium concluded in the 102nd minute when Dirk Kuyt calmed put the spot kick away & the frustrations were apparent at the end.

However, this went on to further showcase, how these rivals have matched up, going up against each other, and the results from each tie playing a crucial part in the other's history.

Liverpool 4 - 4 Arsenal, Premier League, 2008-09

Andrei Arshavin scored four goals in a Premier League match & seemed to have been possessed by the spirit of Thierry Henry in the game against Liverpool at Anfield. The Russian striker celebrated each goal with disbelief, given the incredible nature of his achievement left him in shock as much as the fans in the stadium, or the ones who watched the game live.

Liverpool was chasing the Premier League title that year & legitimately believed it would be their year, had they crossed the Arsenal hurdle. However the mercurial Russian forward always saved his best against the Reds and scored in 36', 67', 70', and 90 minutes respectively to land a huge blow to the Reds' title hopes.

Liverpool managed to respond through braces from Fernando Torres & Yossi Benayoun and managed to take a point from the 4-4 draw. It was a thrilling game of football and will be forever remembered as one of the most iconic matches in the bitter rivalry between these two great sides.